Suddenly Susan – A Brooke Shields Sitcom Story

Brooke Shields has long been one of Hollywood’s premier stars — she began modeling at age 10 and two years later was celebrated as “the world’s youngest sex symbol” when she appeared naked in a major motion picture. Shields has continued her success both as an actress and model throughout her adult years with roles in 1980s movies like Pretty Baby and Blue Lagoon as well as 1990s sitcom Suddenly Susan.

She’s made a career of advocating for mothers, drawing upon personal experience to inspire her activism and assist those going through similar situations. She and producer/writer Christopher Henchy have been together over 20 years and are parents to Rowan and Grier, the latter being named as her daughter after his deceased wife.

Henchy is well known for his work as a producer and writer on numerous hit television shows and movies, such as Gary Sanchez Productions with Will Ferrell as partner, as well as co-founding Funny or Die, which features humor on its site.

Shields found mainstream success during the ’90s thanks to her role as Susan on NBC’s Suddenly Susan. The show ran for two seasons and garnered her both a Golden Globe nomination and Emmy award nomination for her performance as magazine columnist Susan. Shields went on to star in both dramas and comedies in later years.

Susan Keane (Shields), was a 30-something copy editor at The Gate, an upmarket San Francisco publication. Due to her fashion sense and love of fashion, Susan quickly earned the moniker “The Stylish Girl”. Other members at the magazine included food critic Vicki Groener (Kathy Griffin), known for being “The Empress of Hip”; music critic Todd Stities (David Strickland) who dreamt of one day catching a foul ball; Jack Richmond (Judd Nelson), their boss who loved his dog more than his job; as well as Jack Richmond’s boss who valued his work more than anything else – complete with his coffee mug bearing his moniker of “Big Dog!”

Sitcom enjoyed great ratings success during its initial three seasons, but began to lose steam during its fourth season. New producers attempted to revamp it, adding guest stars, but eventually cancelled with four episodes remaining on air.

Shields maintained strong relationships with her show’s creators, Moses Port and David Guarascio, who wanted the series to succeed. Both men had also played key roles on other sitcoms such as ER and Home Improvement so knew how to keep their show humming along smoothly.

Shields has recently appeared on an episode of Cooking with the Girls on TLC honoring Father’s Day and has an upcoming movie titled Mother of the Bride due out this summer. Additionally, she and Henchy frequently attend red carpet events – most recently attending Apple TV+ Spirited premiere with daughter Grier in tow as well as Impractical Jokers: The Movie premiere!