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Christie Brinkley (born Christie Lee Hudson on February 2, 1954) is a former American supermodel.

Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Personal life 3 Songs 4 References 5 External links

Brinkley was born in Monroe, Michigan, even though she has claimed to have been born and raised in California. Majoring in art and graduating in 1972, Christie attended Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, California. In the early 1970s, she and her family lived in the Bel Air hills with an English sheep dog named Shakespeare. She was educated at le Lycée Français de Los Angeles and worked in Paris as an entry-level illustrator.

In 1976, she signed a contract with cosmetics giant Cover Girl, which they continued to renew for twenty years, the longest model contract ever.^{[citation needed]} 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 four 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 after news spread that he conducted an alleged extramarital affair with teenager Diana Bianchi.

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.^[1]

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," and "Christie Lee" were also written by Billy Joel with Christie Brinkley in mind.

• Christie Brinkley at the Internet Movie Database
• Christie Brinkley in the Fashion Model Directory