BROOKE SHIELDS On Marriage Motherhood Feeling Sexy over 50

After a lifetime in Hollywood, the Mother of the Bride star is paving the way for women her age and future generations

- KAT PETTIBONE

In Netflix's new rom-com, Mother of the Bride, Brooke Shields plays Lana, a mom who gets blindsided by her daughter Emma's (Miranda Cosgrove) bombshell wedding announcement. After flying to Thailand for the last-minute nuptials, she finds herself pursued by not one but two potential suitors: Will (Benjamin Bratt) and Lucas (Chad Michael Murray). Not too shabby!

"There's this whole [stereotype] you're being told that [40 is the] beginning of the end when it's the beginning of the beginning," says Shields. "God forbid you find a 40-yearold woman attractive. How about a 58-year-old woman? [People] don't want that narrative out there because they're scared of it."

The actress is "fighting" to break down industry barriers that bias women over 40 - which is exactly why she negotiated a producer role for herself in this feel-good film about mothers, daughters and second chances. Here, she tells Us more about matters of the heart on and off-screen.

Was playing a woman over 40 who gets to fall in love and be desired something that drew you to this film?