Christie Brinkley on Billy Joel, romantic rivals, and the ‘only time I miss having a man in my life'
Little wonder: the model, actor, entrepreneur and mum-of-three has been commanding the camera for over half a century. Emerging at the dawn of the supermodel era, the 71-year-old has graced more than 500 magazine covers as well as starring in ex- husband Billy Joel's video for her own theme song, 'Uptown Girl'.
But if she exemplifies all-American wholesomeness, Brinkley also embodies survivor's resolve.
As she chronicles in her recently released memoir Uptown Girl, she suffered beatings by her biological father, the shock race car-related death of a boyfriend, humiliation by more than one husband, and terrifying helicopter crash in which she was certain she would die.
'I knew some memories were going to be fun to revisit and others would be really hard,' she tells Stellar via Zoom.
'But I'm not that introspective. Mum raised me to look on the bright side.'
From the day she was discovered, at age 19, by a photographer outside a Paris post office, Brinkley regarded modelling as a gateway to new adventures.
So much so that when celebrated agent Eileen Ford told her to lose weight by eating only fish, she ignored the advice.
'I am so about the experience, and I figured if I get a trip to Mexico, I'm eating tortillas, guacamole, I'm having margaritas,' she says.
'I want the full experience. I don't want to cut myself off from any of that.'
That includes the ups and downs of her relationships with four ex-husbands.
Brinkley's lawyer calls her a 'bad picker', and a psychiatrist she saw during her six-year divorce battle with fourth husband Peter Cook recommended she seek therapy for trust issues. 'But I prefer to keep on believing and seeing the good in people,' she says.
The marriages, to artist Jean-François Allaux, musician Joel, real estate entrepreneur Ricky Taubman and architect Cook, may not have lasted, but she shares 39-year-old singer Alexa Ray with Joel; aspiring actor Jack, 30, with Taubman; and model Sailor, who is 27 this week, with Cook.
The proud mum, who painted Joel's River Of Dreams album cover, has her own artworks of the children adorning her house.
Fondness for Joel endures. The couple met on a Caribbean island in 1983, where he initially dated Australian model Elle Macpherson.
'We were at his apartment and he said, 'I'm going to call Elle because I've been out with her a couple of times and I want to let her know that now I want to be exclusive with you',' Brinkley recalls.
'I don't know whether he was trying to impress me, or to be nice to Elle in case she saw a picture of us.' Today she and Joel maintain a friendship.
He is godfather to Jack and Sailor and, until his recent diagnosis with a rare brain disorder put his live shows on hold, they attended his concerts together.
'Alexa just had a long conversation with him and she said he sounded good, but he's got a lot of physical therapy to contend with,' Brinkley reveals. 'We're all just cheering him on.'
While she continues to evolve in business with her own wine and clothing labels, and as an environmental activist, the memoir allowed time for reflection, such as reminiscing about the days when images were shot on film.
'Now there are so many cooks in the kitchen you don't have that same kind of magic,' she laments. Ageing is another bugbear.
'You have choices … If you don't like something, there's a million ways to fix it,' she says, adding that energy and curiosity are 'more useful than any cream you can buy in a jar'.
As she chats, one daughter, then another, flies out the door. Does she ever feel lonely?
'I'm very content,' Brinkley says, glancing out of her window at the night rolling in.
'The only time I miss having a man in my life is when there's a magnificent sunset or a storm sweeping across, and I want to share that moment with somebody I love.'
Uptown Girl: A Memoir by Christie Brinkley with Sarah Toland ($36.99, HarperCollins) is out now.
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