Brooke Shields says fear stops her from going under the knife despite Hollywood pressure

• Brooke Shields, 60, says plastic surgery feels tempting but fear of change has kept her away
• The actress says she is more self-conscious about her body now than she was when younger
• Shields told Glamour in 2023 she supports surgery only when it is done purely for oneself

Brooke Shields has spoken candidly about beauty standards and her decision to avoid plastic surgery, even as cosmetic procedures remain widespread in Hollywood.

In an interview with People published on Wednesday, the 60-year-old actress reflected on ageing, body confidence and the pressures women face to alter their appearance.

'I'm too scared'

"For me, beauty meant being smart and being strong but I acknowledge that there are changes. I fully understand that beauty is so much more than just not having wrinkles," Shields said. "Listen, I work out, I get face peels, I mean I haven't gone under the knife. It seems tempting but I'm too scared!"

The actress also revealed that getting older has shifted the way she feels about her body — particularly when it comes to filming intimate scenes.

"I think I'm probably more self-conscious now than I was when I was younger because things need to be lifted, so I've got to have a pulley system to lift 'the girls' up," she said.

From child star to enduring icon

Shields first came to prominence as a child model and actress, appearing in films including Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon. In 2001, she married producer and writer Chris Henchy, with whom she shares two daughters. She has long spoken openly about the pressures women encounter to change their appearance as they grow older.

'I don't want to not look like myself'

In 2023, Shields told Glamour that she is "all for" surgery, provided it "truly is done for yourself." However, she expressed concern about the risk of excess.

"But I think it's easy to go down the slope of overdoing it. I'm scared of not looking like myself; the times that I've had Botox, I end up with this Spock eye and I'm like, 'I don't look like myself.' But I'll get Fraxels, and peels, and whatever the newest thing is, and I'll try it. I just don't want to not look like myself," she said.

Ageing as an act of rebellion

Speaking to Real Simple in January 2025, Shields described embracing ageing as something that can feel "rebellious" within a culture so fixated on youth.

"But our society has become so myopically focused on youth, we lose sight of the value that comes with age and experience and time. I look at my two girls — everything's higher and tighter and smoother. And I know it's all appealing and it does sell, but I want my girls to not be terrified to be my age," she said.