Brooke Shields from young age was like 'little shark sensing blood in water'

Brooke Shields, who has been able to tell whether someone is genuine or not immediately, has revealed that from a very young age, she was like a little shark sensing blood in the water.

The 49-year-old actress said that children have the sharpest instincts as they tend to be wary of adults they don't feel comfortable with, the Guardian reported.

The 'Pretty Baby' star, whose mother's alcoholism kept her on the straight and narrow throughout her childhood and teen years, also revealed that she was a caretaker to a drinker and so didn't have time to consider going off the rails herself because all she wanted to do was to get A's in school and keep her mum alive.

Shields, who claims postpartum depression is the hardest thing she has had to get through, added that it still colours the dynamic she has with her daughter and so she feels residual guilt.

She continued that at the time Tom Cruise criticised her use of antidepressants and therapy very publicly and so the one thing she can thank him for is that it raised awareness of the illness.