Brooke Shields regrets telling the world she was a virgin.

The 57-year-old model revealed in a 1985 book when she was 20 that she had not yet had sexual intercourse and became the "most famous virgin in the world" but wished she hadn't said anything because the comment "never left her alone."

She said: "In it, there was one part of a chapter where I discuss—not abstinence per se—but owning your choice. I mean, I think it was, in hindsight, a bit of a mistake for me to be so open about my virginity because it never left me alone. I would get a lot of fan mail from kids saying, “Oh, my boyfriend’s pressuring me, and I don’t want to have sex. What do I do?’ My narrative was, ‘You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to."

However, the 'Blue Lagoon' actress- who has daughters Rowan, 19, and Grier, 16, with husband Chris Henchy and was previously married to tennis player Andre Agassi - went on to explain that the media attention she received on the back of the comment gave her an air of "resilience" which set her up for a life in such a "difficult" industry.

Speaking on her 'Now What? with Brooke Shields' podcast, she added: "I became the most famous virgin in the world. To be in the line of fire at such a young age in that way, I gained a resilience, and it set me up to be ready for anything in this industry, which can be difficult!"