When actress Brooke Shields, 60, visited Studio 1A in May, Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones asked how she felt about her oldest daughter Rowan Henchy, 23, joining the cast of Peacock’s “Next Gen NYC” reality show. “Oh, I was sick to my stomach!” Shields said at the time. She said that she reminded her daughter to be “the voice of reason” on the show. Halfway into Henchy’s first season, it looks like Henchy has been following her mom’s advice. TODAY.com caught up with Henchy the morning after the cast of 20-somethings filmed their reunion episode. Everyone gathered at Henchy’s New York City family home afterward, and the afterparty lasted until 3am. Despite being up late, Henchy was punctual for her interview with TODAY.com. She seems to have inherited a strong work ethic from Shields and her husband, director and screenwriter Chris Henchy. “Mom told us that you treat the janitor with as much respect as the president of the company, that you make eye contact and say thank you, that you lead with respect,” Henchy explains. Brooke Shields and Rowan Henchy are seen on April 30, 2026 in New York City. As for her mom’s anxiety about her joining a reality show, Henchy laughs, “She was afraid that I was going to come in here with a camera crew, and they were going to be damaging her hand-painted dining room.” The “nepo baby” of it all “I love the term nepo baby. I am obsessed with the term nepo baby. I think it’s genius. I will never shy away from it,” Henchy says, both acknowledging and downplaying her privilege. “However, I do think in the entertainment industry, when you approach someone with a resumé and your name flags that maybe you are a nepo baby, it causes more harm than opportunity,” she says. “Does it does it help in certain situations? Of course. But at the same time, people don’t want to deal with it.” After Henchy graduated from college a year ago, she started “throwing my resumé to anyone who walked past me,” she says. She ended up finding a job, but when the opportunity to join “Next Gen NYC” appeared, she couldn’t say no to the chance to broaden her horizons and meet new people. “And my mom said to me that every single time I was talking about it, I lit up with excitement,” Rowan says. Television May 21 ‘Sick to my stomach': Brooke Shields reacts to daughter joining Bravo show Aug 22, 2021 Brooke Shields Tears Up After She Drops Daughter Rowan Off at College Having her cake and eating it too Henchy is proud to be an example for other young people living with type-1 diabetes. “There is not one thing in my life that I have not indulged in because of diabetes,” she says. “Do I have to calculate the carbs and give myself five units of insulin? Yes. But can I eat the entire cake? Of course.” She first realized something might be wrong while on vacation with her family. She begged the flight attendants for gallons of water, ate more than one entrée at dinners and she was still losing weight. She was 15 before she received a diagnosis. Now 23, she’s amazed at the way innovations have made it easier to control her condition. She uses wearable automated insulin technology, like Omnipod, that make it virtually effortless to track her glucose and insulin. “I always had a bag that needed to be filled to the brim with needles and insulin pens and test strips, and now everything is controlled and monitored with one device,” she says. “Now I leave the house with just my phone.” NYC, sweet NYC “I’ve lived in New York City my entire life,” Henchy says. She has no plans to leave the area, but she might consider moving out of her childhood home. (L-R) Brooks Marks, Hudson McLeroy, Arianna Biermann, Georgia McCann, Gia Giudice, Liam Obergfoll, Riley Burruss, Ava Dash, Emira D’Spain, Rowan Henchy, Shai Fruchter and Charlie Zakkour attend as the cast of Bravo’s Next Gen NYC visits the Empire State Building on June 22, 2026 in New York City. “I am really playing and flirting with the idea of me moving into a three bed, two bath in Chelsea with my best friends from high school,” Henchy says. But with her mom and dad both working out of town, someone has to take care of the house and the family’s three dogs. It’s clear that although Henchy has grown up with privilege, she also exhibits the very relatable qualities of a helpful eldest daughter. “That’s Brooke Shields. It’s all my mother,” she says. “She put so much emphasis on raising us to be down-to-earth, respectful, loving and caring people — and that’s because she is all of those things.” (Disclosure: Peacock is owned by NBCUniversal, TODAY’s parent company.)  This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY: ‘The Voice’ gets ‘celebrity’ spinoff with new coaches, host and format Mom named daughter after celebrity crush … And it’s a little ‘dirty’ Jack Whitehall talks new celebrity game show ‘nation’s dumbest’ ...read more read less