Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields

There's discussion of the unique lives of child actors and feminist critique about how society treats women, as well as the power of embracing one's agency at any age. Shields is a White woman who was considered an ideal of beauty starting when she was a child model in the 1970s. She took on a public role as an advocate for women experiencing postpartum depression. For a time, she dated Michael Jackson, which prompted Black comedian Eddie Murphy to joke about her being the "Whitest woman on Earth." She also worked on Broadway with Black director/choreographer Gregory Butler, who recounts how Shields earned his and her fellow cast members' respect.

Shields recounts being raped by an unnamed person in the entertainment industry. She describes getting rope burns on her stomach as a child while filming a commercial. At age 11, she starred in a film about sex work where her character was sold off to the highest bidder and had to kiss a grown man on set. She talks about the director being unhappy with her squeamishness during that scene. There's mention of "child molestation" being on the rise at a certain time period in America. Shields describes the process of IVF and how she saw not being able to have children (at first) as a punishment; when she finally got pregnant, she had to have an emergency C-section, lost a lot of blood, and was at risk of dying. She had postpartum depression after her first child's birth and needed help. During that time, she describes imaging terrible things happening to her baby. A male celebrity publicly questioned her depression and use of anti-depressive medication, then recanted. According to the film, her first husband displayed fits of rage.

From a very early age, Shields was considered a sex symbol and encouraged to pose and act in sexual positions and roles. She posed nude for photographs at age 9 and at age 11 starred in a movie about sex workers. As a teen, she starred in more films about sexual exploration and young people discovering their sexuality, though she came out publicly as a virgin at age 20. Footage from the films feels explicit but doesn't show body parts beyond bare bottoms. A director talks about physically prompting Shields to exaggerate her sex scenes as a teen by twisting her toe during filming. Shields describes her own first time having sex. People discuss pornography. Shields' daughters say that posing in bikinis on social media gives them the power, unlike their mother at their age.

Very occasional use of swear words like "s--t," "ass," "bitch," and "hell."

A young Shields poses with a cigarette in a photograph. Her mother was an alcoholic whose drinking got progressively worse over time and led to erratic and untrustworthy behavior. Despite going to rehab, Teri didn't maintain sobriety during her lifetime, according to this film. Archive footage shows people drinking at parties and events.