Brooke Shields is on a mission to empower women to live their best lives. In her new book, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman, the Golden Globe-nominated actress encourages women to embrace each decade with confidence.
“I just hope women don’t feel alone in whatever they feel frustrated about,” Shields tells First for Women as the magazine’s cover star (get your copy here!). “They can give themselves a really big pat on the back for how much life they’ve lived and know there’s a way to move through it with joy and without fear. Wouldn’t it be great if every woman could walk into a room and say, ‘I’m not only invited, but I like who I am. I’m proud of who I am, and I feel like I’m in a good place’?”
Shields says she’s in a great place these days, sharing wisdom gained over decades in the spotlight. She began modeling before her first birthday and, since then, has built a résumé that includes actress, Princeton graduate, author, women’s health advocate, and entrepreneur. Now, at 59, she’s adding CEO to her list of accomplishments with Commence, her new hair care line.
“Women are more relevant now than we ever thought we could be. We don’t have to be bound by age anymore,” she says. “There are stats that prove we start to become even happier in our 40s and 50s.”
Brooke Shields on aging fearlessly
Brooke encourages women to walk through each era of life with confidence. “We’re not told to do it with pride,” she says. “We’re told to do it with fear and a sense of impending doom because things change biologically, chemically and physically. We’re being relegated to a place of being unimportant, of not relevant. We’re definitely bound by marketing and culture, but we don’t have to be. So we have to start walking through our lives differently. We have to go for our next dream, our next milestone.”
For the happily married mother of two daughters, that next milestone is growing her new business. “We call ourselves a care brand because our motto is, ‘Take care,’” she says of Commence. “I think a woman’s life really does commence now in a different way. That is a very important message because we want to find a way to help women feel empowered to age with joy and pride and without fear.”
Brooke Shields’ brush with death
Though it might seem like Brooke has always led a charmed life, she’s faced her share of challenges—including an accident that left her with a broken femur, and a severe seizure that had her on the floor of a New York restaurant. The surprising cause of the seizure? She had been drinking too much water. “I was overheated, and I flushed all the sodium out of my system,” she recalls. “I was completely out of whack and had a grand mal seizure. I was on the ground turning blue and frothing at the mouth. You can die from that!”
“Hydration is one thing; flooding your body another,” Brooke continues. “Our bodies are houses that need water in the pipes, but we can also flood and be completely destroyed. I never knew that. I thought I was doing the right thing. Now I make sure to put those little packets of electrolytes in the water so that I’m replenishing.”
Brooke has also had to work to get strength back in her leg and found the right exercise regimen. “Three years ago, I broke my femur and the only form of rehab that I could do was Pilates,” she says. “It totally changed my body—I was able to get stronger, leaner and ease my pain. Now I’m fully back, and I feel better than ever!”
Brooke’s secrets to keeping romance alive
In addition to her busy career, Brooke also revels in her happy home life. She and Chris Henchy have been married since 2001 and share two daughters, Rowan and Grier. “Changing how we define ‘romance’ is how my husband and I have kept it alive for so long,” smiles Brooke. “For instance, instead of going to a cocktail bar, which used to be a sexy date, now we’ll get some coffee and play backgammon. That time together is so romantic for me. Or I’ll plan something he loves and that thoughtfulness sparks the romance.”
