The New Life of Brooke Shields

The Real Brooke Shields

She's been a supermodel, sitcom star, best-selling author. She even took on Tom Cruise. We've loved her from afar for years -- so what's she like in real life? At 42, Brooke Shields's focus is on her upcoming starring role in the TV series Lipstick Jungle. A drama/comedy about three female power brokers in New York City, it's based on a novel by Sex and the City creator Candace Bushnell. As part of our all-new Mind, Body & Spirit Superstar series, Brooke sat down with FITNESS in Los Angeles to talk about balancing her own busy life with two kids, the joys and challenges of being forty-something, and why it's so important to help girls and women learn to be more confident. Brooke, in her own words:

FITNESS: You've reinvented yourself so many times. How do you do it?

Brooke: It's about circumstance. When one environment stops welcoming me, I move on to the next. After college, I wasn't getting the kind of movie offers I'd been getting, and I knew I wasn't going to be a top model anymore -- I'd already done that. So when Broadway opened its arms to me, I went for it. Then TV wanted me, and I decided to make the most of that. I capitalize on everything available to me.

FITNESS: Is being 42 different from what you thought it would be?

Brooke: I always wanted to feel fulfilled, but I wasn't always convinced it was going to happen. But now that I have my husband [TV writer/producer Chris Henchy] and my kids [4-year-old Rowan and 1-year-old Grier], I am. That makes me feel younger than I am -- like life is just beginning for me.

FITNESS: What's the hardest thing about it?

Brooke: The preconception about what being forty-something means in Hollywood, where everyone is obsessed with women in their 20s. That's one thing that makes Lipstick Jungle so great -- it portrays women who have lived a lot but also have a lot more living to do. And I love that I don't have to worry about being shaped like a prepubescent to star in it.