At 59, Brooke Shields has expanded her career to become both a founder and CEO. In June, the actress and model launched Commence , a New York-based hair-care company geared toward women over 40. “I’ve been selling things to other people my whole life. I never imagined I would be a CEO,” she says, having conceived the project during the pandemic.
Brooke has raised $3.5 million from outside investors to fund Commence’s first three products, which will launch in June 2024. It’s still early days, but she says this is already the most “challenging and exciting” phase of her professional life.
Brooke Shields’ Success Story
A standout on this year ’s Forbes 50 Over 50 list , Brooke Shields had a long career before diving into business: Her first modeling job was at 11 months old, for Ivory soap; a decade later, she played the daughter of a prostitute in the 1978 film “Pretty Baby,” which brought both controversy and critical acclaim. At 15, she became the face of Calvin Klein jeans.
“She’s genuine,” says Calvin Klein, now 81, of Brooke’s appeal. “You can’t count on many people, but you can count on what she says — she really believes and wants to do something good for people.”
The kick in business
This drive for change was part of what inspired Brooke to create Commence. During the pandemic, she started a blog and online community for women over 40 and was constantly told that her audience felt invisible to the beauty industry. “There was this feeling that once you hit a certain age, suddenly you lose all your value,” the star says.
There were also a lot of specific questions about hair care—how to deal with the new textures of gray hair, drier scalps, and slower hair growth that can occur as they age. “They weren’t complaining; they wanted their problems solved,” Brooke says.
To find a solution, the actress recruited a team of veteran retail and beauty executives — including Karla De Bernardo , who developed marketing strategies for Macy’s, and Mark Knitowski , the former product and fragrance guru at Victoria’s Secret.
Together, they focused on what Brooke calls their “hero” products: an instant dry shampoo, a leave-in conditioner and a root-thickening serum. The trio launched on June 3, exclusively on the brand’s online portal.
It’s too early to estimate revenue, but the CEO is optimistic: “The products need to speak for themselves. It’s not called ‘The Brooke,’ ‘The Brooke Look Brand’ or something like that,” she says. “This brand needs to live forever.”
Challenges of entrepreneurship as a woman
When Brooke Shields realized that Commence would require more capital than she could provide on her own, she did what most entrepreneurs do: she turned to angel investors and venture capitalists for seed funding.
Though she’s spent most of the past five decades pursuing directions as a model and actress, Brooke put her foot down when too many male venture capitalists followed up her investment decision with a lecture on what she was doing wrong as an entrepreneur. “I remember one day saying, ‘I understand your need to tell me what I’m doing wrong. But in this particular case, I didn’t ask for your advice. I just asked for your money,’” she recalls.
50 Over 50
New chapters are the focus of Forbes ’ fourth annual 50 Over 50 list , which highlights 200 women who have made a professional impact — whether by founding a company, reshaping philanthropy or making new scientific discoveries — after the age of 50. Produced in partnership with MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski and her Know Your Value initiative, the list is divided into four categories of 50 women each: Investing, Impact, Innovation and Lifestyle.
