Why Hollywood Won't Cast Brooke Shields Anymore
Brooke Shields was one of the most famous faces on the planet in the 1990s. After forging a successful career as a child star with roles in coming-of-age drama Blue Lagoon, Shields was happily married to world-famous tennis player Andre Agassi, and had landed two Emmy nominations for her role in NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan.
However, her fame began to decline dramatically, and Shields disappeared from our TV and cinema screens. We take a look at the reasons why the actress is no longer America's sweetheart.
Her fame hungry mother
Shields began acting at 11 months, when she starred in an Ivory Soap commercial. Her mother, Teri Shields, was determined to make her famous. "I was her greatest creation," the actress told People magazine.
However, her mother made shockwaves in Hollywood with a series of shocking career decisions for her daughter, including letting her be photographed nude at the age of 10, and playing a child prostitute at the age of 12 in the movie Pretty Baby (1978), in which she appeared naked.
Shields had talent, but her mother was so desperate for fame it damaged her career.
The Blue Lagoon controversy
Shields was just 14 years old when she was cast in the coming-of-age drama in 1980 about two teens falling in love on a desert island, opposite Christopher Atkins, who was 18 when filming began.
Based on books by Henry De Vere Stacpoole, audiences and critics were outraged at the indecency of a teenage Shields appearing on screen seemingly topless (the film's crew maintained her hair was glued to her chest to prevent her exposing herself). Shields even had to testify in a Congressional hearing and confirmed older body doubles were used during some of the nude scenes.
Those shocking Calvin Klein adverts
Shields was just 15 and riding high on her Blue Lagoon fame when she modelled for Calvin Klein's now-iconic print and TV ads in the 1980s. In the infamous TV commercial, the teenager flirtatiously asked the camera, "You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing."
TV networks across the US promptly banned the ad for insinuating Shields, who posed provocatively in the skin-tight jeans, wasn't wearing any underwear.
Shields was beginning to gain notoriety, but for the wrong reasons.
Her fiery relationship with Andre Agassi
Shields married the tennis player in 1997, however Agassi's fiery temper only led to bad publicity for the actress. In her memoir, There Was A Little Girl: The Real Story of Mother and Me (2014), she recalled an embarrassing incident on the set of Friends in 1996.
After watching Shields film a romantic scene with Matt LeBlanc, Agassi told her she had "made him look a fool" and stormed off set. Shields said he later smashed up all of his tennis trophies.
Agassi and Shields divorced in 1999. He went on to marry Steffi Graf, while Shields wed screenwriter Chris Henchy in 2001.
She hit a career low after Suddenly Susan
Shields landed the lead in her first regular TV series in 1996, starring as columnist Susan Keane in the NBC comedy Suddenly Susan, alongside Nestor Carbonell and Kathy Griffin. She gained positive reviews for her comedic efforts, and seemingly nailed her TV debut. However, after the suicide of her co-star David Strickland (pictured far right) in 1999, the series was cancelled after four seasons in 2000.
Shields later guest starred in TV shows including Just Shoot Me, Nip/Tuck, Law and Order: Criminal Intent and Army Wives, but she never regained the dizzying success she enjoyed during her Suddenly Susan days.
Battling post-partum depression
Shields made a brave decision to come forward and confess to suffering from a severe form of post-partum depression after the birth of her eldest daughter Rowan in 2003. She had suicidal urges and visions of harming her baby, which made caring for her newborn difficult.
"My knees would get weak. I just cried all day long and I thought I'd made the worst mistake of my life," she told ABC News (via PsychCentral).
She wrote about her journey through the depression in the emotional book Down Came the Rain (2006), but her honesty may have been too much for Hollywood.
She had a of words with Tom Cruise
Shields came under fire from Tom Cruise, who slammed her for using anti-depressants to cure her post-partum depression. Cruise, who as a Scientologist opposes the use of prescription drugs, even cruelly joked fun at his former friend's failing career.
"I care about Brooke Shields because I think she is an incredibly talented women, (but) look at where has her career gone," he told Access Hollywood back in 2005 (via People).
The pair reconciled after Cruise issued an apology, and Shields even attended his wedding to Katie Holmes in 2006, but the damage to Shields' career was done.
Her bizarre relationship with Michael Jackson
Eyebrows were raised when the King of Pop confessed to being in a relationship with Shields to a shocked Oprah Winfrey during an interview for her talk show back in 1993. The actress, who first met Jackson when she was 13 and he was 20, opened up about their platonic relationship back in 2014.
"Of course we loved each other, but nothing happened romantically," Shields told People magazine. "He was terrified and sort of juvenile."
She defended their odd relationship after his death, and said their bond was "the most natural and easiest of friendships."
She turned to Broadway
Since appearing as the loveable bad girl Rizzo in the Grease Broadway revival in 1994, Shields has showcased her singing and acting skills on the stage in New York. Despite being shunned by Hollywood, Shields has starred as Roxie Hart in the Chicago production on Broadway and the West End in London in 2005, and even directed a special production of the Tony Award-winning musical at the Hollywood Bowl in 2013.
She even boosted ticket sales while starring as Morticia Addams in The Addams Family musical in 2011, proving she can make it outside La La Land.
Getting back on track
The 51-year-old is making a new name for herself in Hollywood, and that's behind the camera. Since producing a majority of the episodes of her sitcom Suddenly Susan, Shields now executive produces the Flower Shop Mystery TV movie series she also stars in for the Hallmark Channel.
Shields isn't just leaving her talents to the small screen, either. She's landed a talk show on radio station SiriusXM Stars, and is set to make her return to movies with the upcoming drama Daisy Winters, starring alongside Game of Thrones villain Iwan Rheon.