Brooke Shields on Beauty, Marriage, And Self-Esteem

Andrew Eccles

Model, movie star, TV actress, Broadway performer, and children’s book author Brooke Shields continues her conversation with Health about aging, raising children, and growing up Bohemian.

Q: You may be 43, but you look 23, so clearly you’re doing something right. What’s the rest of your skin care routine?
A: I use a foaming cleanser. But I’ve been wearing so much makeup lately, I’ve started to break out—yeah, I’ve now decided to go through adolescence, because I didn’t go through it when I was supposed to! [laughs] The important thing is that my face is clean, but I have three things: I have to really cleanse my skin, use an astringent because of the breakouts, and then a really deep moisturizer.

I don’t care how greasy I look. It’s funny though, all these years, I’ve just found that there’s no miracle product. I love all of it. My husband perpetually makes fun of me about my creams and my jars and potions and lotions, but it’s simpler than anyone makes it: clean, tone, keep yourself moisturized. The rest is internal: Protect yourself from the sun and drink water.

Q: Is there any marriage advice that you think is just plain wrong?
A: That love is enough. It’s not practical. Without love, I don’t think it’s possible, but it’s not the only thing. Love without communication means nothing. Love with completely different views on how you want to raise children? Doesn’t work.

Love can produce the children, but it has nothing to do with the raising of the children. I grew up thinking, Oh, that’s it. All I have to do is fall in love. [sighs]. You may think love will change everything, but it really is different with children. Children don’t necessarily bring you together, they challenge you.

Q: Have you and Chris formed any habits to keep your bond strong?
A: We really have to have date night. The other morning, we had an hour. And instead of getting involved as we do with our emails and the calendar, I was like, “Please, let’s just go have coffee out on the porch.” He got the paper, and we went and sat out, and he had his glasses. I said, “Look at us, Grandpa!” It maybe lasted 45 minutes before life came back at us.

Q: With what sounds like a busy life, are you able to multi-task your workouts the same way you’re able to multi-task other things?
A: I used to. But the truth of the matter is, it really started to degrade the quality of the workout and the purpose of it to me. Because one of the things I feel after I’ve worked out most is that my mind needed the break. It’s the same thing with breastfeeding.

I used to do a million different things when I was breastfeeding, and finally my husband was like, “What are you doing? Don’t you think you’re missing out?” I thought I was being productive, and it wasn’t until I stopped doing all that, and…I’m gonna start to cry. But, watching her little cheeks go in and out, that’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in my life. And I took a deep breath, and my milk came in more. I have to remind myself all the time, things are just too busy. You need the balance.

Q: So you didn’t have a good sense of self-esteem when you were younger?
A: I had it, but it was a bit warped. I [used to think], ‘I’m going to be neat, organized and do really well in school.’ That was my thing. Confidence was just brain brain brain—that’s where all my sense of confidence came from. Nothing else. That was going to be my ticket. I don’t know how I knew.

Q: You’ve had a challenging childhood. How does that inform how you raise your daughters?
A: Well, I definitely see how unique my upbringing was, and how glad that they’re not being subjected to it. But I’m also so used to drama. I was always with a single mom and we never had schedules or anything. We were just Bohemian, us against the world, which was kind of great, but it certainly didn’t breed security. I’ve gotten hyper-sensitive to schedules and bath time, and eating at the dinner table. We don’t just “Bohemian” go out at nine o’clock and go get Chinese Food.

Q: You’re often seen wearing sleeveless dresses and toned arms, similar to Michelle Obama.
A: Do you know, I’ve been getting that! I just think that there’s so much to be proud of to see a physically fit woman. I think it’s so sexy. I’ve never not had them, and so, in order to not feel masculine or big, I had to throw it around in my head and celebrate it. I’ve never been petite, I’ve never been skinny. You have to flip it around and make it work for you.

Q: Do you ever need to lose a quick 5 pounds? And if so, what’s your go-to way?
A: I would cut out my beer, begrudgingly. And I would probably spin regularly, just up it. And I would probably stop eating at 6 o’clock and just eat little meals all throughout the day. I’ve never been good on fasts or anything, because then I’ll obsess over what I can’t have and I’ll want 10 pounds of it.

Q: Is there anything you’ve had to cut out of your busy life that you miss?
A: I feel like it’s as balanced as it’s going to be. I think once you have children, you just don’t have the same kind of freedom to pick up and go. But then, I sort of think, how often did I really do it? How spontaneous was I really? Part of what I think I miss is this fantasy of my wild days [laughs], but they never existed!

Q: You’re always trying something new, from Broadway to books to movies. Do you have to push yourself to try new things? Are you ever afraid you’re going to fail?
A: I just hate thinking I’m going to miss out. Now that I have these things under my belt, I think, ‘Wow, what else is possible?’ I’d hate to look back and think, ‘I could have written that book. Or, wow, I could have been a singer/dancer. I don’t like how I feel with regret.

Q: You’ve already done so much in life, but what’s left on your bucket list?
A: I want to go to India. I want to go back to Africa. I’m not the daredevil that I used to be—I used to really want to do all that bungee jumping, and now I just kind of want to live instead [laughs]. It just seems more appealing to me. I also want to write a memoir in the next 10 years. Ooh, also I want to learn to play an instrument; I definitely want to learn to play the piano.

Q: When do you feel at the peak of happiness?
A: I have to have just finished a Broadway musical, and I’m on a beach with my kids and my husband and the dog. I remember experiencing that minus the children after Cabaret, and the sense of relief and exhaustion I felt. Like, for me to be really relaxed, I have to be exhausted and feel like I so deserve it.