Name: Brooke Shields

Birth Name: Christa Brooke Shields

Height: 6'

Sex: F

Nationality: American

Date: May 31 1965

Birth Place: New York

Occupation: actress model

Education: Princeton University Princeton New Jersey

Husband/Wife: Chris Henchy (TV writer; engaged mid-July 2000; married in April 2001on Catalina Island) Andre Agassi (tennis player; married on April 19 1997; divorced in April 1999)

Relationship: Prince Albert of Monaco Woody Harrelson (actor) Dean Cain (actor) Michael Jackson (singer) Liam Neeson (actor) John Travolta (actor)

Father: Frank Shields (Revlon executive)

Mother: Teri Shields (Personal manager; Formerly a model)

Half Sister: Marina Shields (older)

Grand Father: Francis X Shields (Former professional tennis player)

Claim to fame: as Emmeline in the Blue Lagoon (1978)

(Source : www.celebritywonder.com)

Brooke Shields won People's Choice Award for Favorite Young Performer in a row, from 1981 to 1984 and was nominated Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical for the same movie, Suddenly Susan, in a row. (1997 and 1998).


(Source : www.celebritywonder.com)

AN INTERVIEW WITH BROOKE SHIELDS

1994 U.S. OPEN FLUSHING MEADOWS, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 11, 1994

(Source : www.toppics4u.coom)

BROOKE SHIELDS: This is definitely a first. This is what it looks like in here.

Q. How hard is it for you to watch him win?

BROOKE SHIELDS: Excuse me?

Q. How is it for you to sit there and watch him play and win this tournament?

BROOKE SHIELDS: It was very difficult, actually. It is a lot more difficult than I have anticipated, but I am getting better and I promised everybody in the group that I would get better, that I would breathe. I wasn't breathing at all in the beginning and now I am starting to breathe.

Q. Brooke, did you ever talk to your grandfather about tennis and what it was like to reach a Grand Slam final?

BROOKE SHIELDS: Actually, I really didn't talk to him much about tennis. I was a bit too young. I remember going to the Racket Club in South Hampton and I went with him a few times, he bought me my first little wooden racket, but he died when I was too young, really, and I never got-- I wasn't of age, really, to be that interested in tennis.

Q. How old were you when he died?

BROOKE SHIELDS: Actually, I was-- I am thinking I was five when he died.

Q. This is your father's father?

BROOKE SHIELDS: Yes.

Q. Have you got any of his tennis genes?

BROOKE SHIELDS: You know, it is strange, I have avoided tennis for a long time because there was pressure, there was a great deal of pressure for me to play tennis. My dad played tennis. And it wasn't until my little sister came along that she sort of took away some of that pressure for me. And recently I have been playing more tennis and I have a pretty good coach now, and so...

Q. Brad or Andre?

BROOKE SHIELDS: Andre seems to think that there are some of those genes in me, and he promises it's not because of bias, so...

Q. How did you guys meet?

BROOKE SHIELDS: We met-- mutual friend of ours had been wanting us to be introduced for about a year and it just took a really long time for us to meet, and we ended up communicating through writing to each other for a few months before ever meeting, so:

Q. Who is that friend?

BROOKE SHIELDS: Lindy, she's Kenny G's wife.

Q. Are you planning to play some more pro celebrity--

BROOKE SHIELDS: I played actually one pro celebrity Chris Evert, I was the comic relief.

Q. You won it.

BROOKE SHIELDS: Well, yes, we played severe doubles. Actually, you know it has been very-- it is a lot of fun for me now to learn to play the game. I don't have any bad habits that I have to overcome. So he has actually gotten me really fresh, so, he is getting me to play a very aggressive game and hopefully once I learn to serve a little bit better I will be out there giving my support.

Q. Brooke, Andre said God help the people who had to be around me the past two weeks; was it that bad?

BROOKE SHIELDS: It was not that bad. I think he wasn't giving himself enough credit. He handled himself over the past few weeks like a real gentleman, in many ways. I mean, I would have cracked under the pressure and yet he managed to maintain his sense of humor, and his respect for all of those that are lucky enough to be around him at all.

Q. How different is the Andre you have come to know from what you thought he might be like, based on the same image that everybody else had of him?

