Midlife Insecurities – The Brooke Shields Edition

There’s “you’re only as old as you feel,” and then there’s just plain delusional; Brooke Shields falls into the latter.

“I keep thinking I’m younger than I am,” the brunette bombshell recently told Parade magazine. “The other day, I was working with a photographer to recreate an image we had done years ago. When I saw my face, I kind of went, ‘What is that?’ I assumed I was going to look the same, and I didn’t. It was a shock to my system.” So…she hasn’t owned a mirror for the past 15 years? Aging is kind of a gradual process; it’s not like� you wake up one morning with Crows Feet and lower back pain.

As for her career choices, Brooke says she aims for youth when mulling over scripts; “Sometimes I’ll read a part and identify with the material, and I’ll say, ‘Oh, honey, I really like this.’ “He’ll look at me like I’m crazy and ask, ‘What’s wrong with you? You’re not in your 20s. You seriously think you can walk in there and get this role? It’s going to a 24-year-old.’” I guess somebody had to say it; although if my husband were that blunt, he’d be test-driving the sofa for a month.

Despite her obvious frustrations, Shields affirms that she is ultimately content with her life: “I’m really proud of my kids, I’m excited about my job, and my marriage is not suffering. It’s not easy, but it’s not falling apart. This is the first time in my life that everything is exactly the way I want it to be.”

If a few wrinkles are her biggest concern, she should consider herself exceptionally lucky.

~Carolyn French~