Brooke Shields on Hollywood horrors encouraging her to stay grounded

Brooke Sheilds has spoken about growing up in the limelight in an interview with InStyle. In the interview, she revealed the struggles she faced as a child actor and how she managed to stay level headed.

Laura Brown interviewed Brooke Sheilds in a podcast for InStyle called Ladies First. In this interview, Brooke opened up about her childhood in Hollywood after she started modeling when she was less than a year old.

Brooke opened up about her experience as a child actor and spoke about how she had the foresight at a young age to not get sucked in by the glamour of Hollywood and look for alternative anchors in her life to keep her grounded.

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Brooke stated, "I remember even as far back as Pretty Baby (released in 1978) and thinking on the one hand that this was such a beautiful, creative movie that was so luscious, and felt like something extraordinary."

She continued, "In addition, it was my first real film. “But I remember looking at the other actresses and watching them be so vulnerable and sad and needy and broken, and having relationships with people. One girl got pregnant, had to have an abortion. One was sleeping with this person, then another person, and I watched people's behavior get so caught up in this thing that was going to leave them in three months. I watched and thought ‘I don’t ever wanna become a sad and lonely actress’”

She revealed that this realization was less of a comment on these women and more about the treatment of young girls in Hollywood. She said, “It’s not a comment on them, its a comment on the vulnerability that this business incites, get you to be, and then doesn’t take care of you” 

Brooke revealed that although she was a child she was able to notice the distinction between Hollywood and her real life. She said, “I would look at all this craziness and think this isn’t my real life.” 

Brooke claims that this is what allowed her to stay grounded throughout her fame. She argues that because she saw so many actresses fall down a negative path, she was able to learn that her life needed to be defined by more than Hollywood standards.

"I guess I saw so many train wrecks and I thought, 'God, Brooke, if you don't have something that's your own, it's all going to be constantly picked apart and taken away.' And that's why I think I was so adamant about having children and being married and having a house," she said. 

Brooke Sheilds has been married to her husband Chris Henchy for nearly 20 years and the couple has two children, Rowan and Grier Henchy.

Brooke reveals that she is content with her life and no longer feels the need to be humble about her success. She describes herself as 'ambitious' and claims that she won't be embarrassed about her hard work. She states, "I'm ambitious, creatively, in a way that I used to possibly think was selfish. And now I just think it's my time. I feel blessed, but I want more and I'm ready for it now."  

What an icon. More power to you Brooke!