After watching the youngest of her two children leave home to head off to college in recent days, Brooke Shields’s daughter Grier Henchy will be working on both her school studies while continuing to build up her career as a model.
While it almost always helps to have name and face recognition while following in the footsteps of her famous mom, the 18-year-old has been faced with being labeled a ‘nepo baby’, which typically is a derogatory term that insinuates ‘a celebrity whose fame and success are perceived as unearned or undeserved.’
The rising star model, who has a contract with Tommy Hilfiger, takes offense to the term when it comes to her new career as a model and herrelationship with her mother.
‘People have referred to me by that term a bajillion times,’ the New York City native, 18, revealed during an interview with People, before elaborating on what the term means to her, and how it makes her feel.
‘It doesn’t really affect me because they are sitting behind a screen commenting on my social media [but] it hurts my feelings. Obviously wanting to model and having a mom that models, helps, but also if I get there and they hate the way I look, they’re not going to ask me to come back.’
Brooke Shields’s youngest daughter Grier Henchy, 18, revealed the nepo baby tag ‘hurts my feelings,’ during a new interview
She is seen here with her mom at the Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields premiere in New York in March
Henchy went on to share one of the philosophies her mom passed on to her when it comes to using her clout and connections as a celebrity to help her get an audition for a gig.
‘My mom says I can get you in a room but I can’t get you to stay there,’ Henchy, 18, said of the perks that comes along with having a famous parent.
‘Having a famous mom can only get you so far. If I sucked at my job, I’d be fired. If Rowan sucked at her job, she’d be fired,’ Henchy said, while referencing her sister’s recent internship at Good Morning America during an in-depth interview just before making the move for college.
Leaving home this summer for college, Grier is following the lead of her older sister by attending Wake Forest University in North Carolina as a freshman.
Now a senior and graduation right around the corner, Rowan isn’t totally following in her mother’s footsteps, although she wants to have a career in entertainment by being a broadcast journalist, with hopes of interviewing celebrities like her mother and other high-profile people.
‘I work as an intern and I’m constantly asking “What do you need?”‘ Rowan, 21, said of her internship at ABC’s GMA, before admitting she has no problem in using her connections. ‘It would be a waste if I went about my life and didn’t use her a little bit.’
Being the experienced model, actress and entrepreneur, considering she’s started to work in front of the camera when she was just 11-months-old, Shields also has plenty to offer her girls, in terms of knowledge and work ethic.
Now with both daughters attending Wake Forest University in North Carolina, Brooke Shield and husband Chris Henchy are empty nesters after 23 years of marriage
And nearly 58 years later, she’s still hard at work on those very same career paths, recently launching Commence, LINK, a hair care line for women over forty, while also playing the leading lady role in the romantic comedy film Mother Of The Bride.
‘In a weird way, I think it makes them work harder,’ The Pretty Baby star, 59, said of her daughters and her tough work ethic when it comes to her career.
‘I will say to Grier, it’s going to be uncomfortable, you’re going to be tired,’ she shared. ‘There’s going to be dismissiveness or discomfort in what you’re wearing and that’s just the way it goes. You arrive early and leave after everybody and that means something.’
Shields gained widespread notoriety for her leading role in Louis Malle’s film Pretty Baby (1978), in which she appeared in nude scenes shot when she was just 11-years- old.
She continued to model into her late teenage and young adult years,and starred in several dramas in the 1980s, including Blue Lagoon (1980), Endless Love (1981), but ended up suspending her career in order to attend Princeton University, where she subsequently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Romance languages.
‘My mom says I can get you in a room but I can’t get you to stay there,’ Henchy, 18, said of the perks that comes along with having a famous parent
The actress, model, and entrepreneur is dropping a new book about living the midlife years to the fullest titled, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed To Get Old, which is out January 14, 2025
After returning to acting Shields appeared in minor roles in films, until she got another big breakout role in the hit sitcom Suddenly Susan (1996-2000), Lipstick Jungle (2008-2009), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2017-2018), and Mr. Pickles (2014-2019).
Now with both daughters away at Wake Forest working on their studies, Shields and husband Chris Henchy are now officially empty nesters.
‘They’re together at least,’ an emotional Shields said as she wiped at her eyes in an Instagram post in late August, as reported by Today. ‘It’s not easy. It’s not easy for the moms. I mean it’s just so weird. It’s so weird that (Grier’s) not here.’
The New York City native is gearing up for the release of her upcoming new book – Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts On Aging As A Woman- about ‘how midlife can be the prime of life,’ which is set to drop January 14, 2025.
