Brooke Shields at 52: Back in a bikini 40 years after Blue Lagoon – Gallery and film clips

Most men and women at 52 have some regrets about their body.

Brooke Shields has proudly declared that she feels powerful in her own skin at last, “showing my body and not hiding it.”

Easy to say, perhaps, when you are in such phenomenal shape.

The star has had a complicated relationship with her body and fame ever since she burst on to screens in one of the most controversial films of all time.

She told People: “At 52 years old, I finally feel comfortable and proud of all the hard work I’ve put into my body. Feeling disconnected from my own body, it took me years to separate the opinions of others from my own.”

SCROLL DOWN FOR EXCLUSIVE CLIPS FROM BLUE LAGOON, GALLERY AND MORE 

Shields shot the sizzling new images for the swimwear brand Swimsuits For All.

She said: “After 50 years in the spotlight, I can confidently say that my ‘Power Suit’ is being in my own skin, showing my body and not hiding it.”

The star has come a long way since her 1980 debut in the most famous film adaptation of Henry de Vere Stacpoole’s 1908 novel.

The Victorian story of two shipwrecked childern who grow up alone on a tropical island became overshadowed on the big screen by the scenes of the nearly naked characters falling in love. The notorious sex scene has dominated headlines and scandalised viewers ever since. 

Although she was only 14 when the movie was made, Shields confirmed that body doubles had been used for any naked scenes. Despite the lingering impression of titillation and on-screen nudity, her breasts were always covered by her hair or clothing.

During a television interview she said: “The nude scenes weren’t hard because I didn’t do them. As far as the love scene go, it was just like another job.

“I wasn’t at all uncomfortable because once they said ‘cut’ I would go back to (being) me again. You just have to approach it as another job.”

After struggling for decades with being objectified from such a young age, the star says she is finally comfortable in her own skin.

She says: “I feel most  confident when I am showing my body rather than hiding it, whether in a form-fitting dress or in a bathing suit.

“I finally now feel comfortable at age 52.”