Brooke Shields has been pretty open about her struggles with severe depression following the birth of her children.  She wrote the book Down Came The Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression, fought publicly with Tom Cruise and appeared Sunday night at the Hope for Depression Research Foundation in New York City.

Shields spoke candidly about that time in 2003 and just how close she came to ending it all:

“We think and we feel that we should just be able to handle it on our own,” said the actress, who is mom to two girls, Rowan, 6, and Grier, 3. “I’ve always been strong enough to get through every single difficult situation in my life. I grew up in an addictive household. My mother [Teri] had acute alcoholism. It’s in my blood. I was never going to be the one to succumb to it.”

After a miscarriage and seven IVF attempts, she gave birth to daughter Rowan in 2003 with her husband, TV writer Chris Henchy. “I finally had a healthy beautiful baby girl and I couldn’t look at her,” she said of the depression she felt. “I couldn’t hold her and I couldn’t sing to her and I couldn’t smile at her … All I wanted to do was disappear and die.”

In her deepest moments of despair she said, that the disease led her to believe, “I should not exist. The baby would be better off without me. Life was never going to get better – so I better just go.”

Brooke went to her doctor and ended up on meds.  Like many depressed people, she then decided that she didn’t need medication and stopped taking it.  It was a mistake that led to “the week I almost did not resist driving my car straight into a wall on the side of the freeway.  My baby was in the back seat and that even pissed me off because I thought she’s even ruining this for me. I just wanted to drive into the wall and my friend stayed on the phone with me and made me safely get home.”

After more talks with her doctor, the actress was able to realize that she had a true chemical imbalance that needed to be treated.  ”I learned what was going on inside my body and what was going on inside my brain.  I learned I wasn’t doing anything wrong to feel that way. That it was actually out of my control.  If I had been diagnosed with any other disease, I would have run to get help. I would have worn it like a badge … I didn’t at first – but finally I did fight. I survived.”

I applaud Brooke for throwing the cloak off the stigma surrounding mental illness that still seems to exist.  Hell, I applaud all celebrities when they use their status to help others, and I imagine that Brooke’s admissions will.

Considering that a lot of non-famous people probably dressed up like them last night, it’s interesting to see what celebs chose to be for Halloween. I love that Gwen Stefani wasn’t afraid to don a head to toe Jessie (from Toy Story 2) costume to take her kids out trick-or-treating. Gavin gets negative points for taking himself too seriously and not wearing a costume.

Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis and his son both dressed as Eddie Munster while Christina Aguilera and son Max went out as a pair of skeletons. James Gandolfini and designer Christian Siriano both looked unintentionally creepy– one because he was wearing a Homer Simpson mask with the eyes cut out, the other because… well… you’ll see.

Brooke Shields is heading to the big screen and let me tell you, this is going to be a good movie.  When I say “a good movie” I mean “a funny movie.”  And when I mean “a funny movie” what I really mean is “sooooo damn funny that such a piss-poor movie was ever produced.”  Even the title is bad.

Brooke has signed on to costar with Brendan Fraser in a movie called Furry Vengeance and no, it’s not porn.  As if the mere presence of Brendan Fraser wasn’t synonymous with box office gold, check out this plot:  Fraser’s character goes to battle with a gang of raccoons when he infringes on their territory.  The raccoons get mad and start plotting against him.  Oh, the hilarity!

When we get a release date on this flick, you’ll probably want to start advance ordering your tickets to avoid standing in the lines that are guaranteed to wend around the corner of your local theater.

Equestrian junk-in-the-trunk aside, I love the Kentucky derby because it makes obscenely rich (and moderately famous) people put ridiculous things on their heads and stroll around for photo ops because, well, that’s just what one does on Derby Day. It’s the rich and famous version of peer pressure at its worst, and I love every minute of it.

Take a stroll through the photo gallery. You’ll find yourself asking questions like: Did a can of silly string explode on Lynn Whitfield’s head? Does Bobby Flay ever NOT look like a total prick? If I jump on Brooke Shields’ head, will I get an extra life?

In case you were wondering, a tiny, screaming, weeping, Creole lunatic riding a horse called “Mine That Bird” won the race today. God, I love the derby.

I don’t know how it could be, but Lipstick Jungle has been given a stay of execution.  NBC has put the show back on the schedule starting December 5th.  Who said miracles don’t happen?  I file this second chance in the same category as all Blessed Virgin Mary appearances that take place in the form of condensation on grocery market freezer doors.  A inexplicable event that defies logic but happens for a reason.  And for what reason do we need more Lipstick Jungle?  I don’t know either.  But as is with all divine interventions, it is not for us to question.

There are four episodes left and the network hasn’t ordered any new episodes.  So if you’re a fan, now is your time to stop mailing lipsticks to NBC execs and start recruiting viewers.  Oh, if any of you had a Lipstick Jungle party last night in honor of the last episode, restock up on the Fritos and ‘tinis because I predict the last episode, for real, will be January 9th.  I guess I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the show’s time has changed from 10 p.m. EST to 9.  I’d hate to feel I contributed in any way to the defeat of the LJ revival campaign.

