Brooke Shields ‘Fought’ Against Daughter Grier Henchy, 17, Modeling on the Runway: ‘It’s Brutal’
Grier Hammond Henchy, the youngest daughter of Brooke Shields, has always expressed a desire to work in the same industry as her famous mother. However, the star of Blue Lagoon initially had reservations.“The rules have changed since I was [a model],” Shields, 58, explained during an interview on Live with Kelly and Mark on Thursday. “I fought it for so long. It’s such a different industry now than it was.”
Though Shields herself never wound up in the runway category, something her 17-year-old aspires to, she knows it takes thick skin.
“That’s brutal and backstage is just brutal,” the actress said of the nature of the job, adding that she doesn’t think she would’ve been able to “handle it.” She’s since changed her mind, giving her teen the green light to embark on her chosen path — under certain conditions.
“I finally had to give in and say if you’re gonna do this a.) I’m not gonna be your manager. You’re going to be with an agency. You’re going to have a great work ethic. It’s not going to be comfortable and you’re gonna listen to me,” Shields explained of her guidelines. And of course, Grier still has to enroll in college.
Shields, who also shares Rowan Frances Henchy, 20, with husband Chris Henchy, had a different experience growing up, entering the fashion workforce with her mom, Teri Shields, who died in 2012, as her guide. “My mom was my manager and we were glued at the hip, which probably was how I could survive because you couldn’t get to me. She was such a mama bear and so protective. On the one hand I was very naive and on the other I was just thrown into this crazy world.
Shields recognized her daughter’s passion and stunning looks, but also noted that the cutthroat industry takes longevity and staying power.
During her younger years as a model and actress, Shields was sexually assaulted by a powerful Hollywood executive, something that has stayed with her for decades and no doubt factors into her decision about weighing Grier’s future career plans. “It’s taken me a long time to process it,” she said of the assault that occurred in her 20s. “I’m more angry now than I was able to be then. If you’re afraid, you’re rightfully so. They are scary situations. They don’t have to be violent to be scary.”
At the time, she was a recent Princeton University graduate and unable to find much work, the “lowest point of my career,” she recalled.
After dinner with a Hollywood executive (“I thought I was getting a movie, a job”), he invited her to make a call for a cab from his hotel room. There, he assaulted her. “I didn’t fight,” as she recounted in the documentary. “I just froze.”
