“On Billy Joel: Just because people can express themselves through their art doesn't mean they are great communicators in person.”
Birthname:
Christie Lee Hudson
Hometown:
Pacific Palisades, CA
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She was born Christie Lee Hudson in Monroe, Michigan, USA on February 2, 1954. 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. 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, renewed for 20 years. A few years after Cover Girl ended its contract, it again signed her 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 appeared as "The Girl in the Ferrari" in the movie National Lampoon's Vacation in 1983, a role she reprised in the 1997 sequel Vegas Vacation, though in Vegas Vacation she was cast as "Woman in Ferrari".
She then promoted home fitness equipment sold on cable TV infomercials. She and her children are fans of the New York Islanders ice hockey team. Christie began doing promotions for the team after being noticed at games.
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 met in 1972 at Studio 54 in New York City at a party promoting a calendar in which Christie appeared.
Brinkley has 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). She married her fourth husband, Peter Cook, an architect, in 1996. She filed for divorce in the summer of 2006.
Brinkley has three children: daughter Alexa Ray Joel (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 supports animal rights and PETA. She has spoken out against the Ringling Brothers Circus on behalf of PETA.
In December 2006, Brinkley had back surgery in February 2007 after a ski trip in Aspen, Colorado,.
Brinkley is a fan of the New York Islanders. In 2007, she showed her support by writing a blog for NHL.com and filming a commercial.
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