The Zoe Report - Brooke Shields Is Funny, Damn It

For Brooke Shields, comedy chops were “always a part of me, but never asked of me” until her ’90s sitcom work, or her early 2000s stint in the Broadway musical Wonderful Town. Of Shields’ many roles, the latter is not top of mind for most people, but to her, it’s a defining one. A self-described “laugh whore,” Shields relished in hamming it up for the audience each night, something performers are often told to rein in. “I would get backstage and look at the stage manager like, ‘Don’t! Do not tell me! I know what I did. I milked it, but they loved it.’”

At 58, the Hollywood icon is taking the reins as rom-com queen — and she’s finally basking in her wins. In conversation with Evan Ross Katz, Shields talks about her new Netflix film Mother of the Bride, riding the waves of her career, and why the world needs more rom-coms.