Brooke Shields and hubby Chris Henchy hit the red carpet for Horton Hears a Who with kiddos Grier and Rowan.

Grier doesn’t know what the hell’s going on, but Rowan just seems petrified.

“Nooooo … That’s my mama for real life!”

Rowan Henchy, Brooke Shields’ 4-year-old daughter, as she sat in the studio audience for a taping of Hannah Montana and watched her mother give Miley Cyrus an on-screen hug.

After the taping, Miley gave Rowan a hug and told her “It was so nice for you to let me borrow your mom for today.”

I know I announced not too long ago that Shiloh Jolie-Pitt was the cutest child ever, but I think I need to reconsider. Brooke Shields’ little Grier is absolutely adorable, too. Brooke, her daughter, and her husband Chris Henchy hung out at the Mercedes Benz Polo Challenge for charity this weekend. Brooke hosted the event.

Look, I know I probably won’t be writing a celebrity gossip blog twenty years from now, but I really hope we’re still following celebrity gossip as closely then as we do now, because I’m really excited to watch all these kids grow up together. One of these days, we’re going to have Shiloh, Suri, Grier, Apple and all the rest of these tragically named children getting shitty drunk at some hip WeHo club and flipping off TMZ’s cameras, and I, for one, can’t wait.

Photo credit: Buzz Foto

On Sunday, all the celebrities who weren’t at the Disney event for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation dragged their asses (and the diapered asses of their small children) all the way down to Anaheim for the opening of the Finding Nemo ride.

I’m primarily interested in these images because, once again, Denise Richards insisted on trotting her obviously anti-camera children in front of photogs again. This time she only brought Sam, leaving Lola at home in peace, I suppose. These children always look unhappy in photos. Why do you insist on doing this to them, Denise?

In stark contrast, Brooke Shields’ little daughters, Rowan and Grier, are absolutely adorable. Mariska Hargitay was there with her son August. Kobe Bryant brought his whole family. Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow were there for reasons that baffle me. (Actually, Courteney was probably there because David Arquette and his sister Patricia, who brought her daughter and goddaughter, were.) Leah Remini, Scientologist extraordinaire, brought her husband Angelo Pagan and her daughter, Sofia Bella (Pagan’s three children from his previous marriage clearly lost their invites in the mail). Melissa Joan Hart brought her cutie son Mason. And no event would be complete without the darling Sprouse Brothers, still pretending to be 15 years old.

In a gossip world defined by an unending series of rehab entrances and exits, suicides and divorces, it’s refreshing to come across a plain old-fashioned Brooke-Shields-got-stuck-in-her-trailer piece. Shields was in New York, filming Lipstick Jungle for NBC (based on a novel by Sex and the City columnist Candace Bushnell), when she and her two young daughters somehow became locked in her trailer. Crew members could not pry open the front door of her trailer, so one climbed through the window to rescue the ladies.

Well, those two crazy kids actually went and got themselves married. This Saturday, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were joined in holy matrimony at Odescalchi Castle outside of Rome. There were over 150 guests in attendance, including Victoria Beckham, Brooke Shields, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey.

Katie’s father escorted her down the aisle, and the ceremony was performed at sunset by a Scientology minister (read about traditional Scientology wedding vows here). The wedding party included Cruise’s children, Isabella and Connor, and the best man was Cruise’s best friend, David Miscavige, who also happens to be the head of the Church of Scientology. Katie’s sister, Nancy Blaylock, was her matron of honor. The wedding singer was Matt Lauer. Nah, I’m kidding, it was Andrea Bocelli. I hear there was a light drizzle at the start of the ceremony, but then things cleared up for the couple.

Since I honestly don’t understand enough of these words to paraphrase the description of what Katie wore, I am going to jack it, word for tedious word, from Us Weekly: “Katie wore a fitted Armani off-the-shoulder bridal gown with a train in ivory silk cadis adorned in Valenciennes lace and Swarovski beaded crystal embroidery, featuring a delicate crinoline frill at the shoulders and a silk soleil border around the hem. The gown was complemented by an ivory tulle floor length veil and ivory silk shoes.” If this sounds more like a recipe for a wedding cake to you, too, just check out the pics. For the rest of you fashionistas, People has a run-down of what the entire wedding party wore (summary: everyone’s in Armani). Need more pictures? TMZ has one billion, and Teddy and Moo has the rest.

Tom and Katie left early the next morning for their honeymoon in the Maldives. Where are the Maldives? Apparently they’re an island nation south-west of Sri Lanka. Where is Sri Lanka? Now you’re on your own.

Look, I’ve seen 8000 celebrity Halloween costume photos this week, including a completely baffling Paris Hilton, but Anne Curry as Cher deserves its very own link. [Go Fug Yourself]

Because you haven’t lived until you’ve seen Chris Klein as a slice of pizza, the kids at Celebrity Smack put together two fairly comprehensive collections of celeb Halloween costumes. See, I had planned to do this, but I quickly realized it would require time and effort. Linking is much better. [Celebrity Smack, more]

Katie Holmes doesn’t actually want to befriend Brooke Shields; she’s fishing for tips on how to behave as though you actually just had a kid. [PCW]