While reflecting on her enviable career, Brooke Shields looked back on a now-infamous interview she had with the late Barbara Walters when she was just 15 years old, and recalled how “inappropriate” one of the questions was.
The ageless model and actress, now 60, revisited the moment while promoting her You’re Killing Me series on Jesse Tyler Ferguson‘s Dinner’s on Me podcast, making it clear her perspective on the exchange has shifted dramatically over time, and adding that she would definitely handle that particular question very differently now. Keep reading to find out more…
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Brooke Shields Recalls 'Insane' Barbara Walters Interview Question
The Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old author told Ferguson it's "insane that Barbara Walters asked me my measurements" at 15 years old, adding that at the time neither she nor her mother seemed to think the comment was bad. She said that her mom "didn't even register [Walters' question] as slightly inappropriate" at the time. "Because her thing was, as long as they're talking about you, it doesn't matter what they say," she said.
The Blue Lagoon alum added that perspective has shifted completely since then, explaining that if she were asked the same question now, she'd respond very differently. "If someone asked me that now, I'd come back with some kind of quip."
Walters passed away in December 2022 at the age of 93. Ferguson then asked whether Walters ever acknowledged their complicated history over the awkward interview moment in the years that followed, to which Shields said: "Oh, no. Because that's not in her nature."
The Pretty Baby actress then reflected on how she viewed things at the time versus now, explaining that she has learned not to internalize things in the same way. "I think, also, I took everything personally, and I kind of still do. I'm much better now at not letting it affect me so much," she confessed.
The mom-of-two then went on to recall how women working in media at the time were operating in a very different environment, adding: "These women were [working] when women [didn't have] any power, and in a male world, they weren't thinking about me, at all."
Brooke Shields Thinks Barbara Walters Always Needed 'Validation'
The Suddenly Susan star went on to reflect more broadly on Walters' career, suggesting that she may have sought validation from the public and her peers, particularly during her time on The View. She also implied Walters may have reframed their past interactions in a way that served that narrative.
"Barbara in particular did, she – and God rest her soul – her big thing, especially on The View, was, 'Brooke and I go way back.' All of a sudden, my presence had more currency in The View scenario than it ever did on the way," Shields said.
"So, it was like, oh, I'm famous and still relevant somehow in her mind or whatever, because I'm on there for something, because I'm working or whatever. It was validating. It was so interesting to sit there going, oh, she's needing validation in front of these ladies."
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The Mother of the Bride star added that this need for validation, in her view, "doesn't end, I don't care who you are," before referencing other big names in the industry.
"I don't know if Oprah [Winfrey] feels that way, maybe she's in a different world, or Diane [Sawyer], she's been through loss, I think that makes people a little more human," Shields said.
She finished off by reflecting on how that original interview still stands out to her emotionally, especially when revisiting it as an adult, and concluded: "So it was really interesting to me. I've come from that, in your mind, the discomfort that I felt at age 15, and you see it on my face, standing up, being compared to this woman in measurements."
