MANE ATTRACTION

Brooke Shields on Success, Self-Acceptance, and Starting Fresh at 60

The actress and newfound beauty brand founder is stepping into her power.

Scouted/The Daily Beast/Clare V./Commence.

By Erika StalderUpdated Jul 18, 2025 5:16PM EDT

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Brooke Shields may be celebrated for her decades-long career as an entertainer (and her eyebrows), but the thing that sets her apart the most has nothing to do with her jobs or looks—it’s her unflappable track record for telling the truth. Think back to when she was procreating: Where many women in the public eye openly talked about experiencing a life force of power in this phase, Shields was one of the first women to talk publicly about postpartum depression. Cut to today, and the actor and newfound hair care entrepreneur still leads with honesty: For her, a surge of personal, professional, and creative power has culminated at age 60.

“At this age, I’m finding there’s this life force that I feel like I’ve never had before,” she says. “I used to cover up. I used to want to be smaller. I apologized—like a lot of women, I’d say ‘I’m sorry’ instead of ‘excuse me’. That type of oppression is part of what made me likable. It made me successful because I wasn’t ‘difficult’.”

Being agreeable helped yield professional success in modeling (Ivory Soap, Calvin Klein); film (Pretty Baby, The Blue Lagoon); television (Suddenly Susan, Lipstick Jungle, Jane the Virgin); and Broadway (Chicago, Grease, The Addams Family). But it didn’t exactly cultivate impenetrable confidence or self-compassion. “I think I’ve spent so many decades thinking ‘if I was only a size six’ or ‘if I don’t have a little gold statue, that means I’m not talented’—all those dumb expectations that you allow yourself to have put on you,” she says.

It’s so nice. I feel like I’m just beginning.

But it’s through the launch of her hair care company, Commence, that Shields has cast aside residual self-doubt and come into a new era. “It took starting this company to help stop with the what-ifs: ‘what if I make mistakes? What if I can’t raise the money?’ I just stopped because no one was telling me this—I was telling it to myself,” she says. “To be now, 60 years old, and to own a company, do the research, go into the lab, and ask for what I need and want—It’s so nice. I feel like I’m just beginning.”

What’s more, Shields says stepping into her power as a businesswoman has impacted her role as Actors’ Equity Association president and her approach to acting, too. When filming aside heavy hitters like Glenn Close in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming series All’s Fair (set to premiere this fall on Hulu), the comedy veteran says she released any doubt surrounding her ability to deliver a dramatic performance and “brought it,” she says. “To be in this era of my life, I have more to give.”

Brooke Shields is most certainly giv-ing (to borrow a term coined by internet gays). With the launch of sell-out hair care products, as author of the 2025 memoir Brooke Shields is Not Allowed to Get Old, as executive producer of upcoming television and films (including the forthcoming Quarter), as a union leader, and more, Shields and her life force are only growing stronger.

Scroll through below to check out a few things that help keep Brooke locked in and flourishing.

Commence

$21

Commence 2-in-1 Instant Dry Shampoo

“This is being used on movie sets because it volumizes, but doesn’t dry out your scalp,” Shields says. “We often don’t think of the scalp in terms of skin, but it’s about hydrating and feeding the scalp so you’re nourishing your hair from the root all the way to the tips.”

See At Commence

Jones Road Beauty

$40

Jones Road Beauty Miracle Balm

“I always carry Jones Road Miracle Balm. It helps keep my skin looking dewy,” Shields says.

See At Jones Road Beauty

Total Wine

$51

Don Londres Blanco Tequila

“I will forget to drink water. I won't forget to drink tequila,” says Shields, who recently walked the Tony Awards carpet with the beverage in her purse. “A friend of mine brought me a little bottle when picking me up for the [event]. It helps me not take myself too seriously.” This sipping tequila is super smooth and made to be consumed on the rocks.

See At Total Wine

Caddis

$210

Caddis Metamodernist Scout Progressive Readers

“I always need to be able to read,” says Shields, who has become known for wearing stylish glasses and has partnered with Caddis in the past. “I like this frame and I think they look cool. They’re like a little added fashion moment.”

See At Caddis

KatKim

$7000

KatKim Marquise Farris Ring

“I bought myself a mine-cut diamond ring for my birthday from a jeweler in the Bahamas whose son tragically passed away from Covid. To honor her son, she learned his craft and now makes beautiful gold jewelry,” she says. “I called my accountant and asked, ‘can I buy this?’ I’ve never [purchased] anything that frivolous. There’s no need for it but I really like it!” For those who can’t get to the Bahamas, this fine jewelry brand, helmed by a female designer, specializes in made-to-order pieces that are custom fit for the wearer.

See At KatKim

Clare V.

$100

Clare V. x Commence Classic Tee

“I got my first Clare V. bag from a Yankee swap. I stole the bag from another person,” Shields says. “Even though that’s what you’re supposed to do in a Yankee swap, I felt so bad that I took it from her—because it's a really good bag. So I went to the store the next day and bought it to give to the friend who I took it from.” Since then, Shields has forged a friendship with the designer, with their respective brands collaborating on this tee, emblazoned with “Nice Hair” in French.

See At Clare V.