BROOKE SHIELDS: I didn't have a very strong image of him. I knew little bits of pieces of information that people had spoken of or that I had seen, but I hadn't really zoned in, and anybody who is in the public eye, I think, is sensitive enough to the fact that what is written about and what the reality is, can be two very different things. So, didn't have any severe preconceptions, but I will say that the more time that I spend with him, my opinion of him and my feelings towards him only improve. I mean, with every day I am amazed at the quality human being that he really is.

Q. How would you describe this two week experience?

BROOKE SHIELDS: I can't be selfish about it. People have been coming up to me and congratulating me. I have nothing to do with the way he plays tennis, you know, so I think I find that a bit odd. All I can do is love him and give him the support that he needs during this time. So this time-- these past two weeks has been a strange sort of period of time for me because it has not been about me or my world or anything; that is very, very important to me except for him. So I have been on the periphery, and it has given -- I have given myself a chance to have perspective about things that I haven't had before, so it is an odd period of time for me. I am rejoicing and yet it has been almost like a nice little vacation for me because all of my energy have been directed to him and what is important to him. It got me off myself a little bit, which is always nice.

Q. Have are you rehearsing now?

BROOKE SHIELDS: I have been working, but formal rehearsals don't start until October 15th.

Q. How much of a bond is it with him that both of you were celebrities at a very young age and had to deal with being in the public eye and a lot of attention and stuff; has that been any kind of a bond in your relationship?

BROOKE SHIELDS: I think so. I think that there is a sensability that one learns, if they have been in the public eye from a very young age; there is a certain level of pressure that one has to sustain that is very hard to translate to those people that don't-- possibly can't understand it firsthand. So if anything, we seek refuge with one another because we are able to leave a room like this and know that there is someone else that exists that is very understanding of what this must feel like. And that kind of compassion, I think, is necessary for any type of relationship.

Q. Last question.

BROOKE SHIELDS: Don't all jump up at once. Press conference at the U.S. Open. This is so strange. Thank you.

Q. When is the next time you got to go home and work on the stage? When is the next big tennis tournament you will be with him?

BROOKE SHIELDS: I will be at many of the XO's with him as I can be unless rehearsal starts-- until I start full steam ahead. It is going to be difficult for me. I am dark on Mondays so if he plays on Mondays, I will do my best to be there.

Interview

Brooke Shields - "What Makes a Family"

(Source : www.etonline.netscape.com)

Brooke Shields takes an acting challenge and plays a lesbian single mother fighting to keep her child. How did Brooke discover her maternal instincts?
Entertainment Tonight: You're working on "What Makes a Family." What kind of support did your character have in real life?

Brooke Shields: Well, she had some friends, but from the transcripts it was pretty obvious that this fight was kind of on her own. I think what ended up driving her was the love for her child.
There is this myopic focus that you see. To say, "was she cognizant during her whole journey?" -- I would say no. What I gathered from the transcripts is that it was less about that and more about getting her daughter back -- her rightfully owned place, her right as a mother.

ET: She didn't really see herself as strong or brave -- she was just doing what she had to do to get her daughter back...

Brooke: Yes.

ET: When you read through the transcript, what was the most compelling thing about it?
Brooke: It was interesting that so often huge battles are won, and you almost don't know you are fighting them. I was amazed at the clarity with which she continued to go forward. She did become hospitalized and I think a part of her just shut down...
Brooke (continued): But she didn't let anything get into her fight. I don't think she was deterred at all. I don't think she ever sat down and said, "I'm fighting this fight and this is what I'm going to do." I think it was just an instinctual kind of maternal thing. And if she didn't win, she was going to do it again. That was her path.
And that struck me because it was in an era that was even more difficult than it is now. This whole part of her life had been shut down. Then she began that path and her whole life changed. I don't think she thought she would ever have to fight that fight.

ET: Do you see her as totally groundbreaking? What kind of impact did she make? That was 20 years ago?

Brooke: I don't think she would consider her actions brave -- they just were what they were. Hopefully, now this will help shed light on the issue.
ET: How close will this story portray the real events?
Brooke: The script is very close, especially considering that it had to be truncated to do it in two hours. Everything in the transcript is accurate... for example, her lawyer telling her to wear a pink dress. All these little things are directly from the transcripts.
ET: Can you set up this scene for us, what happens here?

