Some icons are defined by a moment. Brooke Shields has been defined by decades. At 61, she is as much a part of the cultural conversation as ever—only now, the conversation is one she’s helping to lead. Between her role as cofounder of Commence, the wellness brand quietly reshaping how women talk about midlife beauty, and her scene-stealing turn in You’re Killing Me (yes, Season 2 is officially happening), Shields is operating at a frequency that most would envy at any age.
She has always been watched—scrutinized, celebrated, debated. What’s changed is that she is no longer simply the subject of the story, but writing it. In our intimate chat, she opens up about the rituals that keep her thriving, and why the most radical thing a woman can do is simply trust herself.
Commence is more than a hair-care line—you’re encouraging women to talk about midlife and beauty. What makes now the right time?
“I was really starting to feel good about myself—happy with things that might have bothered me in my 20s. My kids are off to college, and I just thought, ‘I feel good about where I am.’ Then I noticed that wasn’t the message being
put out there. From the beauty industry, the message is: Once you’re over 40 and no longer able to bear children, you lose all your currency.
I started analyzing how the beauty industry marketed to women, and saw this huge white space. We jump right from ‘hot girl at the bar’ to Depends and dentures—nothing in between. All the women I know who are 40, 50, 60 are fabulous. They’ve raised families, run companies, they have time and means to invest in themselves.
So, I started an online community, Beginning Is Now, just to see if I was alone in feeling this way. Women flocked to it—Zooms with 50 women over 50, 40 women over 40. Very quickly, people asked, ‘What are you selling?’ It was never about a product, but they started saying, ‘There are biological changes no one is addressing—thinning hair, dull hair—how do you keep your hair healthy?’ That conversation grew into: Why not address those changes through scalp care the way we treat our faces? That’s how we developed our first products.”
It’s a new field for you. What’s been the most interesting thing you’ve learned?
“The nuance of product development. Going into the lab and asking, ‘Can you make hyaluronic acid a smaller molecule so the scalp can actually absorb it?’ They looked at me like I was crazy. A few weeks later, they’d quaternized it—but it was still a wet formula that would clump in rice powder. So I said, ‘Can you encapsulate it, like an M&M, so it only releases on contact?’ And they found a way.
When you rub it into your scalp, the rice powder absorbs excess oil, and the hyaluronic acid bursts open and delivers moisture right where it’s dry. They called it a smart product. It’s the only instant shampoo on the market with hyaluronic acid embedded in rice powder—and no benzene, non-aerosol, so it’s not harmful to your lungs or the environment.
We’re even rethinking the bottle’s squeezability, because women dealing with arthritis or limited grip strength shouldn’t have to struggle with it. That’s the stuff I love. It’s definitely a lot of work though. The hard part is fundraising…we’ve done well, our launch was strong, but that money goes right back into inventory because we keep selling out.”
Do you feel like you’re helping to lead the conversation around menopause and midlife?
“I’m part of it. Naomi Watts with Stripes was really first. I want to make sure we address it thoughtfully. I don’t want us to be reduced to just being ‘the menopause brand.’ But it is important to talk about it without shame. Think about it: Getting your first period, acne—none of it is fun, but it happens. Menopause is the same. I just want to bring that conversation in with the right tone for our community.”
You use the word ‘wellness’ a lot around the brand. What does that word mean to you right now?
“Taking care of myself and listening to my instincts. Sleep is everything! When I don’t sleep well, everything suffers. I can’t process alcohol the way I used to. I don’t feel good if I don’t work out. And then it’s the things that calm me—needlepoint, reading, a walk on the beach, Rummikub with friends. Single-focused things that don’t involve technology. That ’s the most healing for me.”
You have the second season of You’re Killing Me coming up, and you’ve called it ‘bizarrely autobiographical.’ What drew you to it?
“I love the physical comedy. With mystery shows, I always have to fight to keep it in because there’s always pressure to play it straight. But the comedy is what differentiates us from every other mystery on every other channel. And it’s what makes the genuinely emotional moments between these two women really land. We think of it as a triangle: Are we doing the forensics, the sleuthing or the banter? That balance makes it unexpected, and honestly, it’s just a fun, easy watch.”
After a packed couple of weeks and months, can you rest this summer?
“I’m holding my breath until mid-June, and then, I’ve told everyone, ‘Don’t call me!’ Once the new season starts, it’s around the clock again. I’ve been traveling constantly. I was on a 5 a.m. flight to Austin yesterday, came straight from the airport and now I’m flying back. It’s a lot. But now that we’ve got the second-season pickup, I’m hoping to get to the beach, do some crafts, be with my kids and friends and just be quiet for a bit. And maybe organize my basement.”
