Celebrity

Brooke Shields Takes Charge Of Her Story In ‘Pretty Baby’

Published

1 year ago

2023-04-03

NEW YORK — Brooke Shields has been dubbed “beautiful, smart, and famous” since she was a baby, but a new documentary explains why it took her decades to believe in her abilities.

“Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” is a firsthand examination of her success as a model, actor, author, and now lifestyle entrepreneur, despite being sexualized and objectified at a young age and managing her alcoholic mother — the original “momager,” Teri Shields — with a dazzling array of archival photos and footage, and in-depth interviews with Shields.

“Pretty Baby,” like other recent documentaries on Britney Spears and Pamela Anderson, contains a cringeworthy barrage of media clips in which mostly older men reduce her to a pretty face and are uninterested in her responses to their queries. The film, which will be released in two parts on Hulu on Monday, examines how women were treated in the 1980s and 1990s, with Shields disclosing she was the victim of a sexual assault by a Hollywood executive after graduating from college.

Shields recently spoke with The Associated Press about what she learned from the project, how she gained confidence after being shamed for her personal choices, and how she views her future.

The responses have been modified for length and clarity.

AP: In the series, you state, “I’m fully owning my identity.” What do you mean?

Shields: For so long, I made myself small, either to be relatable or to avoid being menacing or humbled, you know? Don’t be a jerk. Don’t be conceited. Have individuals who admire you. Everyone should be treated with respect. This was how I grew up, and I was awarded for it. It’s fine to give myself a gentle slap on the back. It’s fine to state I have talent because I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. It’s not just because I’m clever or have a certain appearance. I’ve kept working and challenging myself, and I never felt confident enough to say it aloud. I’d always desired other people’s approval for my talent, never imagining I could give it to myself.

AP: The documentary outlines the press’s years of scrutiny of you; how have you felt promoting the series?

Shields: I noticed no one desired my answers when I was a little girl. They wished to base their story on the soundbite I gave them. And, as is my wont, I refused to give it to them in my manner. I no longer feel on the defensive because I’ve realized that I’m not at the mercy of others. Looking back, I can see that’s what I was doing, and I don’t have to do it anymore, which is very liberating, but it took 40-something years. (laughs).

AP: What was the most difficult aspect of the program to reveal?

SHIELDS: I was concerned about the #MeToo movement simply because I didn’t want it reduced to a story. But I knew that if I didn’t, I’d feel like a phony or inauthentic. I hadn’t been able to speak about it until now, and it felt like you owed it to yourself. And I just prayed that out of two hours and however many minutes, the one brief story — I mean, I knew it would be clickbait — I wouldn’t be let down by the press again.

AP: Does it sound like compartmentalizing was a survival strategy for you?

SHIELDS: I believe that occurs with an alcoholic’s child. You do learn to categorize, you know. You care about someone broken and suffering from a disease they can’t seem to manage. But you can’t afford for their affection to be fake. So, when things felt…out of control, I would become very orderly, which became my center, my meditation, redoing my Filofax or refolding my socks.

AP: Brooke, You recently founded a business dedicated to celebrating women’s lives after age 40. What makes that so essential to you?

SHIELDS: I decided at a young age that if I were going to speak about anything, it would be about issues that could benefit others. How can I not feel alone? I’ve wondered over the years. I can tell my story, and I’m confident it will resonate with someone else. Before COVID, I was healthy, worked out frequently, and felt good. I was so relaxed about everything. My children are fine. I enjoy my existence. I’m pleased with it.

The irony was that nothing was addressing me when I glanced outside myself. You know how your agents tell you, ‘Well, you’re of a certain age…’ I’m not deceased, and I’m not buried, come on! I was taken aback. It would help to recognize how difficult it is to reach this age with your wits about you, decent people in your life, and how much more there is.

AP: What are your current ambitions?

SHIELDS: To appear on another TV program. I’m desperate to find the correct (one) because “Suddenly Susan” was such a revelation to me, and it was the happiest time of my life. And I want to relive the experience because it was a very healthy, pure location for me. And I adored it.

SOURCE – (AP)

Celebrity

Yoko Ono To Receive Edward MacDowell Medal For Lifetime Achievement

Published

2 days ago

2024-04-22

Kiara Grace

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NEW YORK — MacDowell, one of the country’s finest artist residence programs, has honored Yoko Ono with a lifetime achievement award. The trailblazing artist, filmmaker, and musician will receive the Edward MacDowell Medal this year, following in the footsteps of Stephen Sondheim and Toni Morrison, among others.

“There has never been anyone like her; there has never been work like hers,” MacDowell board chairman Nell Painter said in a statement Sunday.

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Yoko Ono To Receive Edward MacDowell Medal For Lifetime Achievement

“Over seven decades, she has pleased eyes, aroused mind, encouraged feminism, and supported refugees with imaginative works. Enduringly new and contemporary, her unusually powerful output resonates to our current times, which are in desperate need of her leitmotif: peace.”

In a statement, Ono’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, described the award as “an incredible honor.”

“The history and list of prior awardees are extremely impressive. It makes me very glad to see her work valued and celebrated in this manner,” he remarked.

