Famed for her beauty since she was just a child, it’s hard to believe that even Brooke Shields could ever have felt insecure over her good looks. But following a sudden health scare, the actress feels free to prioritise her wellbeing over chasing the fountain of youth.
WATCH NOW: Brooke Shields Is Interviewed On ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’. Article continues after video.
“I had a full-blown grand mal seizure…” the 58-year-old told Glamour in an interview, as she was named one of the magazine’s 2023 Women of the Year.
The condition, now referred to as a tonic-clonic seizure, causes the sufferer to completely lose consciousness while they have violent muscle contractions. It is often caused by epilepsy or a stroke.
“Everything starts to go black. Then my hands drop to my side and I go headfirst into the wall,” Shields explained of the scary experience. “It means frothing at the mouth, totally blue, trying to swallow my tongue. The next thing I remember, I’m being loaded into an ambulance. I have oxygen on.”
Following treatment and testing in the hospital to rule out serious causes, Shields was told the seizure had been caused by “low sodium”.
The incident occurred back in September when the mum-of-two was performing her cabaret show, Previously Owned by Brooke Shields, at the Café Carlyle in New York City. Singing rehearsals had caused her to drink much more than normal.
“I had had too much water,” she said. “I flooded my system, and I drowned myself.”
Shields then explained that the doctor informed her the solution was to, “Eat potato chips every day.” It’s advice that the star is ready to embrace to be kinder to herself, so she can focus on the things she really finds important.
“I love food and I love alcohol and I love life and I want to be healthy for my heart,” she said. “I don’t like going to the gym. I like Pilates. That’s where I am. And I am tired of not feeling skinny enough. It’s boring and it’s a waste of my time.”
Shields has been modelling since she was just 11 months old. She shot now-infamous nude scenes when she was just 11 for the 1978 film, Pretty Baby, in which she played a child forced into prostitution.
Hearing revelations of the Blue Lagoon actress being comfortable in her own skin is not surprising this year. After four decades of living in the spotlight, Shields has increasingly been standing up for herself and taking charge of her story.
In January, her docuseries, also called Pretty Baby, debuted, which she used to shed light on the many controversies that have shrouded her life. This included sharing her experience of being cast in a provocative ad for Calvin Klein and her complicated relationship with alcoholic mother Teri, who Shields financially supported as a child when she became the family’s main breadwinner.
“I’m amazed that I survived any of it,” Shields said tearfully during the doco. “I was struggling to find my own voice … I wasn’t told it was important to have agency. I found my confidence and thought, ‘I can have my own opinion.’”
Shields has been happily wed to husband Chris Henchy since 2001. The pair share two daughters, Grier, 17, and Rowan, 20.
Since hitting her fifties, she admits to feeling an increase in confidence and sexier than ever. “I’m continually learning how to love myself,” she told Yahoo! in 2021.
“I live much more in my body now than I ever did. My body actually feels like it belongs to me. And I can’t say that about my youth.”
Despite her turbulent childhood and controversial career, Shields hasn’t let this put her off having her children pursue their dreams. Grier has started modelling this year, with Shields even joining her for a shoot with Victoria’s Secret.
“The more I fought her, the more she was going to fight,” she said.
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