Emily Mack
Editors Note: This article was updated on April 27, 2023.
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Brooke Shields broke out as a major star when she was just 12 years old, portraying a child prostitute in Louis Malle’s 1976 film Pretty Baby. Though acclaimed, the movie shocked audiences with nude scenes of the young Shields. But it was not the first time that Shields had posed naked on camera.
Recently, the actress shared her side of the story in her new Hulu documentary, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields which portrays the journey of the ’80s icon as she overcame being sexualized at a young age. She also opened up about her challenging relationship with her alcoholic mother which led her to become a loving mother to her own children.
An Early Career
Led by her determined mother Teri Shields, Brooke Shields began modeling successfully when she was just a baby. She first appeared in an ad for Ivory Soap, shot by the famed fashion photographer Francesco Scavullo. Instantly, the industry noted Brooke’s talent and her unique look. Brooke eventually signed with Ford Models, the powerhouse agency of the 1970s. Co-founder Eileen Ford would later say she established the agency’s children’s division just for Brooke.
But not long after signing, Brooke would find herself at the center of a modeling controversy… when the child posed nude for Playboy.
Posing for Playboy
In 1975, a ten-year-old Brooke Shields posed for the photographer Garry Gross… and it was a decidedly edgy shoot.
Gross came from an artistic education, studying photography alongside legends Lisette Model and Richard Avedon and apprenticing with Francesco Scavullo (Brooke’s first photographer) before making a name for himself in fashion photography. He worked with numerous magazines by the time he agreed to shoot Brooke for Sugar and Spice, a book out from Playboy Press, in 1975.
Gross took roughly a dozen photos of Brooke that day as she posed nude in a marble bathtub. Her body, glistened with oil and her face, was excessively made up with lipstick, eye shadow, and rouge. A heavy, dark necklace contrasts sharply with her pale nakedness. For the pictures, Gross arranged Brooke’s tiny frame in different positions around the bathtub, sometimes clutching a flower, while she maintained serious eye contact with the camera. Like the scene, her expression appears hardened beyond her years.
That shoot, and its legality, all rested with Brooke’s mother Terri Shields. At the time, it was legal for a child to pose naked with a guardian’s consent. And Terri consented — for the $450 paycheck. Per the contract, Gross retained official ownership over the photos. And for a while, that deal was fine with both parties.
A Legal Battle
But then Brooke struck it big with Pretty Baby. Just two years after the Playboy shoot, the girl found fast international fame and Gross stood to make a killing with the rare, naked photographs. Brooke herself sued Gross in 1981, alleging that the work was harmful to her burgeoning reputation. And though she obtained a temporary ban on their use, in 1983, Judge Edward Greenfield ruled in Gross’ favor.
As Greenfield explained in his ruling, the issue rests on whether an underage model may disaffirm a guardian’s prior consent. And, according to section 51 of the Civil Rights Law, Greenfield said, “We hold that she may not.” He went on:
“From what the court has seen of his work, he is not a pornographer, but a photographer of extraordinary talent… photographs of his three youthful models contrasted with their sultry, sensual appeal… These are not pornographic shots or ‘nudie pix’ — they have no erotic appeal except to possibly perverse minds.”
— Judge Edward Greenfield, via Frieze
Gross would go on to display the photos in a 1998 exhibition with American Fine Arts, which was met with further protest. In artist statements released around that time, Gross confirmed the intent of arousal with his images. According to Frieze, he even went on to compare the work’s sensuality to the moment that “a four-year-old girl asked him for something ‘with a certain flirtatiousness, coquettishness.’”
Eww.
And that’s not the only time the photos were revived. In 1983, the artist Richard Prince made a name for himself by re-photographing famous photographs. In 1983, his work Spiritual America utilized Gross’ pictures of Brooke. And in 2000, the inclusion made headlines. The Tate Modern removed the questionable piece from its Pop Life exhibition.
Of the photos’ artistic merit, Prince said that Brooke displayed “a body with two different sexes, maybe more, and a head that looks like it’s got a different birthday.” Although the museum ultimately did not agree, Prince argues that the challenging aesthetic of this particular photography carried artistic merit.
The Continued Sexualization of Brooke Shields
The shoot for Playboy’s Sugar and Spice book was hardly the last time that young Brooke Shields was sexualized beyond her years. First, there was the star-making turn in Pretty Baby. And in 1980, the innuendo-laden series of commercials for Calvin Klein. The most famous — “You want to know what gets between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” — was even edited for American TV. At that point, Shields was just 15 years old.
The same year, the highly anticipated Blue Lagoon premiered and starred Shields as a young nymphette coming of age while trapped on a tropical island. She starred opposite 18-year-old actor Christopher Atkin in a very sexual storyline. Shields herself was 14 — and by that point understood the exploitative potential of her line of work.
However, this time around, a 32-year-old stunt coordinator named Kathy Troutt served as Sheilds’ body double. Trout filmed all the nude scenes.
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shield
Shields’ two-part documentary Pretty Baby is now available for streaming on Hulu, and it offers more than just a glimpse into the actress’s life. Although it is her personal story, the documentary delves into the larger issue of childhood stardom and the sexualization of young girls in a patriarchal society. It explores the challenges of regaining agency and dignity after years of being objectified as an unconsenting teen sex symbol. Pretty Baby is a powerful narrative that goes beyond Shields’ iconic career and sheds light on a common experience faced by many in the entertainment industry. Even for those who are not typically interested in celebrity documentaries, this one hits home with its authenticity and honesty.
The documentary offers a space for Shields to reflect on her career and life, including her complex relationship with her mother, Teri, her marriage to Andre Agassi, and her struggles with motherhood.
While critiquing the toxic culture and power structure that perpetuates misogyny and the sexualization of young girls, the documentary ultimately tells the uplifting story of Brooke Shields discovering and embracing her own identity and agency. It is a powerful and honest examination of a woman who has overcome obstacles and grown into a strong and admirable individual.
