'Hollywood is predicated on eating its young': Brooke Shields condemns sexualization of child actors at SXSW panel

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Brooke Shields addressed the perils of growing up in Hollywood and being sexualized as a child actor while appearing on a panel at the 2024 South by Southwest (SXSW) festival on Friday, March 8, to commemorate International Women's Day.

The 58-year-old actress initially gained fame at 11 when she appeared in the 1978 movie 'Pretty Baby', where she played the role of a child being forced into prostitution by her mother.

Brooke Shields opens up about being sexualized as a child actor

Brooke participated in the SXSW panel 'Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen' alongside Meghan Markle and veteran news presenter Katie Couric, as per Fox News. 

The actress, who was forced to kiss the then-27-year-old 'Pretty Baby' co-star Keith Carradine when she was 11, confronted her horrific experiences in the 2023 Hulu two-part documentary 'Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields'. 

It focused on the actress' career and the harsh media attention she endured as a child star.

While discussing the "sexualization" of female children, Brooke said that she "was at the center of it. And I was promoting it and I was doing it."

She added, "And I was lucky because I was surrounded by a very strong mom. I never did move to Hollywood. I always went to regular school. So I had this sort of community around me that was protecting me, buoying me. And so I did not become the type of statistic that Hollywood created."

"Hollywood is predicated on eating its young," asserted Brooke.

Her late mother, Teri Shields—who often faced criticism for letting her daughter play racy parts at such an early age—supervised Brooke's career from the time she made her modeling debut at 11 months old till her 20s. 

Teri died in 2012 at the age of 79 from a protracted dementia-related illness.

Previously, Brooke has stated that she found it difficult to comprehend why her mother Teri did not step in during the making of 'Pretty Baby', explaining that her own children, Rowan Francis Henchy, 19, and Grier Hammond Henchy, 16, would not watch it, as per Daily Mail.

Brooke Shields addresses ageism in Hollywood

During her participation on the SXSW panel, Shields highlighted ageism in Hollywood and her resolution to be the voice for women over 40.

She noted, "At 58, you're too old to be the ingenue but not quite the granny yet. I find my reaction is to instead of get angry, find and ferret out the filmmakers who appreciate a woman over 40 and appreciate the life experience."

"The ‘we’ve raised the children, we've had the families, we've had businesses, we've had professional lives, we've left them, we've gone back to them," continued the 'What Makes a Family' star. 

She further said, "There are people out there who want to cater their programming to women of that age. My entire career has been built on beauty, as I've gotten older I want my message to be appreciative, but beauty as a wellness. We're not just wrinkle cream."

"We need to change the narrative and say that there is beauty in this age," demanded Brooke.