Brooke: Well, there was this blatant disregard for her connection to the family right after her partner died. They said, "you only have a right if you are the next of kin" -- no matter how many years you've spent with someone. I think that in Florida still today the right of blood takes place over any other bond. In the film, I go to the funeral and there is no place for me. It is very definitive for her that "you are not a part of this family, nor do you have any ownership or right to even mourn amongst the family."
ET: That is so heartbreaking.

Brooke: Yes, it's heartbreaking. It's sad that so many couples who have lived their lives together aren't given that right.

ET: What does the title mean, "What Makes A Family?"

Brooke: It's about the bond of love. We are so quick to define family based on biological fact, and so unwilling to declare our placement based on connection and love. I think our definition of family is different now than it was all those years ago. You are seeing many different versions of family today. I thank God that it is becoming more accepted -- through adoption -- whether it's race or gender.
ET: You have such amazing taste in projects. What about these projects makes you want to do them?

Brooke: I don't have a big master plan. I have to be moved by a story. There's no soap box I have to stand on... however, if I'm slightly afraid or slightly confused, usually I say yes. That's my psychotic way of doing things! If I can find a way to grow through every project, I feel good. I need to keep learning and growing!
When I read this script, I was impressed with how they were dealing with the subject, not so much as gender, but much more as a story of love. And as the title suggests, it deals with what really makes a family. This movie focuses on the love that is shared by this little girl and her parent. That impressed me because it was a different way of looking at a situation and dealing with it. I think people can learn a lot from it.
ET: This plot takes place quite a while ago, does it surprise you that its still an issue?
Brooke: I'm amazed that Florida is the only state that maintains this law. Some couples have been forced to go out of state to adopt children, it seems so archaic. It's such a shame. I think that is one of the things that this film will touch on, is that it did happen years ago, but it still is such an "alive" issue. This story will really educate people.
-- August 8, 2000

(Source : http://content.colleges.com/Umagazine/

As a baby, Brooke Shields was the face of Ivory Soap. At age 3, she toddled down the catwalk for the first time. She was so striking in appearance that by age 8, she was featured in a toothpaste ad - that didn't even show her teeth. The same year, she landed her first movie role in "Alice, Sweet Alice." Brooke became the first child client of Ford models, the casting agency for the world's most beautiful women. At the tender age of 12, she became a national phenomenon when she portrayed Violet, the pre-teen prostitute in French director Louis Malle's film, "Pretty Baby." At the point when most young stars crash and burn or end up in rehab, Brooke Shields ended up at Princeton University, graduating in 1987 with honors in French literature.

Perhaps more striking than her beauty or her intelligence is that after 30 years in the entertainment industry, it is virtually impossible to find anyone who dislikes Brooke. While she professes to have been a "brat" as a child, no one seems to recall it. On the contrary, Brooke is known for having a wicked sense of humor.

What she never had was privacy. Brooke grew up in front of cameras. Her face has been used to sell fashion magazines and products ranging from IBM to Revlon. She was featured on the cover of Life three times, and was utilized as "The Face of the Eighties" on Time magazine. However, life was not always perfect. Her mother was distinctly overbearing, and some of the decisions she made early in Brooke's career are reflected today - in the nude photos of a coifed, 10-year-old Brooke circulating on the Internet.

Along the way to college, Brooke somehow managed to have some "normal" childhood experiences - like participating in a school internship at the San Diego Zoo and developing a ghastly crush on singer George Michael (who later revealed to the world that he was gay). Of course, what made Brooke's crush different than any other high school girl's was that she actually met and started to date the superstar. However, while she was smitten, George was not. He dumped the young, sensitive Brooke the week before she left for college. She cried for a week.

When Brooke went off to college, she wrote a book entitled, "On Your Own," about college life - for which she received flack. She laughs when she thinks back to the experience. While she notes that some of the advice she gave remains pragmatic, she also acknowledges that her childhood and perceptions were "different from the norm." And, while she started out to write lofty theories on coping with freshman life, her editor turned the book into a "Dick and Jane" commentary peppered with such phrases as, "I like school," and, "School makes me happy." It wasn't exactly what Brooke had in mind.

