As the host for CEW’s July 13 virtual Beauty Previews event, in which CEW will announce the Finalists of 2021’s Beauty Creators Awards, actress, author, advocate and model, Brooke Shields, 55, sat down for a chat with Beauty News. Here, Brooke shares everything from her most recent film project; her recovery from an excruciating leg injury sustained in January; what’s most important in her beauty routine and how she maintains balance.  

BN: What’s happening in your world right now, what projects are you working on?
BS: I filmed a movie titled, “A Castle for Christmas” during the pandemic, which will be out on Netflix during Christmastime. That really took a lot of my time. We filmed in Scotland, and we just sort of created our own little bubble. We stayed for almost three months and it was incredible.

BN: I hear they have good food in Scotland.
BS:
They do, they really do. It was delicious. The fish and chips were way too good.

BN: On your Instagram account you tell your community about breaking your right femur in January during a workout on a balance board, and the numerous surgeries, and even a subsequent infection and blood infusions that resulted, where ultimately you had to relearn how to walk.  How are you feeling today?
BS: Thank you for asking. I get a little bit stronger every day and I’m basically starting to work out again, which is good because some muscles have atrophied and I’m just very weak and sort of uneven now. The PT says I can increase activity a little bit and start to try to get back into shape and do Pilates. The whole thing was pretty shocking. And then to have been in the hospital for a month, it was quite surreal. But I’m lucky I am in the shape I am in because the recovery time was cut in half. The body is pretty extraordinary, and it is the biggest bone that I broke, but the body wants to heal.

BN: Fitness and health is such a big part of your life. What have you been practicing these days now that you’ve slowed down a bit?
BS:
I’ve had to give myself a break, right? It is very frustrating to not be able to do what I was doing before, because I was quite fit. So I had to sort of work more on my brain and the idea of being thankful that I am alive. In general, I’m still lucky.

BN: What has your beauty regimen been over the past year while in lockdown?
BS: I concentrated on having very clean skin. During production of the movie I wore makeup every single day, and it had been a long time since that had happened. So I focused on making sure I took off all of my makeup every night. I also took the time to use different cleansers and to do masks. During COVID I started to appreciate the ritual of skin care in a different way because we had nothing but time. I appreciated taking that kind of time for myself and realizing it is a privilege to be able to have beauty care at your fingertips.

BN: What is your philosophy on living a healthy and balanced lifestyle?
BS:
Quieting the noise. I am a social being, but I’m also somebody who needs time that’s not chaotic, that’s not noisy, that’s not busy. I used to say ‘yes’ to everything. But after this past year, I’ve come to appreciate how rejuvenating not saying yes to everything is. When I was in college, every meal, every snack, every everything was an event I did with a group or someone else. I’m starting to realize that the number of people I want to be around is down. It’s given me time to reflect, read and write. When you’re working a lot or are really busy, you don’t realize how you haven’t spent much time with yourself. And I think that can be healing. We know deep down what makes us happy and what doesn’t. Yes, we all have obligations and responsibilities, but we can’t lose sight of taking care of ourselves physically, emotionally and spiritually. It all works together.

BN: What was one of your proudest career accomplishments?
BS:
I would say doing the T.V. series Suddenly Susan and starring in Broadway musical Wonderful Town. Both experiences were absolutely unbelievable. With Wonderful Town it was an accomplishment to be able to get through eight shows a week for almost six months. I was pretty proud of that.

BN: What are you currently streaming?
BS:
I just finished Hacks; I loved that so much. And, I just finished The Handmaid’s Tale. I’m waiting for new seasons of Succession and Dead to Me.

BN: What books are on your nightstand?
BS:
I’m reading a book now called My Year Abroad by Chang-rae Lee. Then, I’m hoping to read the uncorrected proof of The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. It won’t be out until October, but I’m trying to get a copy of an uncorrected proof.

BN: Any Instagram accounts you follow we should have on our radar?
BS:
Tony Baker. I think his stuff is so funny.

BN: Any message for the beauty industry?
BS:
I’ve always been so impressed by the industry and I am so I honored that I was asked to host CEW’s upcoming event. I’ve been asked in the past to do a beauty line and it just never really felt right. I think I had to come into my own and appreciate the beauty industry from a different perspective.

Click here to join Brooke at the upcoming CEW Beauty Previews event on July 13, which will announce this year’s Beauty Creators Awards Finalists, as well as feature many networking and learning opportunities from industry experts.