Brooke Shields is shedding light on a deeply personal and traumatic experience in her upcoming memoir, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman. The Blue Lagoon actress reveals that in her 40s, she underwent a vaginal rejuvenation procedure without her consent, describing it as a shocking invasion of her body.
In a new Us Weekly cover story, Shields, 59, shared that the ordeal began when she consulted her gynecologist about years of discomfort, including “bleeding and chafing,” caused by the size of her labia. Her gynecologist recommended a surgical reduction, which Shields agreed to undergo.
However, it wasn’t until a post-operative appointment with the male surgeon that she learned he had performed an additional procedure—a vaginal tightening—without her knowledge or consent.
“He informed me that he threw in a little bonus,” Shields recalled, explaining that the surgeon seemed “legitimately proud” of what he referred to as a “twofer.” Shields, meanwhile, was left stunned. “It felt like such an invasion—such a bizarre, like, rape of some kind,” she said.
Shields emphasized that she neither wanted nor needed the tightening procedure, calling the surgeon’s actions “irreversible” and “deeply invasive.” Both she and her gynecologist were outraged, with Shields describing her post-surgery reaction as a mix of “shame” and “anger.”
She initially avoided discussing the experience, even with her husband, Chris Henchy. Shields writes in the memoir that while she considered suing the doctor, she ultimately decided against it. “I didn’t particularly want talk of my lady parts once again on the front page of every paper,” she explained.
Shields also noted that she felt a noticeable and unwelcome difference in her body after the procedure. “Nothing pointed toward this need to be tighter or smaller or firmer or younger, especially there,” she said.
Despite her discomfort in sharing such a private story, Shields believes it’s a necessary step toward destigmatizing discussions about women’s health. “If we are to change the way we approach and talk about women’s health, then we need to bring up the uncomfortable but very real issues. Shame is no longer an option,” she writes in the book.
Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old hits shelves on January 14.
