Teri Shields, the mother of actress Brooke Shields, died at age 79 in New York City on Wednesday.

The celebrity mother, also known as Theresa Anna Lillian Schmon, died after what was described as a long illness.

A spokesperson for Shields said the actress' mother suffered from dementia, according to The New York Times.

Although their relationship was rocky at times and seemingly strained as of late, Shields has credited her mother for managing her early career with an iron fist.

"I don't know if it's reverse psychology, but my mom would say, 'You wanna do drugs? Fine. Do them. Just do me a favor. Let me do 'em with you,'" Shields once recounted while speaking to Nylon magazine in 2000.

"'I'll get you the best stuff,'" Shields continued, quoting her mother. "'This way I know you're not going to die.' And the whole thing was so unappealing to me."

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Teri married tennis player Francis Alexander Shields in 1964, and their daughter Brooke arrived one year later. The couple split when Brooke was an infant.

"When she was born Brooke looked like a beautiful doll," Teri told People magazine in the past. "I couldn't believe she was mine."

Shields began promoting her daughter's career as a model and actress beginning when she was 11 months old. First, the child was paid $25 to pose for an Ivory Soap advertisement, followed by bigger brands Breck, Band-Aids and Colgate.

Growing discord between the mother and daughter started making headlines as Shields' career progressed.

"I grew up in an alcoholic household," the actress told The New York Times in 1994. "I'm the caretaker who wants to make everything better, and you can just do that for so long, or so I've been told."

Shields declined to comment to the Times for the obituary, reported USA Today.

Today, the "Blue Lagoon" star is 47-years-old and has two daughters of her own. The model and actress married television writer Chris Henchy in 2001.