The Texas Trailblazer Awards Luncheon benefiting The Family Place at the Hilton Anatole Dallas on Tuesday, October 10, provided a varied and entertaining program for its 700 guests. But the domestic-violence shelter’s VIP reception and meet-and-greet with actress and keynote speaker Brooke Shields that preceded the luncheon was pretty fascinating, too.
Clad in a long red dress—she’d originally planned to wear something white—the tall, effervescent, 58-year-old Brooke graciously posed for photos for a line of guests in the Carpenter Room that seemed to stretch on forever. Among them were Rose Futterknecht and Paul Faubion (he’s a new Family Place board member), Beth and Ron Hall, Allison Levy, Cynthia Everitt, Megan Sun, Jane McGarry and Honorary Co-Chairs Stephanie and Travis Hollman.
Also in the room, Carol Seay and Nancy Bierman (she’s been on the FP board for four years) chatted quietly, while Clarisa Lindenmeyer reported that she’d be chairing next year’s Trailblazer fundraiser along with Lauren Black, Nakita Johnson and Lauren McKinnon.
Meantime, Fox4 anchor Heather Hays was standing discreetly by a far wall, not far from her daughter, Lily Roberts, who was wearing her sash and crown as Miss Dallas Teen 2024. Heather, herself a former Miss Hawaii, smiled and explained, “Before I go to work, I run her around.” Lily would help later keeping track of the luncheon’s fundraising efforts.
As the guests crowded next into the Imperial Ballroom for the main event, they were greeted from the stage by Family Place CEO Mimi Sterling and Event Co-Chairs Lindsay Jacaman and Holly Hill Krug.
Mimi presented the nonprofit’s 2023 Texas Trailblazer Award to Mary Kay Inc. CEO Ryan Rogers—since 1996, Mary Kay’s foundation has contributed $92 million to worthy causes like women’s shelters—before Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia and State Rep. Victoria Neave Criado stepped into the spotlight.
The chief and the legislator received the Family Place’s inaugural Legislative Impact Award for championing Texas House Bill 5202, which created a violent-offender database of individuals convicted of two or more violent crimes including sexual assault and stalking. The database will be up and running next year, they said.
While guests enjoyed their lunch of greens, pan-roasted chicken breast and New York cheesecake or chocolate fudge cake, Max Wolf conducted a lively paddle raise before giving way to the featured attraction.
Here are some highlights from Brooke’s wide-ranging conversation with NBC 5’s Meredith Land:
- The two decided to scrap repeating Brooke’s bio, which was also in the luncheon program. “I’ve been around for so long,” Brooke quipped. “People know me for so many things.”
- Growing up, Brooke wanted to be a country-western singer.
- When Meredith asked Brooke what it was like being in the spotlight at a young age—she was in the controversial movie “Pretty Baby” at 11 and was the youngest fashion model ever to appear on the cover of “Vogue”at 14— she replied, “Because it happened at such an early age to me, it wasn’t a shock to the system.”
- Brooke’s relationship with her late mother Teri, a “tough New Jersey woman” and an alcoholic, was complicated. Her mother divorced her dad without telling him, for example. “That’s her, in a nutshell,” Brooke said. On the other hand, her mother “would kill for me,” Brooke added, recalling how she was fiercely protective. “She would tell [untrustworthy men], ‘I will rip your b**** out and shove them down your threat if you get near my daughter.'”
- “I had my first intervention with my mom at age 13,” Brooke remembered. “I said, ‘I’m going to go live with my father if you don’t get help.’ She went into rehab … and maybe stayed sober for a week.”
- It was also at age 13 that Brooke started therapy. “I was introduced to my therapist through a bad boyfriend. That was the only good thing to come out of [the relationship]. And, they’re still my therapist!”
- As a young person, Brooke said, “I had no self-consciousness then. I saved that for my 50s.”
- Referring to her husband, Brooke said, “I’m married to an Irish guy. Need I say more?”
- On the topic of protecting today’s young people—Brooke was “running around naked” on the “Pretty Baby” set before she was a teenager—she said she’s “constantly worried” about one of her daughters, who is Type 1 diabetic. “She was in Florence and drove a scooter at 4 a.m. after drinking.” Alcohol is a “ticking time bomb” for diabetics, she added.
- Asked about ageism in Hollywood, Brooke replied, “It’s not just Hollywood. It’s absolutely everywhere.” While it seems like “you’re either the sexy girl at the bar, or you’re in Depends … there are a lot of vibrant women over 40,” she said. “I feel sexier now than I used to.” She’s currently co-writing a book about “this era in a woman’s life,” she said, “and how wonderful it can be.”
- When Meredith asked which celebrity had had the greatest impact on her life, Brooke answered, perhaps surprisingly, that it was comedian Bob Hope, with whom she did 27 shows. “He was the first person who’d asked me to be funny,” she explained. “That was the first time I’d found my real self as an actress. Comedy is so first-nature to me.” The revelation led to her star turn on the TV sitcom “Suddenly Susan” (1996-2000) and to multiple roles on Broadway.
- Today Brooke serves on the board of the nonprofit Women in Need, which provides housing, services and programs to homeless women and children in New York City. “If you see somebody hurting, we have to be witnesses,” she said.
* Photo credit: Kelly Alexander and Tamytha Cameron