Brooke Shields on 'Pretty Baby' and the Transactional Nature of Beauty | Amanpour and Company

Brooke Shields is one of the most recognizable faces of our time. Sexualized in movies and commercials as a child star, Shields is now opening up about her life in the new documentary "Pretty Baby." Shields speaks with Christiane about the film, standards of beauty, and her hopes for her own daughters.

Originally aired on June 15, 2023

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Amanpour and Company features wide-ranging, in-depth conversations with global thought leaders and cultural influencers on the issues and trends impacting the world each day, from politics, business and technology to arts, science and sports. Christiane Amanpour leads the conversation on global and domestic news from London with contributions by prominent journalists Walter Isaacson, Michel Martin, Alicia Menendez and Hari Sreenivasan from the Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center in New York City.

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[lorijudd]

I am so glad she had the courage and inner strength to be herself, and make her own dreams come true.
Brooke, you didn't bow to the pressures I am sure you felt. You are an inspiration to those of us who always believed we had worth apart from our looks!!

[melstiller]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Behold Brooke Shields: she's just as beautiful as ever!

[Erik_The_Viking]

I remember watching Brooke from an early age. She still looks great! I'm amazed that she made it through the 80's and 90's.

[sxt]

It’s a miracle that’s she’s so level headed and has enough self-awareness to contextualize all that she was subjected to at such a young age. Loved the documentary!

[lisareynolds]

Brooke is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside!❤️

[murrynathan]

Weird. They’re discussing transactional beauty, then Christiane announces Brooke’s age and complements her on her appearance.

[Cathy-xicb]

Smart woman. Stunning child. Daughter of an alcoholic mother that didn't protect her when it mattered as she paid the family bills. Her interior life certainly did not match the beautiful exterior.

[jeffcampbell]

Brooke Shields could have so easily have become another of Hollywood's victims on a pedestal. Clearly, she had a stubborn instinct to develop a real life of friends, knowledge, and skills to sustain her through the madness of fame and the bizarre relationship with her mother/manager. Imagine the pressure and mind games of becoming the family breadwinner at three.

[imtired]

Sorry but I don’t know anyone who was more exploited than her. She’s an excellent specimen for research.

[christopher]

The only privileges that move the needle are good looks and wealthy parents.

[Nina.VanRobiart]

Her hollywood career life in a nutshell: pretty baby, blue lagoon.michael jackson, agassi. 😂

[imperialmotoring]

Beautiful women know they can get the attention of rich and famous men. Penn Jillette had hundreds of them even though he is married!

[FaePanx]

I think it’s gross the way she doesn’t take accountability for perpetuating child pornography and sexualizing children she is so gross to minimize this. I couldn’t finish watching the documentary. It’s filled with her blank stares of cognitive dissonance

[rez_tu]

She never has any good points or anything of value to say.

[nancychace]

I'd never heard of her until she showed up on more mainstream news back in the day. Just another pretty model. I've heard she's had to work through a lot of difficulty. Being objectified and not allowed to be yourself is dreadful, I know. Hope she's doing better now.

[January.]

She obviously made a great effort to make her voice much lower than her original voice. It sounds awful.

[joeb]

I always wonder about actors and the pressures of fame. Why they can’t just use their acting skills, add a wig, some makeup and different clothing and be anonymous. Maybe stop going to “in” restaurants and clubs.