Christie Brinkley

Über Christie Brinkley

Christie Lee Hudson was born on February 2, 1954, in Monroe, Michigan, to Marjorie Hudson, a television writer, and Herbert Hudson, a television executive. Following her parents' divorce, she relocated to Los Angeles with her mother, who later married TV producer Don Brinkley, leading Christie to adopt his surname. Growing up with her brother Greg in Brentwood, she attended Palisades High School and Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles, graduating in 1972. At the age of 18, she moved to Paris to pursue art studies, where in 1973 she caught the attention of photographer Errol Sawyer at a post office, eventually signing with Elite Model Management.

Brinkley boasts a lineage of English, German, and Irish descent, and she often reflects on her Midwestern roots as a touchstone for her relatable personality. Primarily recognized simply as Christie Brinkley, she is not known to use any aliases. In the late 1970s and 1980s, she earned the nickname "The Uptown Girl" after featured in Billy Joel's famous music video, a moniker that emphasized her classic American beauty. Her rise to prominence as a supermodel characterizes her as a quintessential representation of wholesome glamour. Throughout her illustrious career, she graced over 500 magazine covers, including notable publications such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Glamour, and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, where she made history by appearing on three consecutive covers from 1979 to 1981.

Brinkley’s portfolio included significant campaigns for brands like CoverGirl, with which she secured a remarkable 25-year contract, as well as Chanel and Prell, in addition to her runway work for designers such as Halston and Bill Blass. A pivotal moment in her career was the cover shoot for Sports Illustrated in 1979, conducted in the Seychelles, which catapulted her into the public eye. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she opted out of working with Victoria’s Secret, choosing instead to promote widely accessible beauty brands. She continued to model well into her later years, featuring in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition at age 63 in 2017 and in Vogue Italia in 2023.

After her initial signing with Elite Model Management in Paris, she later collaborated with Ford Models and IMG Models in New York, maintaining long-standing relationships with various agencies throughout her career. Brinkley's editorial contributions span across many prestigious magazines, establishing her as a favored subject among renowned photographers like Patrick Demarchelier and Francesco Scavullo, significantly shaping the notion of 1980s glamour. Her Sports Illustrated covers were celebrated in a special exhibition for the magazine's 50th anniversary in 2014.

With an active social media presence, particularly on Instagram, where she has upwards of 800,000 followers (@christiebrinkley), she shares nostalgic modeling memories, family life, and promotions for