I’ve started wearing bikinis so my girls can see how a real woman looks, says Brooke, 53
SHE made her name as a child star in a series of risque roles, appearing topless in The Blue Lagoon at 15.
And she has never been afraid to pose in her underwear for modelling roles. Yet for decades, despite her enviably athletic figure, Brooke Shields felt too self-conscious to wear a bikini on the beach.
Now the 53-year-old actress has revealed that she has started wearing bikinis to set the right example to her daughters. She wanted to give Rowan, 15, and Grier, 12, a realistic idea of a woman’s body and show you do not have to be waif-like.
Miss Shields, who is married to screenwriter and producer Chris Henchy, told InStyle: ‘We all have different body types and spend so much of our time comparing ourselves with others. But I’ve found if you look at your individual physiological structure and play up the strong points, it’s empowering. It’s not in my DNA to be waif-like.
‘I used to wear these bathing suits that practically came to my knees. My oldest daughter would say, “That makes you look so big and uncomfortable”. I realised I had to be confident in my skin to set the right example for her.’ Her body was not an issue while making The Blue Lagoon in 1980 as ‘I was only 15 and hadn’t even developed’, she said.