60 and loving it! BROOKE'S BIRTHDAY BLISS

Once a Pretty Baby, the actor is hitting back at ageist attitudes in Hollywood

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The moment sneaked up on Brooke Shields when she wasn't expecting it. “I was strolling through the streets of downtown New York with my daughters,” recalls the actor. “Over the years, I’ve become used to being recognised on the street, but this time was different. The looks weren’t cast in my direction, but at the two beauties by my side.

“I had every single feeling at once. ‘What are you doing ogling my babies?’ But also, ‘Aren’t they gorgeous?’ And also, ‘Wait, no one’s gazing at me? When did that happen? Am I over?’”

One thing’s for certain: Brooke is not past her prime just yet. With her 60th birthday looming in May, the Suddenly Susan star is still grabbing headlines – right now with her new autobiography, Brooke Shields is Not Allowed to Get Old.

'We shame women for not looking like they did as teens'

In the memoir, Brooke, who shot to fame as a 14-year-old in the controversial 1978 movie Pretty Baby, pulls no punches about her experiences with ageing.

At a routine dermatology appointment, she recalls, “The doctor, unsolicited, waved his hand around my face and said, ‘We could fix all that.’

“‘All what?’ I asked. ‘You know, all the’ – cue more hand waving – ‘you know.’