the norm.” And, while she started out to write
lofty theories on coping with freshman life, her
editor turned the book into a “Dick and Jane”
commentary peppered with such phrases as, “I
like school,” and, “School makes me happy.” It
wasn’t exactly what Brooke had in mind.
Although Brooke has always tried to maintain
her privacy and keep her private relationships out
of the public eye, it hasn’t always worked. When
she developed a friendship with pop star
Michael Jackson, the two became fodder for
countless trashy tabloid headlines; and Brooke
was hounded by paparazzi during her 1999
divorce from professional tennis player Andre
Agassi. Now, her TV series, “Suddenly Susan,” is
approaching the end of its final season. Yet Brooke
has managed to keep the external intrusions and the
challenges in perspective, and she just keeps moving
forward. One gets the sense that no matter how
much she has already accomplished, Brooke is just
getting started. Here, she speaks for herself:
What do your friends respect most
about you?
I’ve been told that no matter what I achieve, I
make time for my friendships and I don’t act like
my own time or goals are more important
than theirs.
Do you do anything that makes your
friends nuts?
I’m in constant motion. I don’t know how to
stop. I simply take everything on and I don’t
know yet how to have peace in my own heart.
Sometimes [my friends] will “kidnap” me and
make me do things like watch really bad TV and
eat ice cream for hours.
What are the most important
characteristics in the friendships you made
during college?
Simplicity and loyalty. I need to know that
people can accept me without placing me
outside their daily circle. I need to know that I
can really be myself and be accepted. Pressures at
Princeton were very high and you needed the
support of your friends. In college, you gain
weight, your skin breaks out, the academics
present a high level of anxiety — you need a place
to feel safe, and that is with your friends. I still
am very close to many of the women friends that
I made there. I share an apartment in New York
with one of them. I haven’t stayed as close to some of
my male friends, unfortunately. In several cases, they
married women who were not comfortable with
their husbands being friends with “Brooke
Shields.” It is sad.
Is it hard for you to have male friends?
Not for me. Last year I lost a very dear friend.
Brooke Shields Filmography
1999 The Bachelor
1999 The Weekend
1999 “The Almost Perfect Bank Robbery” (TV)
1999 After Sex
1999 Black and White
1998 The Misadventures of Margaret
1998 “AFIs 100 Years ... 100 Movies” (TV)
1997 Scratch the Surface
1996 “Suddenly Susan” (TV Series)
1996 Freeway
1995 “Nothing Lasts Forever” (TV mini-series)
1994 The Seventh Floor
1993 “I Can Make You Love Me” (TV)
1993 Freaked
1992 Un Amore Americano
1992 Running Wild
1990 Backstreet Dreams
1989 Brenda Starr
1989 Speed Zone!
1988 “The Diamond Trap” (TV)
1984 The Muppets Take Manhattan
1984 “Wet Gold” (TV)
1983 Sahara
1981 Endless Love
1980 The Blue Lagoon
1979 Just You and Me, Kid
1979 Wanda Nevada
1978 King of the Gypsies
1978 Pretty Baby
1978 Tilt
1977 “The Prince of Central Park” (TV)
1977 Ffoly Terror
1977 Alice, Sweet Alice
Upcoming Projects
Black and White
Brooke plays a documentary filmmaker
chronicling the lives of Upper East Side white kids
infiltrating the hip-hop scene. Brooke
co-stars with Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Stiller.
Release date: April 5, 2000
The Weekend
Recently screened at the Hamptons Film Festival,
Brooke co-stars with Gena Rowlands and Deborah
Cara Unger. Awaiting release date.
“The Misadventures of Margaret”
Screened at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival,
Brooke co-stars with Parker Posey, Jeremy
Northam, and Elizabeth McGovern. Awaiting
release date.