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Yoko Ono To Receive Edward MacDowell Medal For Lifetime Achievement

Ono, 91, has made few public appearances in recent years and is unlikely to attend the July honors event at the MacDowell campus in Peterborough, New Hampshire. David Newgarden, Ono’s music manager, will receive the award on her behalf.

Ono first rose to prominence as a member of the avant-garde Fluxus movement of the 1960s, before becoming internationally famous after meeting John Lennon, with whom she married from 1969 until his death in 1980. Their many collaborations included the songs “Give Peace a Chance,” “Imagine,” and “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” which served as the foundation for “War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko,” this year’s Oscar-winning animated short film.

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Yoko Ono To Receive Edward MacDowell Medal For Lifetime Achievement

Over the last 40 years, Ono has had a busy career as a visual and recording artist, with albums like “Season of Glass,” “Starpeace,” and “Take Me to the Land of Hell.” She was recently featured in a career retrospective at London’s Tate Modern.

SOURCE – (AP)

Celebrity

Dick Van Dyke Earns Historic Daytime Emmy Nomination At Age 98

Published

3 days ago

2024-04-21

Kiara Grace

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Los Angeles — Dick Van Dyke, 98, is contending for a historic Daytime Emmy.

The actor was nominated Friday as a guest star in a daytime drama series for his role as amnesiac Timothy Robicheaux on Peacock’s “Days of Our Lives.”

Van Dyke is the oldest daytime Emmy nominee. When producer Norman Lear won his final Primetime Emmy nomination in 2022, he was 100 years old. He died the following year.

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Dick Van Dyke Earns Historic Daytime Emmy Nomination At Age 98

Van Dyke is up against Guy Pearce, an Australian actor from Amazon Prime Video’s “Neighbours.”

Van Dyke earned four Primetime Emmys, including three in the 1960s, for his legendary comedy series “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”

Selena Gomez, an actor and singer, is nominated in the culinary series category for her Food Network special “Selena + Chef: Home for the Holidays.” The Food Network’s “Valerie’s Home Cooking,” hosted by actor Valerie Bertinelli and which concluded last year, is also nominated in that category.

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Dick Van Dyke Earns Historic Daytime Emmy Nomination At Age 98

CBS will cancel “The Talk” after its 15th season later this year. Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Natalie Morales, Jerry O’Connell, and Sheryl Underwood were nominated for daytime talk show hosting.

The main actress nominations are Tamara Braun of “Days of Our Lives,” Finola Hughes and Cynthia Watros of “General Hospital,” Katherine Kelly Lang and Annika Noelle of “The Bold and the Beautiful,” and Michelle Stafford of “The Young and the Restless.”

The lead actor nominees include Eric Braeden of “The Young and the Restless,” Scott Clifton, Thorsten Kaye, and John McCook of “The Bold and the Beautiful,” and Eric Martsolf of “Days of Our Lives.”

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Dick Van Dyke Earns Historic Daytime Emmy Nomination At Age 98

The Daytime Emmys will be broadcast live on CBS on June 7 in Los Angeles. The show is back to its regular schedule after being postponed until December due to strikes by Hollywood performers and writers. The hosts and Lifetime Achievement award recipients will be announced later.

SOURCE – AP

Celebrity

Recently Arrested Morgan Wallen Says He’s “Not Proud” Of Behavior

Published

3 days ago

2024-04-21

Kiara Grace

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Nashville, Tennessee – Morgan Wallen, a country music singer facing charges coming in part from allegations that he tossed a chair off the rooftop of a six-story club, says he is “not proud” of his actions and accepts responsibility.

The “One Thing at a Time” singer took to social media Friday night to comment to his arrest in Nashville two weeks earlier. According to court documents, he was charged with three felony charges of reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. He is scheduled to appear in court on May 3.

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Recently Arrested Morgan Wallen Says He’s “Not Proud” Of Behavior

According to an arrest document, the chair at Chief’s pub landed about 3 feet (1 meter) from officers, who spoke with witnesses and checked CCTV footage. Witnesses informed police that they saw Wallen take up a chair, throw it over the roof, and laugh about it. Wallen was arrested early on April 8 and later freed.

“I didn’t feel comfortable checking in publicly until I had made apologies with some people. I’ve contacted Nashville police enforcement, my family, and the friendly staff at Chief’s. I’m not proud of my actions, and I accept responsibility,” Wallen stated on X (previously Twitter).

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Recently Arrested Morgan Wallen Says He’s “Not Proud” Of Behavior

Wallen, one of the most well-known artists in contemporary country music, is now on a stadium tour that includes a concert on Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi.

“I have the greatest regard for the cops who labor every day to keep us all safe. “There will be no changes to my tour,” his reply read, signed “-MW.”

The “One Thing at a Time” album topped the Billboard 200 for 16 weeks in 2023 and was the best-selling album in the United States last year. The top ten successes from the album included “Last Night,” “You Proof,” and “Thinkin’ Bout Me.”

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Recently Arrested Morgan Wallen Says He’s “Not Proud” Of Behavior

In 2021, the country artist was suspended indefinitely by his label when a video surfaced showing him uttering a racial slur. He was arrested in 2020 for public intoxication and disorderly conduct after being booted out of Kid Rock’s downtown Nashville bar.

SOURCE – (AP)