At 69, Christie Brinkley Wants Us All To Embrace Our Age & ‘Celebrate The Years’

Mar 22, 2023

Christie Brinkley is a world-famous supermodel. The beautiful blonde was born in February of 1954 in Michigan before growing up in California. After graduating high school, Brinkley took her first leap of faith and moved to Paris to study art. It was in Paris that her world changed. One day, while in a Paris post office, a famous photographer discovered her. 

Shortly after, Brinkley would go on to sign three national ad campaigns. Brinkley's beauty quickly became a worldwide hit as her rise to fame grew. The supermodel would make history as she graced the cover of three Sports Illustrated magazines three years in a row. Soon it was more than just Sports Illustrated calling. 

Brinkley signed a huge contract with beauty brand Covergirl for 25 years, one of the longest and biggest beauty deals ever. She was also stepping on every magazine cover imaginable, including Vogue, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Glamour, just to name a few.

Besides striking gold in her career, Brinkley was the apple of quite a few bachelor's eyes. The supermodel would go on to have four marriages. First to François Allaux in 1973, American singer Billy Joel in 1985, Richard Taubman in 1994 and Peter Cook in 1996. Brinkley shares children with Joel, Taubman and Cook. 

Working as a supermodel as well as in the entertainment industry, Brinkley has remained in the public eye all these years. She often does public or press appearances, and the star is just as stunning. In 2022, Brinkley opened up about prioritizing herself and her health. 

In an exclusive interview with People, Brinkley shared her thoughts on Hollywood's pressure on women and their appearance. 

"When I came into this business, it was a very narrow idea of what was beautiful," the supermodel said. "But age is the last thing that it's pretty hard to sell." In another People interview, the star said, "Women are not to be brushed under the carpet because they're a certain age," Brinkley told People in the January 2014 cover story.

"I think ageism is one of the last frontiers," Brinkley added. "We have been constantly expanding our ideas of beauty and opening our arms to embrace all shapes and sizes and ethnicities and preferences."

"When I started out, I remember very clearly a group of successful models saying, 'You will be burned up and thrown away by the time you're 30,'" she also said. Brinkley has been successful in Hollywood as well as internationally known for nearly 50 years now. 

Brinkley is so well known for her timeless beauty that she wrote a book on the topic, named "Timeless Beauty," which came out in 2015. She also launched her skincare line, Christie Brinkley Authentic Skincare. 

The stunning supermodel also said she relies on gratitude as a part of her skincare routine as well. 

"It all has to do with your spirit and the energy that you deliver, that you bring into the room with you. That's what is going to define you," she said. "Forget anti-aging this and all of that. It's really about gratitude," she said.  

The model often posts to her Instagram, which has over 841,000 followers. From daily life to behind the scenes of her work — followers get an up-close and personal look at her life. She also posts modeling pictures on her social media platforms, a new way of modeling compared to past avenues. 

Brinkley told People: "I am aware that sometimes looking through a magazine or an Instagram can make women not feel very good about themselves. Sometimes when people are raving like that, I feel like my response is, 'No, no. no. I just posted a picture that's really flattering.' I'm obviously not going to put up the worst ones. But I hope in doing that, that it's inspirational in that I did just turn 67."

The star also wanted to share that she hopes people can find inspiration from her pictures.

"It is possible. That's the message that I hope that these pictures inspire people to know that you're never too old to get it together, that the body will respond when you give it the right tools, when you treat it right, and I want to help women do that," Brinkley said. 

However, the supermodel wants people to know that despite her beauty, she has worked very hard to change her life through perspective.

"I've been saying it for so many years, but gratitude truly is the key to a happy life," she stated. When you are capable of looking around you, no matter what's going on, and being grateful for the good things that you still do have," Brinkley added. 

"And then from there it's like... Wow. Two arms, two legs, my sight, my life, a roof over my head, somehow or another a career that keeps marching on that I love, and my friends who make me laugh," she said.

On Feb. 2, 2023, Brinkley celebrated turning 69 with a bang, posting a carousel of photos on her Instagram of all the magazine covers she appeared on that also mentioned her age. She wrote in the caption:

“My days were NUMBERED! Literally! Christie at 40, 45, 50 55,60…I present the evidence here with these smattering of covers all proclaiming my age! Lol!”

She added she, too, had been guilty of doing the same with her own book, “Timeless Beauty,” in which it was noted on the cover that she was 61 at the time. “I wrote that book because I believe we have more control over those numbers than they have over us! … I have always contended that we’re the generation that has taken advantage of all that knowledge and we have reshaped those numbers so they don’t represent what they used to!” she added. 

In true Brinkley fashion, the blonde stunner then proclaimed that nobody should ever feel ashamed of their age and instead, celebrate it and be celebrated for it.

“Those days of hiding our age are over! I’m 69 and I feel GRATEFUL! I’ve learned that gratitude, health and love are the keys to happiness! I have survived a lot, and what didn’t kill me, did indeed make me stronger, wiser, and I truly look at each day as a gift to celebrate!” she remarked.

The always age-positive Brinkley then ended her post with some words of encouragement to all her fans:

“So go ahead proclaim your age celebrate the years! Make those numbers your b***h! You got this! We got this! 👍🏼😘❤️”

What do you think of Christie Brinkley's perspective on aging and beauty? If you think she's got some noteworthy views, pass this on to someone else who would find this an interesting read too!