I was ‘the face’ of the 80s – now men are offended I’m 59 but there’s more to me than sex appeal, says Brooke Shields

IF anybody understands Hollywood’s obsession with sex appeal, it’s famous American actress Brooke Shields.

Shields is all-too-familiar with the industry, starting out as a child model at just 11-months-old.

She later garnered widespread notoriety for appearing in nude shots for Louis Malle’s film Pretty Baby when she was just 11.

Now 59, Shields spoke candidly to the Daily Mail about championing her identity and how as she has aged, she’s realised her “external perceptions” don’t match up to her “internal sense of self”.

Brooke said the first time her revelation hit her was in her home of New York, as she walked down the street with her daughters, Rowan (21) and Grier (18).

Brooke said it was “impossible” not to notice admiring looks from people on the street – but to her surprise, they weren’t aimed at her.

As she processed her feelings (a mix of “protectiveness, pride and melancholy”), Brooke started to wonder if her time as an iconic pin-up girl was up.

But this feeling kick-started her journey to finding her real identity and realisation that she doesn’t exist to make men feel “virile”.

Over the years, Brooke has faced ageist comments from casting producers, agents and even dermatologists.

All have been quick to pick out the “flaws” of her ageing skin and body.

But she recalls one particular encounter that stood out to her amongst the rest – where she felt she had “offended” a man by revealing her age.

Attending a friend-of-a-friend’s event, Brooke had struck up a conversation with the newly-divorced male host.

The acquaintance offered to show Brooke his extensive vintage wine collection, before making a quip about the year he was born.

He joked about his own vintage, being born in 1972.

Brooke jokingly replied that she had him “beat”, being born in 1965.

She saw her host’s face “drop” as he replied tactlessly – seemingly disappointed in Brooke’s age.

Brooke told the Daily Mail: “Only moments before, this man had been borderline flirty. But the moment he knew my actual age, the atmosphere chilled.”

Brooke felt as though his shock stemmed from remembering her past as a “pin-up from his childhood”.

She blamed his bad manners on his inability to understand that she, like everybody else, would inevitably age and no longer look like the glamorous image of her he held in his memory.

Brooke said she now just feels “disappointed” in men for their lack of understanding towards women.

She told the Daily Mail: “We could certainly be met with a little more celebration when we reach our ‘later’ years.

“What I’ve seen happen instead is that as we grow more comfortable with ourselves and more confident, men grow more threatened. They simply don’t know how to adjust.”

Although she admitted she’s “not immune” to the societal pressure and ingrained urge to “fix” ourselves in a bid to remain youthful.

Brooke says she shares self-doubt and concerns over her looks just like everyone else, describing looking at her knees and thighs, and seeing melted “Silly Putty”.

Reflecting on some of the harsh criticism she faced in her younger years, Brooke said: “I was very specifically told I wasn’t runway-worthy because I wasn’t skinny enough… And being told you are ‘the face’, you begin to believe that’s all you are – a face”

Brooke’s career has had it’s share of controversy – she featured in Calvin Klein’s ‘Love my Calvins’ campaign in 1980, an ad that caused outrage thanks to its questionable line: “Do you know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing” read by then-15-year-old Brooke.

Another eyebrow-raising assignment was her cover of Life magazine in 1983 – where 17-year-old Brooke posed in a tiny red bathing suit next to the headline ‘Brooke Brings Back The Bikini’.

But Brooke reflects on her value, saying with age she has realised she is so much more than just her looks.

She says older women “embody vitality”, describing them as “smart, vibrant, powerful and ambitious”.

And she won’t slow down or cave to the idea that it’s all downhill after 40 – instead, she’s giving herself space to just be Brooke.