Brooke Shields on Turning 50: “I’m Finally Happy”

Brooke Shields isn’t shying away from turning 50 — to the contrary, she’s been planning her
party for months.

“I’m so excited!” the still-stunning Pretty Baby star gushed in January as she was eyeing Manhattan’s chic Andaz 5th Avenue for her celebration. “I was thinking, this is a great place for a party — you have a dance floor and everything,” she said. “And, well, I’m turning half-a-hundred!”

Brooke with her mom, Teri, in 1978.

It’s hard to believe Brooke is hitting the big 5-0 on May 31. We watched her grow up, beginning as an infant in an Ivory Snow ad, through roles in iconic teen movies like 1980’s The Blue Lagoon, a
stopover at Princeton University, world-famous beaus (John Travolta! Prince Albert of Monaco!) and TV stardom.

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But it’s only recently that Brooke has found happiness. “For a long time, Brooke lived like a puppet with her mom pulling the strings,” says an insider. “I had it bad,” Brooke admits, “but who I am today is an amalgam of every single part of my past.”

Brooke with her husband and daughters in May 2013.

“Brooke’s had an amazing life,” says the insider, “but one with its share of bumps.” Her family life being one of the most public of those bumps. Brooke’s parents divorced when she was just 5-months-old, and her overbearing “momager,” Teri, was such a serious alcoholic, Brooke was staging interventions by the time she was 13.

To read the full story on Brooke, pick up the new issue of ‘Closer Weekly,’ on newsstands now!