Brooke Shields juggles motherhood, on and off screen
Her young daughter struggles to understand why other kids call her ‘Mom’
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Shields back in prime time Feb. 7: The actress talks about her new TV show, “Lipstick Jungle,” her similarities to her character, Wendy, and being a Candace Bushnell fan. Today Show Entertainment |
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Brooke Shields may have a bold new role in NBC’s “Lipstick Jungle,” but she recently had to tread lightly playing Hannah Montana’s deceased mother.
That’s because Shields’ real-life daughter had a little trouble differentiating pretend from the real world during a recent scene with Disney Channel star Miley Cyrus.
“She was in the audience and I hugged Miley and I say, ‘It’s all right, Baby Girl, you’re going to be all right,’ ” Shields told TODAY co-host Meredith Vieira on Thursday. “Well, I call my daughter ‘Baby Girl.’
“And Rowan stood up in the middle of the audience and said, ‘No, she’s my momma for real life.’ ”
So Mother Brooke tried to make things better.
“Miley was so sweet,” Shields said. “She brought her out of the audience and she said, ‘I want to thank you for sharing your mom with me.’ ”
Little Rowan, just 4 years old, accepted the greeting, but with caution.
“My daughter was like, ‘Well, she’s my momma for real life,’ ” Shields said.
The tube on the tube
Part of Shields’ real-life now is touting “Lipstick Jungle,” a comedy-drama that debuts tonight. The series is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Candace Bushnell, whose earlier writings were the basis of the hit HBO series “Sex and the City.”
Shields plays movie executive Wendy Healy, who commiserates about her struggles to balance career and family with two of her best friends.
Like “Sex and the City,” “Lipstick Jungle” plays out in New York, Shields’ home.
“The friendship with the women is not catty and it’s not bitchy,” said Shields, now 42. “It’s really about supporting and it’s about meeting the men in your life.
“To be able to work in this city and have New York as the backdrop, and have that sort of set the precedents for the energy of the show. It’s fun to be home again.”
Shields said it was her love of Bushnell’s work, particularly her book “Trading Up,” that attracted her to the script.
“I know this city and I know these women,” Shields added. “And yet, even though it is in this city, the themes that she deals with are so universal. Already, where the characters have gone, [they] are so fulfilling as an actor and a New Yorker.”
‘Pretty Baby’ and beyond
Shields’ career started early, with some controversy. At age 12, she played a child living in a brothel in 1978’s “Pretty Baby.” She had nude scenes in 1980’s “The Blue Lagoon” and 1981’s “Endless Love.”
At 14, she was the youngest model to appear on the cover of Vogue magazine and appeared in notorious print and TV ads for Calvin Klein jeans.
Shields took a hiatus from acting to attend Princeton University from 1983-87. She was married to tennis star Andre Agassi from 1997-99. Her acting career got back on track from 1996-2000 in the NBC sitcom “Suddenly Susan,” for which she earned a People’s Choice Award and two Golden Globe nominations.
She also played the Broadway stage in productions of “Grease,” “Cabaret,” “Wonderful Town” and “Chicago.”
Finding her way to “Lipstick Jungle” wasn’t easy. Shields said she fell in love with the characters and plans were made to meet with NBC when the script was ready.
“Then I got knocked up,” she said.
Shields said she was resigned to just “being a fan,” but while she was pregnant with daughter Grier in 2006, the show went through a rewrite.
Now that she has the dream part, Shields draws comparisons between herself and her character.
“I’m a perfectionist like she is,” she said. “I never feel like I’m doing anything perfectly enough. She juggles a lot and I appreciate her passion and I also appreciate her heart. I think I understand the way her heart works because she wants so much the best for everybody.”
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