The skanner., November 26, 2014, Page 7, Image 7

Arts & Entertainment
Brook Shields: The ‘There Was a Little Girl’ Interview
B
rooke Shields is an
award-winning
actress and a Prince-
ton graduate with honors in
French Literature. She start-
ed in iconic films such as
“Pretty Baby,” “The Blue
Lagoon” and “Endless
Love.”
Brooke is also a renowned
model, and starred in the
long-running TV show
“Suddenly Susan” as well as
the
critically-acclaimed
“Lipstick Jungle.” She has
appeared on Broadway on
numerous occasions, too,
and wrote and performed in
her own one-woman show,
“In My Life.”
A gifted writer, Brooke
penned the New York Times
best-seller “Down Came the
Rain” and a couple of well-
received children’s books.
She lives in New York City
with her husband, Chris
Henchy, and their daugh-
ters, Rowan and Grier.
Here, she talks about her
life, her career, and about
her new memoir, “There
Was a Little Girl: The Real
Story of My Mother and
Me.”
Kam
Williams:
Hi
Brooke, I’m honored to
have this opportunity to
interview you.
Brooke
Shields:
Omigosh! Thank you, Kam,
you believe will
gain from it?
C ELEBRITY
BS: I think
I NTERVIEW
there’s a differ-
ence between
who will be
by Kam
interested
in
Williams
reading it and
those who might
be able to gain
perspective. I’ve
been around for
turning point which dictates
the rest of our lives. But I so long that those people
think we have to be open to who have actually grown up
additional turning points with me might read it just
when they arrive. Things for the trivia. However, I’m
happen in our lives. Class- hoping that younger audi-
mates graduate… careers ences will sort of tap into
change… babies are born… the part that simply deals
friends are lost… loved with getting to know your
ones die… There are so parents and asking them to
many milestones that I try to understand who you
believe are important to are. That’s a dialogue that
acknowledge as being sig- needs to happen.
nificant to you. That’s a
KW: Harriet Pakula-
very refreshing perspective
Teweles
asks:
What
that Lisa shares, because
there really isn’t just one becomes a legend most?
critical turning point in a That’s the old Blackgama
life, but rather a number that slogan. Do you remember
you’ll need to be willing those ads?
BS: I do! I do, Harriet!
kind of bend with.
KW: Sangeetha Subra-
manian says: You are
awesome Brooke! What
was your favorite spot to
hangout in Princeton?
BS: Ooh! Wow! In town,
it was all about food. I
became a bit addicted to
Thomas Sweets [ice cream]
KW: Harriet goes on to
say that “What becomes a
legend most?” is an interest-
ing question to pose to you,
given how you’ve been a
legend since childhood.
BS: Well, there’s a certain
sense of longevity that’s
associated with legends, as
being willing to fail, get up,
and try again.
KW: Documentary film-
maker Kevin Williams asks:
Can I ask a Blue Lagoon
question? Then he says: I
fell in love with you after
watching that film when I
was 12. But he forgot to ask
his question.
BS: well, the fact that he
was allowed to watch it
when he was 12 was pretty
forward-thinking of his
mom.
KW: Peter Brav says: I
look forward to reading the
memoir. I once sat next to
you and your mom at a din-
ner for the Israeli Film
Festival in 1983 and found
you both to be very charm-
ing. My question is: if you
hadn’t entered the entertain-
ment industry, what do you
think you’d be doing today?
BS: I’ve been in the enter-
tainment industry for so
long, before I even knew
that I wanted to be in it. So,
it would be hard to know
what else I might be doing. I
probably would have still
made my way into it some-
how because, to me, making
people laugh, and entertain-
ing, and watching people
Brooke Shields
experience storytelling is
one of the most rewarding
things I can imagine. So, I
think I would’ve found a
way to entertain people in
some capacity.
KW: Both Alice Yi and
environmental
activist
Grace Sinden, a Princeton
resident and former Prince-
ton University researcher,
ask: How important to you
and your career has been the
education you received at
Princeton University?
BS: It’s been the thing
that’s helped me stay stand-
ing.
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I’m hoping that younger audiences will sort of
tap into the part that simply deals with getting to
know your parents and asking them to try to
understand who you are
for wanting to. I’m losing
my voice a little bit, but I’ll
try to speak up. I hope it’ll
sound clear.
KW: I live in Princeton,
and once met you briefly,
when you were a student
here, in that tiny pastry shop
on Palmer Square. We were
both being waited on and I
remember being quite
stunned when I realized it
was you in line ahead of me.
But you were quite natural
when I said “Hi” and struck
up a little chit-chat about the
offerings in the case. Was
that a favorite place of yours
to frequent?
BS: Yeah, they had those
really big, like three-pound
bran muffins. [Chuckles]
KW: Yep! My readers
sent in a lot of questions for
you. Let me start with Edi-
tor Lisa Loving. She says:
Brooke, what an interesting
person you are! We are
around the same age and I
have always followed you.
What was the turning point
in your life? To me, it seems
that you have had more than
one.
BS: That’s a very astute
way of looking at it, Lisa.
Most people assume there’s
only supposed to be one
which is one of the reasons
why I gained about 20
pounds while I was in col-
lege. [Chuckles] Winberie’s
[restaurant] was always an
unbelievable, safe place
where we could go as a
group and have meals and
have fun playing games. I
don’t even know if it’s there
anymore.
KW: It is.
BS: I’m glad. Well, those
were my favorite spots in
town. At school, I felt very
free anywhere on campus.
On warm, sunny days, I
especially loved sitting out-
side the library, hanging out
by the fountain or camping
out in the fields behind the
independent study. They
were all amazing!
KW: Princeton has eating
clubs instead of fraternities.
Had they begun admitting
women when you arrived?
BS: Yes, although when I
went there in ’83, Ivy Club
was all-male when I arrived
and it was still all-male
when I graduated. I joined
Cap & Gown.
KW: Dave Roth asks:
Who is your intended audi-
ence for this book? Is there
a particular demographic
well as a sense of
endurance. I think what
becomes a legend most is
not only that which lasts the
test of time but an ability to
keep adapting. I’ve been
around for decades, and I’ve
tried to stay afloat by seiz-
ing upon opportunity when
presented to me. And the
opportunities presented to
me now look very different
from the ones in the Eight-
ies. But instead of waiting
for everything to happen in
the way you think it should,
it’s a matter of being able to
see what the real lay of the
land is, and figuring out
how you can play a part in
it.
KW: That makes me
think of Isabella Rossellini,
whom I interviewed a cou-
ple of weeks ago. She’s also
an actress who has made
herself over numerous
times.
BS: But besides being tal-
ented, she’s also smart,
artistic and beautiful.
There’s a beauty in her that
was considered amazing,
not the norm. Yet, she man-
aged to maintain a sense of
self through all of her films,
and she’s endured the test of
time. I think that’s what
“legend” is, in addition to
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