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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Brooke Shields was not 13 while making Pretty Baby (1978). Sources place her at about 11 or 12 during the production period; Paramount describes her character, Violet, as 12. The film was released in U.S. theaters with an R rating, but that rating was not a legal ruling or an exemption from child-protection laws.
How old was Brooke Shields during Pretty Baby?
The age of 13 is not supported for the film’s production. The Associated Press reports that Shields was 11 during the film, while Paramount and a contemporary Washington Post profile describe her or her character as 12. The sources differ, so the careful description is that she was about 11–12 during the production period—not 13.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
![Pretty Baby (Special Edition) [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51eDIlnqJdL._SL160_.jpg)
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Pretty Baby (Special Edition) [Blu-ray] | $12.49 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Rock, Pretty Baby! | $14.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Pretty Baby | $45.98 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
![Robot Jox (1989) [ Blu-Ray, Reg.A/B/C Import - Spain ]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51ClkPyr8zL._SL160_.jpg)
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Robot Jox (1989) [ Blu-Ray, Reg.A/B/C Import - Spain ] | $33.98 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
![THE FINEST HOURS (BLU-RAY) - V [2016] [Region A & B & C]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61TsfFEX7KL._SL160_.jpg)
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THE FINEST HOURS (BLU-RAY) - V [2016] [Region A & B & C] | $87.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Paramount identifies Pretty Baby as a 1978 drama directed by Louis Malle. Set in New Orleans in 1917, it follows Violet, a child living in a brothel. The historical setting and the character’s circumstances belong to the story; they do not change Shields’s age as a child actor.
What does the R rating establish?
Paramount lists the film as R-rated. Its rating information says viewers under 17 require an accompanying parent or adult guardian. That classification describes the film’s release rating and audience-access conditions. It does not determine whether every aspect of a production complied with applicable law.
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- Internationally acclaimed director Louis Malle (Elevator to the Gallows, Au Revoir les Enfants, Damage) has taken a taboo subject—child prostitution—and created in Pretty Baby a film of humanity and beauty
The film was presented and released as a dramatic feature. Neither that framing nor the R rating, by itself, proves that the production was legally approved or exempt from a statute.
Is there a documented legal ruling about the film?
The sources consulted do not establish a prosecution or court decision specifically determining whether Pretty Baby was legal. The American Film Institute’s catalog records contemporary reports that the film might face scrutiny under a Minnesota law concerning pornography involving children. Those reports document concern at the time, not a finding by a court.
Rank #2
- Rock, Pretty Baby!
A federal appellate opinion describes the 1977 Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act as addressing specified production and distribution involving minors and sexually explicit conduct. That opinion does not discuss Pretty Baby or decide how the law applied to it. It would therefore be inaccurate to cite the statute or the film’s rating as proof of a film-specific legal outcome.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why did Pretty Baby become controversial?
The film’s story places a child character in a setting involving prostitution, and audiences and commentators debated the film’s treatment of that subject. The presence of a child actor in an adult dramatic story also drew attention to the difference between the character’s fictional circumstances and the real child performing the role.
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- Pretty Baby (Imprint)
- Pretty Baby (Imprint)
Shields later reflected on the press attention as well as the film itself. In a PBS interview with Christiane Amanpour, she said she had “Never focused on how these journalists could get away with the line of questioning or the sort of the approach to dealing with a child.” Her comment speaks to how she remembers journalists’ treatment of her as a child; it is not evidence of a legal ruling about the production.
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Rank #4
- Robot Jox (1989)
- Robot Jox (1989)
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