Alex Carson
Brooke Shields is an American actress and model that rose to fame at a young age after her controversial performance as a child prostitute in the Louis Malle film Pretty Baby. Since then, the actress has stayed in the public spotlight for a variety of reasons. Recently, the actress suffered a severe leg injury that subsequently resulted in a serious Staph infection. Sadly, this isn’t the actress’s first bout with poor health, after an episode involving postpartum depression almost two decades before. Join Facts Verse as we explore why Brooke Shields is lucky to be alive.
Brooke Shields was born on May 31, 1965. Her parents brought her into show business at an early age. And she’s given the controversial role of a child prostitute in the 1978 Louis Malle film Pretty Baby when only 12 years old. This role garnered the young girl a great deal of acclaim. And she subsequently appeared in the equally controversial films The Blue Lagoon and Endless Love.
After gaining some success as both an actress and a model, Brooke decided to pursue a higher education at Princeton University. It was here that the actress received a bachelor’s degree in the field of Romance Languages. Afterwards, she returned to acting. She didn’t gain quite as much attention as an adult. Brooke still found a good deal of success in entertainment. One of her most notable roles after returning to acting was in the sitcom Suddenly Susan. It which premiered in 1996 and ran until 2000. She also starred in the short-lived series Lipstick Jungle in the late 2000s. And more recently took on a recurring role on the long-running television staple Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Sadly, a recent injury has put a bump in the road for Brooke. And it appears as if the actress is lucky to be alive. In January of 2021, she suffered a serious leg injury during a vigorous exercise routine. According to the actress, it was the most severe pain that she had ever felt. Given the fact that she has gone through childbirth, one can imagine that the pain was something that was pretty indescribable.
The injury turned out to be a shattered femur bone. And the recovery process required the surgical insertion of a plate and seven metal rods. Brooke was performing rigorous exercises at the time that she had received the injury. And claimed the injury occurred when she was landing from an intense jump. As soon as she returned to the ground, her bone instantly snapped, causing her to scream out in pain.
While the doctors were hopeful that Brooke was going to be able to make a full recovery, it appears as if matters only got worse after the surgeries. As it turns out, Brooke’s surgeries resulted in further hospitalization for Staph infection. She was hospitalized at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic at it’s peak. Meaning she deprived of seeing her husband and children. It sounds as if things went from bad to worse for poor Brooke, though the actress appears to be grateful that has made it through the worst of it.
When Brooke’s family were finally able to visit, her two children apparently were fearful that their mother was dying. This caused Brooke to reflect on her own mortality. And realizing how lucky she was to be alive after all that had happened to her. She assured her children that she was going to be alright despite the serious nature of the infection. And claims that she felt stronger than ever due to the fact that she had made it through both the injury and the infection.
Brooke’s family consists of her 57-year-old husband Chris Hency, as well as the couple’s two daughters. Those daughters are 17-year-old Rowan and 14-year-old Grier. Brooke has always valued her family over her career. And likely devastated during the time when she deprived of their presence. Thankfully, the family is now back together, and it appears as if Brooke is going to be able to recover from the issues that she has faced so far in 2021. Hopefully, Brooke will soon be able to return to lighting up the screens of television everywhere!
One of the reasons that Brooke has been able to remain so calm during recovery from her recent leg injury and subsequent infection is that she has already suffered through health issues in her lifetime. After the birth of first daughter Rowan, Brooke publicly revealed to have suffered from a severe bout of postpartum depression that left her questioning her life. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! As well, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
After marrying writer and producer Chris Hency in 2001, Brooke Shields soon gave birth to the couple’s first daughter, Rowan. Having a daughter had always been a dream of Brooke. She sadly began suffering from severe postpartum depression soon after Rowan’s birth. Brooke has since opened up to the media about the struggles that she faced while in the throes of postpartum depression in an effort to help those that may be facing the same problems. The event granted Brooke a new outlook on life. And her recovery allowed her to prevent similar issues from occurring after the birth of her and Chris’ second daughter, Grier.
Brooke was in her late 30s when Rowan born. And the seeds of her future depression were planted well before her first daughter was ever conceived. Although Brooke had long desired to become a mother, her first daughter’s conception wasn’t something that happened immediately for the actress. Instead, her and her husband had struggled continuously to try and conceive. With the actress feeling that she was soon going to give up by the time that it actually happened. This struggle lead to feelings of inadequacy that lasted well beyond her daughter’s conception and birth.
While this tumultuous conception might’ve planted some seeds for future depression and feelings of inadequacy. A postpartum depression is a biological phenomenon that doesn’t always need a reason to occur. The medical phenomenon has been said to occur amongst a whopping 10% of mothers to some degree. With Brooke’s case being an example of a more severe occurrence.
Postpartum depression usually begins within six months of birth. With Brooke, the depression lead to her feeling as if she wanted to die. Her later recalling laying on the floor of the family’s Manhattan apartment and contemplating jumping out of the fourth story window. Although Brooke could recognize that the things she was feeling were dangerous and irrational. There was simply nothing she could do but wait for the feelings to pass. Thankfully, Brooke was eventually able to make a full recovery.
After recovering from her postpartum depression, Brooke had the courage to be candid about her struggle to the public. While most treated Brooke with kindness when she opened up about her struggle with postpartum depression after the birth of her first daughter. One infamous celebrity figure was anything but. This figure was celebrity Scientologist Tom Cruise, whose strange beliefs about medicine saw him take issue with some of the things that Brooke was saying about depression.
Tom’s chief concern with Brooke’s public remarks came from Brooke’s sharing with the public that she had used an antidepressant drug known as Paxil in order to recover from her postpartum depression. According to Tom Cruise’s strange Scientologist beliefs, taking antidepressant drugs is a sinful things to do.
While many might see fit to keep these strange religious beliefs to themselves, Tom had to call Brooke out for it in public. While Tom was stepping far enough out of bounds already, he continued his offenses by degrading Brooke and commenting on what he felt was the poor state of her career. Apparently, Brooke’s use of antidepressants and the fact that she now worked in television instead of film directly related in some way via Tom’s twisted logic.
Brooke tried not to make the feud personal, but she didn’t take Tom’s remarks lying down. Brooke soon came out publicly and said that Tom’s remarks on the matter of antidepressants were dangerous and irresponsible. According to her, those remarks could prevent suffering mothers from getting the medication they needed in order to recover. And be there for their newborn children.
Brooke went on to further explain that postpartum depression is a chemical phenomenon. And unlike some other types of depression that Tom may have been mistakenly talking about. Given that postpartum depression is caused by a chemical imbalance, it requires chemical aid to fixed.
Soon after making her public remarks in defense of antidepressant use, Brooke invited to write an op-ed piece in further defense against Tom’s derogatory claims. This piece was titled “War of Words”, and appeared in The New York Times on July 1, 2005. She used the paper to make her claim that antidepressant use was beneficial and oftentimes necessary for mothers suffering from postpartum depression to make a full recovery. She also stated that her antidepressant use only temporary. And only used as a means to help shift her away from the chemical imbalance. Tom Cruse later made a heartfelt apology, and the two became friends again.
Brooke Shields has certainly shown a lot of perseverance throughout her life. Whether it’s in regard to her own personal struggles or in regard to her expansive Hollywood career. Comment down below to share what role you first think of when you hear Brooke Shields’ name. Or if you’re one of the many fans that is anxiously awaiting Brooke’s full recovery so that you can see her next role on film or television! As always, like this video to show your support. And subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
