In her new book, “Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old,’’ Shields provides juicy anecdotes about what it’s been like to be famous since childhood, and how all the clamor that surrounded her stacks up against being a wife of 24 years, a mother of two, and a CEO who turns 60 in May.
No contest; now is much better.
“Aging is better than what came before. I don’t have the worries that I used to. And yet I don’t have advice for my younger self, because I needed to go through all that to get to this place of freedom and fun and empowerment and strength.’’
With an eye on what draws people to pay attention to her, Shields candidly lays out her book in the way that pitch meetings usually progressed for her start-up company, Commence — especially if the potential investors attended because of who was pitching. The first half of her book invites readers to gawk at this person who has been a Hollywood movie star, jeans model, friend to the famous and notorious, daughter of a hovering, single mother/agent, briefly the wife to a world-renowned athlete and most recently, successful cabaret performer.
Shields also reveals a series of terrifying medical mishaps, the dings and dents of age-related professional rejection, and lifelong insecurities that are now compounded by her trademark hair and eyebrows thinning and turning gray.
The method behind this presentation is that once Shields arrives at now, presumably the curious will have been sated with the celebrity fodder, and ready to welcome the business of the day: Her saga of how she has become a successful businesswoman by melding creative drive and personal concerns with her ardent support of women getting ahead.
Proactively Planning Her Future
“There is a commodity aspect to my celebrity that makes it possible for me probably (hopefully?) to be able to earn a living for the rest of my life. I can’t sit around and wait for the outside world to start to make changes that I can make for myself,’’ writes Shields.
So, in June 2024, Shields and her new business partner, Karla De Bernardo (formerly of Kenneth Cole and Coach) launched Commence, a haircare system for women over 40 to repair hair damaged by styling, environment and aging. In its January 2025 issue, Women’s Health magazine gave the products a favorable review: “The bottom line: Is Commence worth buying? According to our tester, that’s an emphatic yes.’’
Running a company that makes shampoo wasn’t Shields only goal in becoming a CEO. In the chapter “Starting Something New When the World Says You’re Too Old,’’ she writes that it was “a confluence of factors.’’ One was that she was replaced as spokesperson for True Botanicals, a stinging blow at first but the inspiration for the hair product line.
The other was that she knew, from hearing their stories in her online community and lifestyle brand, Beginning is Now, that post-menopausal women were, like Shields, not ready for the rocking chair.
‘I Love My Work’
“Here’s the deal: I’m never going to retire. First, I have a life to maintain. But also, and this is a biggie: I love my work. I just don’t buy into the idea that we’re less ambitious as we age. The women I know in my peer group are all pursuing something.’’
If the earlier chapters are perhaps a cautionary tale about the perils of celebrity in America, the later chapters of Shields’ book are a primer for those contemplating a start-up business. She describes pitch meetings with trenchant wit, and admits that “the power of celebrity’’ got her meetings but didn’t raise money if potential investors were unimpressed.
Shields writes that there is greater good in her online community for women and running a hair product company for aging women than spending a lifetime in Hollywood, where her age now restricts her earning power.
“Maybe you, like me, feel like your prospects in your current career are dwindling, and you want or need to continue making a living. According to 2018 research published in the Harvard Business Review, the average age of a successful founder is forty-five,’’ she writes.
A Podiatrist’s Words of Wisdom
In a neat melding of her performing career with her attitude about shunning the limitations of age, there is this anecdote: Shields says walking was so painful after performing eight shows a week in the Broadway musical “Wonderful Town’’ that her podiatrist recommended surgery. Shields wondered if the surgery was worth doing, especially at her age.
“It’s not like you’re ninety! You have years of moving still ahead,’’ her podiatrist replied.
“Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old,’’ by Brooke Shields. Flatiron Books. 241 pages. $29.99.
Eleanor O’Sullivan is a writer for Rethinking65. In a four-decade career in journalism, she has reviewed many books on best practices for financial advisors.
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