Brooke Shields, a successful model and actress gained mainstream popularity in the ’90s as the lead in the sitcom Suddenly Susan. Before that, she appeared in several dramas, including Blue Lagoon and Endless Love, in the 1980s. Shields also made a guest appearance on the hit TV show Friends in season 2, which aired in 1995.
However, Shields’s boyfriend at the time, tennis star Andre Agassi, did not react well to her scene with Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani on the show).
During an interview with The New Yorker, Shields spoke about Agassi’s “irritable behavior” after watching her lick LeBlanc’s fingers in the scene. Agassi, who she married in 1997 and divorced in 1999, felt embarrassed and stormed out of the audience, claiming that Shields made a fool of him.
Shields, in turn, was confused by his reaction, stating that it was just comedy. Later, she learned that Agassi was addicted to crystal meth, which may have influenced his irrational behavior.
Shields’ guest role on Friends was in the two-part episode “The One After The Super Bowl,” where she played Erika, a delusional woman who believed Joey was his character on Days Of Our Lives, Dr. Drake Ramoray.
The Friends gang convinces her that Joey is Ramoray’s evil twin, and she accepts it. They go on a date, and during a scene, she licks Joey’s fingers because she believes they are the hands of a genius. However, she later sees Ramoray with another woman on the show and accuses Joey of cheating.
Despite only appearing in one episode, Shields’ performance as Erika was memorable, and it led directly to her casting as the lead in another NBC sitcom, Suddenly Susan. She received two Golden Globe nominations for her work on the show from 1996 to 2000.
