Brooke Shields' youngest daughter, Grier, recalled first learning about her mother's sexual assault when she watched the actress' 2023 documentary “Pretty Baby.”
The two-part series took an in-depth look at Shields' career, detailing the intense media scrutiny and sexual objectification she faced as the star of the controversial films “Pretty Baby” and “The Blue Lagoon.”
In “Pretty Baby,” which premiered in February 2023 at the Sundance Film Festival, Shields, 59, revealed for the first time that she had been raped when she was 20 by an unnamed industry professional.
Grier recently joined her mother and sister Rowan, 21, for an interview with People magazine, where she recalled her shock at the revelation.
“I was learning things at the same time as the world and I took it deeper and more personally,” Grier said. “I couldn't even finish it.”
Brooke Shields' youngest daughter, Grier, learned of her mother's sexual assault while watching the actress' documentary “Pretty Baby.” (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
Shields, who shares two daughters with husband Chris Hency, explained that Rowan knew about the assault, but Grier was unaware.
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“I didn't prepare her,” the model admitted. “It was a miscommunication. I had explained to her that it was an exploration of the sexualization of women in my industry, but I naively thought that because we had such a solid, healthy, fairly normal existence and I'm not completely damaged, she would be like, 'Wow, you've been through a lot, but look where we are today.'”
The two-time Golden Globe nominee said she regretted not talking about her experience with Grier beforehand after seeing her daughter's reaction.
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Shields said he “learned a lot from listening” to Grier and Rowan. (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)
“I said, 'But there's a happy ending,' and she said, 'I will never accept the thought that anything bad happened to you,'” Shields recalled.
“She ended up missing out on the happy part,” the actress continued. “She felt helpless, and as mothers, we make mistakes and sometimes we make assumptions.”
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“Watching the documentary or seeing your parents as a public figure that other people have opinions about is just a weird situation,” Shields acknowledged.
“Part of being a mother is learning from your children,” she said. “I've learned a lot from listening to them.”
The actress shares Rowan and Grier with her husband, Chris Henchy. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for WarnerMedia)
“Pretty Baby” premiered in April 2023 on Hulu. In a March 2023 interview with People magazine, Shields opened up about being sexually assaulted and explained why she was ready to share her story after more than three decades.
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“It took me a long time to process it… I was never prepared before. I had to process it in my own way and on my own terms,” Shields said.
“Everyone processes their own trauma on a different timeline… I just felt like now was the right time.”
