She opens up about the surgery she never consented to.
“There’s going to be clickbait that comes from this,” Brooke Shields jokingly warns after recalling a very personal and difficult medical experience. “But the important thing is that it opens up a conversation.”
In her latest book, the actor and icon opens up about an elective labiaplasty she underwent after having kids, and the subsequent vaginal rejuvenation the doctor performed on her — without her consent.
“I unwittingly became a beneficiary of a tightening procedure,” the 59-year-old tells Katie Couric Media in an exclusive interview. “I was under anesthesia, I didn’t know it was happening. The doctor took it upon himself to give me a little bonus,” she says. “I was shocked. I felt so helpless and mad and afraid.”
At the time, she was reluctant to take action or speak out. After years of the public scrutinizing her image, she “didn’t want the conversation to revert back to my anatomy,” Shields says.
“I should have sued this person,” she says. “I wasn’t strong enough.”
Shields, whose modeling career began when she was 11 months old, has been in the public eye long enough to know that by sharing this in her book — and in interviews like this one — her body would once again become the topic of national conversation. But at least now she’s doing it on her own terms — and for good reason: She tells us that she feels a responsibility to set a good example for her daughters, 21-year-old Rowan and 18-year-old Grier, and to encourage other women to advocate for themselves.
Shields writes extensively about navigating the healthcare system in her third memoir, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old, out next week. As you may imagine, she also explores topics like hormone replacement therapy, becoming an empty-nester, and the experience of growing older while the public’s perception of her remains that of a 15-year-old who modeled for Calvin Klein.
We spoke to Shields about why she’s sharing such personal stories now, the shifting beauty standards for women, and her experience with menopause.
Katie Couric Media: The title of your book really speaks to one of its major themes. As an icon, there’s an external pressure to remain young. How have you navigated that?
Brooke Shields: I think all women experience pressure to remain young. There’s this idea that youth is where all the value is and an obsession with beauty. Part of that is really healthy and wonderful, and part of it can be very detrimental. It’s something that women have always dealt with, but now it’s reached this acute level where we’re seeing younger and younger people try to avoid aging. I think that’s because of social media; people’s opinions are so readily available to the entire world, and it’s created this frenzied level of toxicity.
You write about feeling as vibrant and confident as ever while society dismisses you and other women of your age. Can you explain what that feels like?
I think the irony for women is that when you start to feel that you have the maturity and sense of self to speak with authority, you start to be overlooked. Something like 1 percent of ads feature women over 60. When I see those statistics and think about all the badass women I know of that age, it’s kind of messed up. And it doesn’t reflect my truth and how I feel at this stage of life, and it certainly isn’t the truth for 99 percent of the women I speak to who are 40-plus. It’s something that I feel needs to be highlighted and needs to change.
You had complications from a biopsy of your cervix and an unwanted vaginal rejuvenation, which you write about in the book. Can you tell us about those experiences and why you’ve decided to talk about them?
They both occurred before I really knew I could ask questions of my doctors. I assumed these medical professionals were going to give me all the information I needed about what was going to happen to my body. I was fine having the cone biopsy because it probably saved my life, but I was not told at all about the potential I might face as a result with regard to getting pregnant. Then I found myself in my late 30s and early 40s behind the eight ball, unable to get pregnant, not knowing why, and not even being able to do IVF vaginally. Had I been given that information, I could have been more proactive. But everything felt sort of concealed and hush-hush just because it had to do with my vagina. It’s a piece of my anatomy, and it’s not right that I didn’t feel encouraged to talk about it.
When it comes to my labial reduction, I had a wonderful gynecologist who educated me about this option for anyone who experienced pain in any way because of the nature of their anatomy. I didn’t know this was a thing, I just thought something was wrong with me. She said, “This is something that can be made better for you, and you deserve to be out of discomfort.” In this process of having this done, I unwittingly became a beneficiary of a tightening procedure. I was under anesthesia, I didn’t know it was happening. This doctor took it upon himself to do this, and I was shocked. I felt so helpless and mad and afraid, and I didn’t want the conversation to revert, yet again, back to my anatomy. I just didn’t want to deal with the scrutiny.
I told my 21-year-old daughter I was putting this in the book, and she said, “Is that the surgery where the doctor gave you a couple of extra stitches for the man? It’s kind of considered an added bonus for the guy.” And I said, “Oh my God, we’re talking about this, and we’re talking about it right now. I’m not going to change my anatomy for the benefit of anyone else but myself.” She agrees with me, thank God.
I should have sued this person. I wasn’t strong enough, and I didn’t do it. I’m coming out now, and it’s my turn to feel like I’m ready to do it. And there’s going to be clickbait that comes from this — and there’s a bad joke in there that just came to me, but I’m not going to say it — but the important thing is that it opens up a conversation.
What has your experience with menopause been like?
I had had experiences with taking hormones before, so I was very aware of the symptoms that I could possibly start feeling — everything from hot flashes to irritability. I spoke to my gynecologist about bioidentical hormone treatment and made the decision to go on it. She told me that it would help stabilize me through this period, which could be one year, two years, or 20. And my experience hasn’t been that bad, but only because I wasn’t caught off guard. So many women have a lot of fear about it because of a lack of knowledge, and when you give them information and the freedom to ask questions about their bodies without embarrassment, that takes away a level of angst.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
