Brooke Shields Encourages Being ‘Proactive’ About Health: ‘It Was Like I Had a Superpower’

A funny thing happened to Brooke Shields in her 50s. “It was like I had a superpower,” says the model-actress, who turns 60 in May. “For so long, women have been conditioned to fear aging. The messages were endless: ‘Anti-age this, turn back time on that.’ But that wasn’t my reality. It was like I had all the time in the world, and I started to ask myself what I wanted.” Here, the author (her new book, Brook Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman, is due out in early January) and mom of two (she and her husband of 22 years, director CHris Henchy, share daughters Rowan, 21, and Grier, 18) talks to In Touch’s Lindsay Hoffman about taking control, her partnership with GSK’s Thrive@50+ campaign, and embracing new adventures. 

How have you changed as you’ve gotten older?

BS: I looked at myself and finally thought, “My God, look at how much I’ve overcome.” I’ve always been rather brave, but I’ve become more brave in defining boundaries for myself. 

What’s your advice for healthy living as we age?

BS: Take control of your healthcare. Be proactive and ask questions about yourself. You know yourself better than you think you do.

Do you think women tend to neglect their health?

BS: Many women have spent a majority of their life taking care of other people: siblings, parents, grandparents, children. We’re not really taught to prioritize our own health, and too often a woman asking questions is dismissed as difficult or hysterical. Women have been taught to power through things, even when they know something isn’t right. 

Tell us about teaming up with Thrive@50+.

BS: We hope to motivate people to ask their doctor or pharmacist about their risk of shingles and about vaccination. About 1 million people develop shingles in the U.S. each year. Part of owning our power over 50 is protecting our health. 

One perk of getting older is having more time to travel. As an avid traveler, what do you love about it?

BS: Experiencing completely different foreign cultures and food. [When you travel] you have to find another way of communicating if you don’t have the language or the culture or the history. Like when you have an inside joke with someone who doesn’t speak English. In Thailand, there was this little lady up in this mud hut, and she had an unbelievable sense of humor. We were doing this dance. She was so funny, and we had the best communication, and neither of us said a word that the other understood!

Is it ever too late to start exploring the world?

BS: I’ve loved traveling my whole life, and I’ve been lucky enough to be in a position to spend three and four months in a place, which is much different than being a tourist. We take my kids somewhere once a year. Now that they’re gone, we’ll continue that tradition and pick places we want to go. It’s never too late to try anything!