Every Woman Over 50 Needs to Hear Brooke Shields's Advice About Getting Older
At age 56, actress, model, author, and entrepreneur Brooke Shields is just getting started.
We recently spoke to Shields about breaking stigmas associated with aging, the biggest lessons she's learned in her 50s, and the freedom that comes with starting a new chapter.
Shields, who is partnering with wine company Clos du Bois on their "Long Live" campaign, tells Woman's Day what drew her to the project, which was directed by fellow actress Courteney Cox, 57. "The wording and their messaging on flipping this script of what it means to mature — words like, 'Chardonnay's an old person's wine' — it's like, 'Now by old, do you mean confident, arrived, experienced, vital?' There's so much more to being this age and arriving at this age. To me, there's an arrival feeling to it."
She points out that this is very much in line with her company, Beginning Is Now, started with the goal of "combatting the rhetoric around being of a certain age. This idea that you stop being vital, or you are over, or you're put out to pasture... or god forbid you have a wrinkle."
The experience of, "I feel like I'm just beginning, why am I not being marketed to?" led Shields to start the "well-being platform," as a place to build community and open up the conversation. "Really, I'm just the conduit," through which people can ask questions and learn from experts about "health, wellness, sleep, movement, exercise." The company just recently got funding, and Shields is "constantly learning" from her "very small but very mighty team" as a new CEO.
The entrepreneur also revealed to Woman's Day that she is in the very beginning stages of developing product, with plans to curate for Beginning Is Now within the "major pillars" of beauty, sleep, movement, and nutrition. "And we'll do collaborations," she adds.
It makes perfect sense, then, when Shields shares the biggest lesson she's learned so far in her 50s. "Just because you hit a certain age doesn't mean you stop. The pivot is always possible. The new beginning is right there. And the freedom of having come this far and the confidence that gives you is something that needs to really be embraced."
The Blue Lagoon actress thinks it is necessary for this "energy and vitality" to be supported and shared by other people — whether in advertising, media, or between peers. "I find people over a certain age, we compare ourselves less to each other. Or we at least try harder to not compare ourselves. And we look at our individuality and our diversity."
"Every woman that I know whose kids are out of the house now and in college, the empty nesters, are going, 'Hey what do you want to do? Should we go on a trip? Should we do something? What can we do? I don't have to go to soccer practice!" says Shields, who has two teenage daughters, 16 and 18. "There's this freedom that comes with the years."
Above all, Shields has one piece of advice when it comes to embracing aging: "Don't accept 'no' as the answer," she says. "You're just beginning and you come with a lot. You've seen a lot, you've done a lot, you've lived a lot. Good, bad, all of the above. And that makes you an interesting entity. And I think it's important that we celebrate each other."
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