Brooke Shields Candidly Reveals ‘Where My Courage Comes From’: ‘I’ve Become More Brave’

She’s been famous since the age of 12, but Brooke Shields says she’s rarely felt happier or in more control of her life than right now. The actress, 59, has joined a new campaign to urge women over 50 to “tell their stories and embrace their power” by taking care of their health.

Brooke, a wife and mother of two daughters, Rowan, 21, and Grier, 18, admits that as a woman it’s all too easy to get caught in the trap of putting everyone’s needs before your own. “I think many women have spent a majority of their life taking care of other people — siblings, parents, grandparents, children,” she exclusively tells Closer. “I think that we’re not really taught to prioritize our own health.”

She notes that there is also a stigma attached to women who call too much attention to their own needs. “Often a woman asking questions about her health is quickly dismissed as difficult or hysterical,” she says. “I think women shy away and have been taught to power through things, even when they know something is not right.”

That’s why Brooke has partnered with GSK’s Thrive@50+ campaign to encourage women to protect themselves from health risks like shingles. This painful rash is contracted by 1 million people a year but can be easily avoided with a two-part vaccination. “I learned 99 percent of adults 50 and older already have the virus that causes shingles inside their body,” says Brooke. “Even though not everyone will get it, we hope to motivate people to ask their doctor or pharmacist about their risk for shingles and about vaccination.”

Brooke Shields Realized Her Life Changed Drastically

With her marriage to writer-producer Chris Henchy in its third decade and her daughters leading their own lives, Brooke realized her life had changed. “I had all the time in the world,” she marvels. “I started to ask myself what I wanted. I looked at myself and finally thought, ‘My God, look at how much I’ve overcome.’ That’s where my courage comes from. My resilience.”

With a new awareness of the passage of time, Brooke took on new projects. Last spring, she starred in the film Mother of the Bride. She became president of the Actors’ Equity Association, started a new haircare line, and wrote a new book, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman. “For so long, I’ve been conditioned or, really, women have been conditioned, to fear aging,” says Brooke. “The messages were endless, ‘Anti-age this, turn back time on that.’ But that wasn’t my reality.”

She encourages other women to “embrace their power” by being proactive about their health and trusting in their own abilities and hard-earned wisdom. “Ask questions about yourself. You know yourself better than you think you do,” she urges. “I’ve always been brave, but I’ve become more brave now. I believe you absolutely must grow more resilient as you grow older. I think it does, to a certain extent, happen naturally, but you have to fight for it.”