The actor, now 59, was 14 years old when she portrayed Emmeline Lestrange in the 1980 film The Blue Lagoon, with Christopher Atkins playing her cousin Richard.

Despite their familial connection, the two characters became stranded on a tropical island in the South Pacific, where they eventually had a child together.

According to the storyline, Richard and Emmeline led a simple life, but as they matured, their experiences grew more complicated.

The concept of cousins having a child together was already controversial, but the film raised additional questions due to the actors’ ages at the time.

Shields was 14 years old, and Atkins was roughly 18 years older than her.

On her Now What? With Brooke Shields podcast, the actor spoke with Atkins about their experiences working on the film.

Reflecting on it, she said, “We will never make a movie like that again. I mean, that wouldn’t be acceptable.”

Director Randal Kleiser, according to Atkins, deemed certain scenes as “essential” and advised the actors to tan their skin in “small covered sections” to avoid tan lines.

Atkins recalled, “If you remember, there were scenes where I had minimal clothing, like going down that slide, and so on.”

He added, “I found it embarrassing but funny because I would just go ahead with it. But your reaction was, ‘Ugh, oh no.’ ”

Shields also shared her difficult memories, mentioning that her co-star encouraged her to consider a real-life relationship while she had a body double for certain scenes.

“They wanted us so desperately to fall in love with each other,” she said. “I didn’t respond well when pressured to feel anything,” she explained. “At that age, I had never kissed anyone.”

Shields’ comments follow her earlier discussion of The Blue Lagoon in her 2023 documentary, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields.

In the documentary, she noted that the filmmakers “tried to market [her] coming-of-age experience,” adding, “The irony was, I wasn’t in touch with any of my own maturity.”