The actress spoke with ET at the premiere of her new documentary in New York on Wednesday.
Brooke Shields is telling her truth and her story.
The actress walked the carpet at the premiere of her new Netflix documentary, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, in New York City, where she spoke with ET's Rachel Smith about her candid and emotionally powerful film, and why it was the right time to open up about her experiences and trauma.
"It was time because of the team, because my children's age, and because of all the work that I have done to really find belief and confidence in my own self," shared Shields, who found herself wiping away "happy tears" when she hit the carpet, as she was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the evening.
"At my age, this is a different time, it's a different era, and I was ready to share [my story] and ready to be brutally honest," Shields said. "Otherwise, it wouldn't have been authentic and I would have been a hypocrite.
In the documentary -- which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and is coming to Hulu -- the 57-year-old actress recalls a harrowing experience she says happened during a period when she was struggling to find work in Hollywood and was sexually attacked by an "industry insider" after graduating from Princeton.
Reflecting on the journey she went on to get to a place where she felt she could discuss the painful encounter, Shields told ET, "It was about processing it all... and coming to terms with it, and owning it."
"It was important to tell the story, and was also important so that we don't have to feel alone," she continued.
As for what message she might give her younger self -- back when she was a child actress -- Shields explained that she'd simply say, "Give yourself a break."
The documentary, directed by Lana Wilson, takes on the same title as the controversial 1978 film Shields appeared in when she was 12 years old, in which she played a young girl in 1917 who grew up in a New Orleans brothel and faced sexual exploitation.
The documentary is set to explore Shields' other high-profile and somewhat controversial roles in The Blue Lagoon and Endless Love, as well as taking the world by storm as a model for Calvin Klein jeans.
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields debuts on Hulu Apr. 3.
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