Pics Of Brooke Shields That Show Why She Was The 'Face Of An Entire Decade' In The '80s

Brooke Shields has been in the public eye her entire life. Shields was only 11 months old when she landed her first modeling gig and by the time she was 8, in 1974, she'd secured her first acting role. Although the late 1970s were rife with controversy for Shields, especially after shooting nude scenes for 1978's "Pretty Baby" when she was only 11, by the time the '80s rolled around, she became the face of the decade. At least that's how Time portrayed her in its February 9, 1981 cover story. Shields was 15 at the time.

"Time called me the face of an entire decade, which has always felt weird, but I've learned to appreciate it more over time," Shields wrote for Time in April 2023, adding she didn't understand the influence of the magazine or the gravity of such a label. "Now I look back at this cover 42 years later and realize how important that cover was ... It was social commentary on what the supposed standard of beauty was at the time — but I find it somewhat controversial, what they chose to focus on." The focus was on Shields' beauty because, as she explained, it always had been.

Shields is one of the celebrities in their 60s who looks stunning without makeup and isn't afraid to show it. While her 2023 documentary, "Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields" was the catharsis she'd been looking for, her cultural impact on the 1980's remains. Brooke Shields was then, and will always be, the face of the '80s.

Part of being the face of a decade means hobnobbing with the biggest stars of the time. In the 1980s, no one was bigger or more internationally known than Michael Jackson, and it just so happens that he and Brooke Shields were close friends. "From the day we met, we saw something of ourselves in each other ... Together, we felt impervious to the craziness that swirled around us," Shields shared with People. True to 1980s trends, Shields' hair is big in this pic, her eyebrows unstoppable, and she's rocking everyday-glam sequins.

In June 1984, Brooke Shields attended a Cancer Care event looking casual yet chic. With her hair pulled into a half-up, half-down hairstyle to inspire your next styling session, wearing a classic white button-down shirt and white drop earrings, Shields is the epitome of a 1980s summer-in-the-city look. She also appears to be mostly makeup-free if not completely without it, letting her luminous complexion radiate and showing off her perfectly full eyebrows. 

When you're Brooke Shields and you've delivered the iconic line, "You want to know what comes in between me and my Calvins? Nothing," in a 1980 commercial for Calvin Klein, it only makes sense that you'd eventually have your own line of jeans. The Brooke Shields Jeanswear Collection debuted in 1985. Although the collection was short-lived, only lasting a few seasons, it was another way to keep the 1980s saturated with Brooke's face and overall presence.

In May 1986, Brooke Shields and Patrick Swayze were photographed together celebrating the summer issue of In Fashion Magazine. Although these days we know safe sun tanning isn't even a possibility, in the 1980s, sunblock wasn't on everyone's radar — hence the reason these two have a sun-kissed appearance. However, as beautiful as Shields looks, skipping SPF eventually caught up with her. As Shields told People in April 2019, "I had to have things taken off my face ... my focus has gotten a lot more on sunscreen."

When she attended the premiere of 1986's "Vamp," Brooke Shields showed up with her hair dyed a surprising color: red. While trying to find the best red hair for your skin's undertone can be tricky, it's clear whoever was behind this coloring job absolutely nailed the perfect shade for Shields. "When I was younger, and honestly until my 40s, my hair belonged to everyone else," Shields told Byrdie in May 2025. "When I hit my mid-40s, I started to push back and say, 'I'm not going to do that to my hair.'"

Feathered hair? Check. Light blue eye shadow? Of course. Frosted pink lipstick? Absolutely. An oversized top with some sort of feline graphic on it? Obviously. Talking to a fellow '80s icon? You better believe it. In January 1987, Brooke Shields was photographed having a chat with artist Keith Haring while at the Palladium nightclub in New York City. It seems whenever and wherever there was a place to be, Shields was there and, most of the time, with someone who was just as essential to the cultural fabric of the 1980s as she was.

Because the late '80s and early '90s were all about big hair and even bigger bangs, of course a fashion legend of Brooke Shields' stature would lean into the trend. In 1988, Shields posed with a fake diamond she'd been gifted while on the set of "The Great Diamond Robbery" and despite what's in her hands, it's her bangs (and eyebrows, of course) that are stealing the show. In 2023, mall bangs came back into style, much to the delight of those who were in their teens and 20s in the 1980s and had never let them go.

While pigeonholing people isn't fair, this photo of Brooke Shields at the American Film Institute Gala in 1989 is the ultimate example of why she'll always be remembered as the face of the '80s. From her big, wavy hair to her thick eyebrows to her flawless skin to what appears to be a top with shoulder pads, if you were to ask someone what type of image comes to mind when thinking of the quintessential look of the decade, it would be this photo. Time's label might have created pressure, but they weren't wrong. 

Although her foundation is a little light for her neck and chest, what's really eye-catching here is Brooke Shields' dark eyeliner and shiny red lipstick. Because red lipstick is always a good idea, it was an ideal choice for this 1989 press conference in which Shields was promoting her film "Brenda Starr." Combined with the printed top and very '80s-looking pearl necklace, Shields looks very grown-up, despite the fact that she was only 24 at the time.