Brooke Shields radiantly graced the cover of the new AARP The Magazine (ATM) April/May 2024 issue in a chic monochromatic outfit and shimmering gold jewelry. During her discussion with the publication, the Endless Love alum, 58, candidly spoke about her views on aging and the importance of embracing beauty positivity in her late fifties.
“Beauty, now, to me, means freedom. Beauty isn’t as precious, in the same way, that it was when I was a kid,” she recently told the outlet. “When I was younger, it was a burden and a responsibility. Everything was precious,” she added.
Brooke Shields Gets Candid About Beauty Positivity In Her Late 50s In New AARP ATM Interview
In her 2023 documentary "Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields," Shields devoted considerable analysis to the notion of beauty, drawing on her own portrayal as a child prostitute in the 1987 film of the same name.
"The ‘Pretty Baby’ documentary definitely empowered me," Shields revealed to ATM. "I had never seen my life in its entirety. It made me feel very proud of my resilience and that little girl. I would be shocked as a kid to know that there would come a time that I would feel like I was enough. I would be shocked if I knew that I would one day really be confident and like myself," she recalled.
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For the ATM cover image, the Blue Lagoon star donned a tan button-down top, matching trousers, stacked wooden bangle bracelets and shiny gold hoop earrings. Shields wore her caramel-colored tresses down, parted in the center and styled into elegant loose waves. As for her makeup look, Shields opted for black liner, voluminous lashes, rosy blush and a berry lipstick hue.
From a tender age, Shields said she was objectified and oversexualized during her time in Hollywood. Later on, she revealed that she grew accustomed to others passing judgement on her physical appearance.
"You have to change the narrative. It’s an affront to people if Brooke Shields gets older," she dished to the mag. "You can’t grow up, you cannot age. It’s disappointing to them that I don’t have the same face I had when I was 16," she went on.
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The mom of two then opened up about the many positive aspects she has found in growing older. "But it’s been so liberating for me not to worry about it all the time," she noted. "The pressure of being skinny is just so exhausting. I like food, and I like tequila!"
Shields also said that she embraces the beauty of her current age and weight, and the fact that the latter can sometimes fluctuate. "If I have a job to do, I know that I’m going to look better if I’m a little fitter. But I also look younger when I have extra weight. What was it Catherine Deneuve said? ‘At a certain age, you have to choose between your face and your a--,’" Shields joked.
Shields also expressed that she is welcoming this phase of her life by introducing a website that caters to women over the age of 40."We’ll be creating a platform for women over 40 so they can age joyously and with confidence and vitality and say, ‘We don’t have one foot in the grave, people!’" Shields elaborated regarding her new project, Beginning Is Now.
"Founding a company is not for the weak of heart. I’ve never experienced anything like it before," she said. "It’s hard to ask for money, especially from men who have already left their wives who are my age and are on to the younger model," the actress quipped.
Shields continued: "But I’m getting a kick out of wowing them with how much I know. And it’s very empowering, because I’m not doing it in a snotty way. I’m just owning the power that I’ve learned I have."
