Shields thanks Cruise for negative drug comments

Hollywood actress Brooke Shields has thanked Tom Cruise for drawing attention to her book on post-natal depression, after he publicly criticised her for using anti-depressants.

The Suddenly Susan star suffered post-natal depression following the birth of her daughter, Rowan, and has praised the drug Paxil for helping her to return to a happier state of mind.

Shields has written about her experiences with the illness in her tell-all book Down Came The Rain.

However, Cruise caused controversy last month when he criticized Shields’ "misguided" drug-use and asked: "Where has her career gone?”

He went onto claim vitamins would have cured her of her depression on the US TV show Access Hollywood.

Shields has hit back, saying she is amazed by Cruise's stance that he knows enough about post-natal depression to tell her how to deal with the illness, despite having no first-hand knowledge as he adopted two children with ex-wife Nicole Kidman.