Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields

What’s it about?

Brooke Shields opens up about her life as a child model and the sexual objectification she endured during her rise to fame as a teen actress. The two-part documentary features interviews with her peers from within the film industry and clips from the films she has starred in.

The facts

• English language
• Two episodes, each around 60 minutes
• Features interviews with other well-known stars, including Drew Barrymore, Laura Linney and Judd Nelson

Why did it get this rating?

This series was self-rated by Disney+. You can find out more about self-rating by streaming providers here.

Sex

The documentary explores the objectification of Brooke, her struggles with understanding her own sexuality, and the media’s obsession with her virginity.

Brooke talks about an adult male threatening to publicly share nudes that were taken when she was 9 years old.

At 12 years old, Brooke starred in Pretty Baby, a film about a sex worker. Clips from the film are shown and Brooke talks about having to kiss an adult male during filming.

There is some imagery of adult women posing nude and a close-up of a woman’s breast.

As an adult, Brooke talks to her teen daughters about the importance of consent, the ethics of sexualising children and the messages her films send to audiences.

Sexual violence

Brooke talks about getting raped by an older male working in the film industry. She describes the fear she experienced at the time and the feelings of guilt and shame she felt during the aftermath.

Mental health

The documentary includes conversations about Brooke’s struggles with mental health, such as feeling like a commodity, disassociation, and postpartum depression. She expresses a need for women to normalise talking about postpartum and describes the horror of wanting to kill her new-born baby.

Cruelty

Brooke reflects on her relationship with her mother, who was an alcoholic. She talks about feeling responsible for providing enough income for them to live, feeling exploited by her mother, and the controlling nature of their relationship.

Violence

There are two mild references to violence:

• While filming a sex scene a director twists Brooke’s toes to make it seem as though she was experiencing pleasure.
• Brooke’s ex-husband gets jealous and smashes all of his tennis trophies.

Offensive language

“F**k”, “sh*t”, “b*tch”, “wh*re”, “sl*t” and “pr*ck” are occasionally mentioned.

Further reading

• The dark side of being a child star: Brooke Shields’ Pretty Baby and underage images
• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?

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