Brooke Shields

Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film Pretty Baby (1978). She continued to model into her late teenage years and starred in several dramas in the 1980s, including The Blue Lagoon (1980), and Franco Zeffirelli's Endless Love (1981). In 1983, Shields suspended her career as a model to attend Princeton University, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in Romance languages.  In the 1990s, Shields returned to acting and appeared in minor roles in films. She also starred in the NBC sitcoms Suddenly Susan (1996–2000), for which she received two Golden Globe nominations, and Lipstick Jungle (2008–2009). In 2017, Shields returned to NBC with a major recurring role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the show's 19th season. Since 2014, Shields has voiced Beverly Goodman in the Adult Swim animated series Mr. Pickles and its spinoff Momma Named Me Sheriff. Brooke Christa Shields was born in Manhattan, New York, on May 31, 1965,  the daughter of actress and model Teri Shields ( Schmon; 1933–2012) and businessman Frank Shields (1941–2003). Her mother was of English, German, Scotch-Irish, and Welsh descent, while her father had English, French, Irish, and Italian ancestry. According to research by William Addams Reitwiesner, Shields has ancestral links with a number of noble families from Italy, in particular from Genoa and Rome. These are namely (in chronological order of descent from 1355 to 1965) the Gattilusi-Palaiologos-Savoy, Grimaldi, Imperiali, Carafa, Doria, Doria-Pamphili-Landi, Chigi-Albani, and Torlonia dynasties. Her paternal grandmother was Italian noblewoman Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi, who was the daughter of an Italian prince and an American socialite. Her great-uncle was the Italian nobleman Alessandro Torlonia, the husband of Infanta Beatriz of Spain. When Teri announced that she was pregnant, Frank's family paid her a sum to terminate the pregnancy. Teri took the money, but violated the agreement and gave birth to Shields. Frank married Teri, but they were divorced when Shields was five months old. She has two stepbrothers and three half-sisters. When Shields was only five days old, her mother openly stated she wanted her to be active in show business, saying: "She's the most beautiful child and I'm going to help her with her career." Growing up, Shields took piano, ballet, and horse-riding lessons.