Although Brooke has always tried to maintain her privacy and keep her private relationships out of the public eye, it hasn't always worked. When she developed a friendship with pop star Michael Jackson, the two became fodder for countless trashy tabloid headlines; and Brooke was hounded by paparazzi during her 1999 divorce from professional tennis player Andre Agassi. Now, her TV series, "Suddenly Susan," is approaching the end of its final season. Yet Brooke has managed to keep the external intrusions and the challenges in perspective, and she just keeps moving forward. One gets the sense that no matter how much she has already accomplished, Brooke is just getting started.

Brooke Shields speaks for herself in a U.Magazine exlusive interview:

What do your friends respect most about you?
I've been told that no matter what I achieve, I make time for my friendships and I don't act like my own time or goals are more important than theirs.

Do you do anything that makes your friends nuts?
I'm in constant motion. I don't know how to stop. I simply take everything on and I don't know yet how to have peace in my own heart. Sometimes [my friends] will "kidnap" me and make me do things like watch really bad TV and eat ice cream for hours.

What are the most important characteristics in the friendships you made during college?
Simplicity and loyalty. I need to know that people can accept me without placing me outside their daily circle. I need to know that I can really be myself and be accepted. Pressures at Princeton were very high and you needed the support of your friends. In college, you gain weight, your skin breaks out, the academics present a high level of anxiety - you need a place to feel safe, and that is with your friends. I still am very close to many of the women friends that I made there. I share an apartment in New York with one of them. I haven't stayed as close to some of my male friends, unfortunately. In several cases, they married women who were not comfortable with their husbands being friends with "Brooke Shields." It is sad.

Is it hard for you to have male friends?
Not for me. Last year I lost a very dear friend. And because he wasn't gay, and because we were not involved romantically, people had a very hard time understanding that friendship. Because they couldn't define us, they did not seem to be able to grasp the idea that we were just dear friends.

Do you miss anything from your college days?
I miss learning and the growth that comes with that. The days of reading screenplays can be vapid, and you find yourself fussing over minor details. Now that I have some time off, I really need to focus on learning again. The discipline that I gained in college has really helped me with my work ethic today. I learned at Princeton how to arrange my time. Also, I gained a great deal of pleasure from success in my classes - knowing that I could accomplish those things - and I realized that my success was directly proportionate to the work I put in.

How did you pick a major?
I wanted to be fluent in another language. I felt that I needed the major to accomplish that. Also, the English department was very large and the more classes I took, the more that French literature interested me.

So, how is your French today?
I could have a deep, meaningful conversation, but I'd have trouble getting my bike fixed. It takes me a few days of being in France to really start to get it back without having to conjugate in my head.

What was your favorite expression as a student?
"Have faith in your own thoughts." I learned in college that ultimately everything boils back down to that.

Who was your favorite teacher and why?
Professor Uitti. He taught Romance Languages, and he also taught me that I had original ideas. He helped me to feel safe with those ideas versus repeating back what others said. He is delightful. I still keep in touch with him. Whenever I'm going to do a new film I'll call and he will say, "Oh that story reminds me of this book, or that story," and he'll give me a whole wealth of references to read.

Where were your favorite getaways on campus?
I spent a lot of time at the student center, and there was a great muffin place right across the main street. The truth is that I studied so much, I didn't have large windows of time anywhere except in my cubicle at the library.

If you weren't an actor, what else might you have liked to do with your life professionally?
I could have easily worked with children and their education.

When you were a student, did you know you would go back to acting?
I didn't know it would matter to me. I was just focused on the university and knowledge.

Do you stay involved with Princeton?
Not directly - through friends. It was such a great time for me that I've actually avoided going back since I don't want to have anything in my mind change. I've thought about going to my reunion this year, but.... Princeton was the first place where I learned to work at something from the inside out, instead of having things work from the outside toward me. That has set a precedent for everything in my life.

What dreams haven't you yet fulfilled?
To be a mother.

If you could spend the weekend with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
Right now, it would be Wallace Stegner, who wrote "The Angle of Repose." He has a wonderful way of looking at life and commitment, and I'd love to pick his brain.

What are your favorite books?
C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity," Baudelaire's "Fleurs de Mal," and Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past."

What music do you listen to?
Bette Midler, Mozart, Bruce Coburn, and Eagle Eye Cherry.

What don't people know about you?
I don't know either.... Sometimes I think people choose one side or one element in me, or in others. Very few people see the whole picture. But I, personally, don't know that I need them to.