Christie Brinkley

Christie Brinkley

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Date of Birth: February 2, 1954

In 1976,

Christie Brinkley

signed a contract with cosmetics giant Cover Girl, which they continued to renew for twenty years. A few years after Cover Girl ended their contract with Brinkley, they again signed her on as a model with ads in magazines and commercials for mature skin products in 2005. She appeared on the cover of three consecutive Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues (1979 – 1981).

Brinkley had a romantic relationship with Olivier Chandon de Brailles, heir to the Moët-Chandon Champagne fortune. Chandon died in 1983 in an auto racing accident. The two first met in 1982 at Studio 54 in New York City at a party promoting a calendar in which Christie appeared.

Brinkley has been married 4 times. Her first three marriages were to artist Jean-François Allaux (1973–1981), musician Billy Joel (1985–1994) and developer Richard Taubman (1994–1995). Her fourth husband is Peter Cook, an architect, whom she married in 1996. Brinkley filed for divorce from Cook in the summer of 2006.


Christie Brinkley has three children: daughter Alexa Ray (b. January 1, 1986) with Joel, son Jack Paris (b. June 2, 1995) with Taubman, and daughter Sailor Lee (b. July 2, 1998) with Cook. She is a supporter of animal rights and long time PETA member. She has spoken out against the Ringling Brothers Circus on behalf of PETA.

After hurting her back while on a ski trip in Aspen, Colorado in December 2006, Brinkley was forced to undergo emergency back surgery in February 2007 since the injury had worsened in the days preceding the surgery.

Christie Brinkley is an avid fan of the New York Islanders. In 2007 she showed her support for the team by writing a blog for NHL.com and filming a commercial for the Islanders.

The song "Uptown Girl" was written about her by her then husband, Billy Joel. It was conceived as Joel wondered aloud how the gorgeous Christie Brinkley could wind up with a guy like him.

The songs "All About Soul," "Blonde Over Blue," "Shameless," "A Matter of Trust", "Christie Lee" and many more were also written by Billy Joel with Christie Brinkley in mind.