On sale January 14, 2025.
I used to love watchingNightcap.
Ali was also creator and one of the writers, and the scripts were clever and skewering and dark.
Photo:John Salangsang/Variety via Getty Images
Sarah Jessica Parker, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michael J.
Fox, and Paul Rudd all appeared in the first season.
Id met Ali but didnt know her well.
Deborah Feingold, Courtesy of Flatiron Books
Still, after watching a couple of episodes, I knew I wanted to appear on the show.
Ive seen the actors coming through your show and Id really like to be one of them.
My only caveat, I told her, was that I hoped she would ask the most of me.
Writers tend to play it safe when theyre creating a part for me.
About three months later, she wrote me a note and said shed finished the episode.
You havent even read it yet, she responded.
Deborah Feingold, Courtesy of Flatiron Books
In the episode, I play a borderline-psychotic version of myself.
This is all while continually reminding Staci that I am Hollywood icon Brooke Shields.
I AM Americas sweetheart!
I had a lot of dialogue, but we got through it quickly.
All my scenes were opposite Ali, and we fell into an almost effortless rhythm.
At the end of the day of shooting, Ali admitted I surprised her.
Nobody knows how funny you are!
I was obsessed withFriendsand was excited and honored to be a part of it.
Making people laugh matters to me.
to make people like that laugh gives me joy.
But I dont know that the public saw me as a comedian until I appeared onFriendsin 1996.
I remember getting the call to be a guest star on The One After the Super Bowl.
I said yes immediately, also before reading the script.
All I could think was, God, I hope I make them laugh.
I flew to Los Angeles to tape the episode.
I had never done a sitcom and was nervous and quiet the first day.
I yearned for them to like me and think I was funny, but how?
I ached to be included but was just a day player and not part of the inner circle.
They werent being rude, they were just a close-knit cast with funny memories and private jokes.
It was a play on a bit that he would do himself.
The Friends were stunned into silencenobody really knew what was happening.
The rest of the cast began to laugh, and I was able to breathe.
That afternoon they invited me to have lunch with them and go to the gym on the lot.
I had made it in Hollywood!
I admired how smart and talented she was.
After filming ourNightcapepisode, Ali and I started hanging out.
We shared a similar sensibility about life in the entertainment industry.
We find ourselves settling into these roles pretty regularlywe have this yin-and-yang banter we love.
Shes the self-deprecating one, Im a bit looser and dorkier.
Someone asked me a question, I cant remember what.
And he said, Really?
You dont want to keep watching this?
On the other hand, I think Ive also gotten needier with the real friends.
Ali and I met when I was fifty.
But the hard times can bind you.
I wont deny that I was surprised to develop such a close friendship in this phase of my life.
It feels like a version of falling in lovesomething you might not expect to happen in your fifties.
But this phenomenon isnt unique to me.
According to one study, older adults have more close friendships than younger people do.
Doesnt that seem counterintuitive?
When youre young, youre surrounded by so many friends and acquaintances.
I guess with time, though, we really connect with our people.
Heres the truth: I am a little bit torn when it comes to friendship these days.
I had childhood friends and college friends and people Id met through work and raising kids.
But part of me knows I should invest in friendshipsold and newand wants to.
In one study, people over fifty took a survey three times over eight years.
Those who had high-quality friendships were 24 percent less likely to die during that span!
Where Ive landed is that Im much more intentional about friendships at this age.
In my younger years, I was less discerning.
I felt obligated to give everyone equal time and ran myself ragged.
On the other hand, I think Ive also gotten needier with the real friends.
The little girl in me still comes out sometimes and thinks,Am I your best friend??
Do you really like me?
That didnt come easily.
And of course, Im still learning as I go.
