Brooke Shields: There is No Replacing the Role of a Mother

Ed Isabella/INF

For an actor, the ability to relate to their on-screen character is a must, so when it came time for Brooke Shields to sympathize with Wendy, her role on Lipstick Jungle, the actress only had to think of her own hectic life as a mom. Much like Wendy, Brooke — who has daughters Rowan Francis, 5, and Grier Hammond, 2 ½ — realizes that despite having a supportive husband or a close-knit group of people around your family, there is no replacing the role of a mother.

"No matter how equal we become in our society, no matter how powerful women are getting, they still have to be the primary parents. It just seems to fall that way. There is something about mom that is just sort of indispensable."

In fact, Brooke shares in a new interview with PARADE that balancing her demanding role on her hit TV series with her responsibilities as an NYC mother while her husband Chris Henchy commutes from Los Angeles is something the family is "dealing with" at the moment. Making the choice for Brooke to relocate to the East Coast was not an easy decision, but after a hiatus from the industry, the 43-year-old was ready to become a full-time working mom. While the major commitment may be difficult for Chris and Brooke, the actress shares that Grier has also become aware of her mom’s absence.

"The baby says to me, ‘Mama, no go to work.’ The other day she literally pounded her fist down on the table. And she said, ‘Why you have to go to Lipstick Jungle?’ And I was like, ‘Honey, I have to go. I’ll be home to pick you up from school. I promise.’"

Lipstick Jungle airs Fridays at 10 p.m. on NBC.

Source: PARADE

Comments

Nope, NBC moved Lipstick Jungle to Friday nights at 10/9c

- Cathi on November 12th, 2008

I disagree that the mother needs to be the “primary parent.” Parental roles vary from household to household.

Personally, I’ll be working and my husband will be homeschooling our children.

- Kerri on November 12th, 2008

I am a working mom with a stay-at-home father for a husband and I actually agree with Brooke. I think she means “primary” in terms of the emotional importance of the mother and not in terms of parental responsibilities. There is no question that my husband does more of the day-to-day care for our daughter. It has been that way since she was 6 weeks old. But her bond to me is much more visible and intense at this point in her life (she is only 3 so this may change). I must admit that I was a little surprised by this myself. It really changed my concept of motherhood and how that would jive with my career. I actually worried while pregnant that I would feel left out because they would have a special relationship that would develop and flourish while I was at work. But I had nothing to fear! I am not left out of anything – there is a very special place for me that is not affected by the fact that I often work long hours. There is no question that my daughter is very fond of her father and that she thoroughly enjoys her time with him. But when he goes away for a few days, she asks about him and says she misses him but is not otherwise negatively affected by his absence. If I go away for a few days, which I try very hard not to do, she really struggles. My presence is infinitely more calming and soothing than my husband’s even though I think he is the more stable personality. There really is no way around it. Mothers really are the centerpeices of their childrens’ lives, especially when they are young. I find that very liberating and enriching. It is exciting to know that I can have a bustling career and still fulfill an important role in my daughter’s life.

- Alex on November 12th, 2008

Every kid goes through mommy-phases and daddy-phases. That’s normal. But if the mother is always the primary parent then something is wrong.

If both parents are hands-on and are equally involved in the childs life then she/he can rely on both of them and there is no need to talk about primary parents. There wouldn’t be a primary parent.

- Kendra on November 13th, 2008

I recently heard Ms. Shields address “adoption rumors.” She repeatedly says that she would do so “in America” because there are so many babies “in our own backyard.” People like Ms. Shields do a terrible disservice to the general public when she speaks without true knowledge. To say there are many babies in this country who “need” to be adopted more than any child anywhere is, at best, ill-informed and at worst, mean-spirited. Wherever a child needs a family and a family needs a child, adoption works. By the time she actually does adopt a child, I do hope Ms. Shields has become better educated about the process and the reality of adoption. One of my children is adopted from South Korea and I can assure you, she is no less a person worthy of love than any other.

- Suzanne Moyers on November 13th, 2008