Brooke Shields > Quotes

“Smoking kills. If you’re killed, you’ve lost a very important part of your life.”
― Brooke Shields

“Don’t waste a minute not being happy. If one window closes, run to the next window—or break down a door.”
― Brooke Shields

“You are only as pretty as you are nice and smart.”
― Brooke Shields

“I think, as we get older, quality matters more, and we just don't have time for relationships that aren't additive to our lives.”
― Brooke Shields, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman

“associate me with names that connoted fame, money, and power. These were the relationships she supported, also because they were less attainable. She loved that I had briefly dated John Travolta, Jimmy McNichol, Leif Garrett, Scott Baio, and John Kennedy.”
― Brooke Shields, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me

“When you overcome hurdles, when you try things that are hard and new—that is how you grow your confidence,”
― Brooke Shields, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman

“High school basically continued with bouts of her getting drunk and then stopping for a day. There was not one major moment or birthday celebration during which she could remain sober. I learned how to plan my joy. I would front-load my birthdays with breakfast activities or plan to be with her for only the beginning of an event. Then I would go off to be with friends and know that that would be the last I would see of my mother’s real facial expressions.”
― Brooke Shields, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me

“I believed for a long time that I could affect my mother’s drinking. Like many children of alcoholics, I thought if I asked a certain way, or made some type of deal with my mother where I promised something, it would be compelling enough to make her stop.”
― Brooke Shields, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me

“When we're younger, regret has some value - it can encourage us to make better choices. But as we age, the ability to let go of regret is tied to both emotional and physical health. After all, regret is about the past.”
― Brooke Shields, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman

“My feelings about my mother and about our relationship are so confused that to write them down with clarity would mean I had them all figured out, which I do not. —Brooke Shields’s diary”
― Brooke Shields, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me

“No. I wanted to talk to you first.” It was true that I had not told our lawyers yet. I wanted to keep to my word about this being a personal decision and I wanted to show her respect by coming to her in person, and first. I was a bit hurt that she thought I had already contacted an actual lawyer but felt clean knowing I had not. The idea had not come from Perry or Andre—they were just helping with practical elements. “Well then, do whatcha gotta do.” There was a hint of her thinking it bullshit that I wanted to save our personal relationship. I saw her smirk as if I were just using it as the excuse. She was a mix of hungover and”
― Brooke Shields, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me

“My unhappiness was rooted in my mother’s inability to stop drinking. My sense of worthlessness stemmed from feeling insecure as to who I was and inadequate in getting my mother to stop drinking. I had lower self-esteem,”
― Brooke Shields, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me

“felt abandoned by her when she drank, but as long as I wasn’t hurt and she was accounted for and alive, I could justify that everything was all right. Never really knowing what I was going to come home to established a constant underlying sense of anxiety in my gut. I remained unrealistically optimistic that every day would be different. Mom would keep her promise and not get drunk at that birthday or that particular function.”
― Brooke Shields, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me

“Sometimes shit happens. It's hard to accept that, because it feels like chaos, but it's the truth. It doesn't mean you aren't thankful enough or that you're moving too fast or your priorities are out of whack. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason.”
― Brooke Shields, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman

“To me, being spooned has always been an instant sleeping pill. This closeness with my mom gave me the utmost feeling of comfort and safety.”
― Brooke Shields, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me

“What would it feel like in my body if I told myself I’m smart, I’m talented, I’m strong, I’m beautiful, I’m a good person and friend? ... What if I just assumed I was good enough as is?”
― Brooke Shields, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman

“With regard to my mother, it felt like it was never enough. Nothing I said or did seemed correct or could make her stop getting drunk or feel deeper happiness. I felt helpless. Why wasn’t I enough to help her stop drinking?”
― Brooke Shields, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me

“My unhappiness was rooted in my mother’s inability to stop drinking.”
― Brooke Shields, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me

“For me, becoming a mother also means that I feel happier than I could imagine and more sad than I thought possible. None of this indicates that I am crazy or in any way abnormal. Basically I am just more alive and present in my own life than I ever remember being.”
― Brooke Shields, Down Came the Rain

“Maturing with ownership and agency and knowing the full extent of our value and power is liberating. But I hope we can also have fun along the way. Because aging isn’t just “better than the alternative,” as the saying goes. It’s better than what came before. I won’t pretend my knees don’t ache”
― Brooke Shields, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman

“tchotchkes”
― Brooke Shields, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me

“as”
― Brooke Shields, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me