Brooke Shields held nothing back when it came to her thoughts about aging, which is the focus of her memoir Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old.
From what she feels about her actual age to how Father Time has affected her body, the Pretty Baby actress laid bare the pressures and joys of getting older in the book, which was released on January 14, 2025.
Brooke wrote that her body is that of a life well lived, even though she misses the “gifts of youth.” The Mother of the Bride star also dished about how she wishes she had the sex drive of her younger days, as intercourse is now “painful.”
The former Calvin Klein model is optimistic about the future, hoping to become fluent French again and learn to play an instrument.
Brooke Shields Feels Confident at 59
“Generally speaking, at 59, I feel more confident than I ever have. I’m more comfortable in my skin and have stopped comparing myself to this ideal or worrying about that expectation. But I’ll admit that even as I’m experiencing this newfound sense of satisfaction, I have to remind myself, sometimes daily, that I am good enough,” The Blue Lagoon actress explained.
“The old negative tapes are lying in wait in the Walkman (remember those!?), ready for me to press play at any moment. But I also realize that if I don’t wear makeup or the ‘right’ jeans size and someone has a problem with it, that’s on them,” she added with sass.
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Brooke Shields’ Body Reflects a Life Well Lived
“Yes, I continue to exercise and take care of my skin, but I think of it now as a privilege, because it makes me feel better. Do I sometimes wish that all my bits had remained higher and perkier? Or that I had the same skin that appeared on the cover of Life magazine in 1983? Of course I do! Who doesn’t miss the gifts of youth?” Brooke told readers.
“But this is a body — and soul — that has carried me through a lot, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I think I deserve some credit for this life well lived. We do all this work and get through hard times and suddenly you have a line on your face, and that one little wrinkle carries more weight than decades of accomplishments,” she continued.
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Brooke Shields Suffered a Loss of Sex Drive
“I had a fervent sex drive when I was young, but I never felt like I could step into that appetite in the way that I wanted to,” Brooke wrote. She remained a virgin until the age of 22, having sex for the first time with her college boyfriend. “I waited that long because I had the weight of the world on me. And even once we started sleeping together, I never really let loose,” she explained to readers.
“And now here I am, more than 35 later, sometimes pretending I’m asleep when I know Chris is in the mood. And that has nothing to do with Chris — he’s hot!” she wrote of her husband, Chris Henchy.
“I’m going through all the bodily s–t that comes with aging as a woman even in the best of times — the thinning hair and the peach fuzz and the brand-new belly fat and vaginal dryness and the diminishing sex drive — and in my natural state I feel less appealing to him than I ever did before.” Brooke lamented.
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Brooke Shields Needs ‘Lotions and Potions’ to Enjoy Sex
“On a personal level, I’m in a place where sex can be painful,” she told readers.
Brooke revealed that her pain was the result of a male plastic surgeon she referred to as “Dr. Malpractice,” because he performed an unwanted vaginal rejuvenation without her consent when she underwent a labia reduction procedure.
“For me to fully enjoy sex at this point, I need my lotions and potions, the right sleepwear (maybe calling it sleepwear is contributing to the problem), my special pillow, and maybe a tequila so I can relax,” she wrote.
“My doctor told me I should start taking testosterone — sure you might get a few more whiskers, but that’s what tweezers are for — but I haven’t gotten there yet,” she continued. “For now, I’m counting on the old ‘the more you have it, the more you’ll enjoy it’ approach.”
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Brooke Shields Requires Strong Reading Glasses
“I get tired now in a way I never did before. I literally can’t read the fine print, and I hate it. I used to get mad at my mom for always misplacing her reading glasses, and now it’s me saying ‘Grier, honey, have you seen my readers?’” she joked to readers, referring to her daughter, Grier Hammond Henchy, who she shares with Chris. The couple are also parents to a second daughter Rowan Francis Henchy.
Brooke continued, “I like doing needlepoint and puzzles, which admittedly feels a bit geriatric. Am I in my Mahjong era?? I need 2.5s for these granny activities!”
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Brooke Shields Didn’t Want to ‘Drastically’ Change Her Appearance
“I look back sometimes and feel like I’ve done something wrong because I no longer have the body or the face that I used to have. And yet, if I did anything drastic to hold on to my looks from my youth or to stop aging, I’d be judged or chastised for that, too,” Brooke explained about plastic surgery.
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Brooke Shields’ Dreams for the Future
“Of course, as proud as I am of how far I’ve come … there is still so much that I want to do. I want to pile into a camper with my daughters and my husband and take a cross-country road trip (although we’d probably end up killing each other, and the romance of the Porta Potti would surely wear off quickly). I want to learn to play an instrument. I want to get back to being fluent in French (it was my college major, after all). I want to travel to places I haven’t been. The list goes on,” Brooke revealed in the memoir.