Brooke Shields loves a pratfall, a fumble, a misstep. She’s become an expert at adding little pieces of physical comedy to a performance, making her characters more relatable, complex, and funny. It’s a long way from where audiences first met Brooke Shields, as a teen model and actress declared by TIME magazine to be the “Face of the ’80s.”
Today, Shields is executive producer of her new series, she serves as founder and CEO of her hair care company COMMENCE, and is also president of Actors’ Equity.
Falling For Comedy
In her most recent onscreen role in You’re Killing Me, a six-episode mystery series on Acorn TV, Brooke Shields wanted to lean into physical comedy for her character, mystery writer Allison Chandler. Her behind-the-scenes collaborators weren’t so sure.
“I fought for it and … they’re like, ‘No, we need you to be likable, and we want you to be pretty.’ And it’s just like, ‘No, I’m not interesting unless I have something else.’ And physical comedy is something that […] I’m good at,” she said.
During a recent screening, Shields was proven to be right.
“All the stuff I fought for that they were worried was going to make me look silly, the audience laughed,” Shields says.
She had trusted her gut, something she’s doing more of these days. You’re Killing Me is her first series since Lipstick Jungle went off the air in 2009, and it’s one she made happen herself.
“This was a show that I developed because I got tired of waiting to be picked,” Shields said. So she worked with a writer and made it happen.
A Crash Course In Being a CEO
Something else Shields made happen: her very own beauty company. In 2024, Shields launched COMMENCE, a brand focused on hair care products for women over 40, supporting hair growth and scalp health.
“All the women I know who are over 50 are fabulous, and we’re all embarking on new things,” Shields says. “They’re not represented by the beauty industry. They’re not marketed to. They’re overlooked.”
Working with researchers, Shields oversaw the development of six products with proprietary formulas — and got a crash course in entrepreneurship.
Fundraising in the male-dominated venture capital space proved to be far more of a challenge than developing haircare formulas.
After repeated meetings where she felt talked down to, she says she reached a turning point. Shields pointedly told one investor: “I’m not here for your opinion. I’m here for your money. And if you don’t want to give me your money, I respect that.”
She also noticed a stark contrast between the male and female investors she met. “The women VCs that I sat with never [talked down to me]. The way they began a sentence was, ‘You know what worked for us? Have you thought about this?'”
Like any smart entrepreneur, Shields knows her strengths. She loves the creative parts of the enterprise and is not ashamed to say she’s looking to hire someone else to oversee business operations. “I can’t wait to hire a kickass female CEO…. I can’t wait to have someone who is so much smarter than I am in business.”
Fighting For Her Fellow Performers
There’s yet another leadership role Shields has taken on, one from the heart. She’s in the middle of a four-year term as president of Actors’ Equity, the union representing stage actors and stage managers. Her inspiration: a desire to give back to her fellow performers. She recalls how important they were to her when she began on Broadway in 1994, joining the cast of Grease as a replacement for Rosie O’Donnell as Rizzo.
“The people that kept me alive were the ensemble, the cast, the chorus, and the stage managers,” she said. “These are the people that night after night for a year at a time helped me get through a show.”
She says it’s actually her toughest role yet. Recently, she made a surprise visit to the restaurant and entertainment venue Casa Bonita in Denver. There, she personally delivered a petition on behalf of cliff divers who have complained of unsafe working conditions.
“When you see how poorly these players are treated… I can shine a light on how hard these people work and how valuable they are, and they’re not disposable.”
Brooke Shields’ deeply held work ethic continues to shine wherever she does. So too does her desire to make the world a bit better, one challenge at a time.
