Christie Brinkley Will Always Be an 'Uptown Girl'—Just Read Her Memoir
You may be surprised to learn that supermodel Christie Brinkley's modeling career kicked off in 1974, when she was famously "discovered" near a phone booth in Paris. Christie Brinkley quickly became known all over the world with her famous swimsuit covers on Sports Illustrated. The world watched as the beautiful blonde aspired to be one of the most iconic models of her time.
What's the "Uptown Girl" up to now? Fast-forward to 2025, and the mother of three has written her own memoir that's hitting shelves later this month. The title? Naturally, it's called Uptown Girl: A Memoir. It's a tell-all tale, from Christie's perspective in front of the lens, to what happened behind it, and everything in between her spectacular career that's lasted 50 years—and beyond.
Christie Brinkley and Billy Joel's Iconic Love Story
Christie Brinkley was pure fire when she met the famous Piano Man, Billy Joel, in 1983. She made even more headlines when she became Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl," and shared with PEOPLE that, at the time, they were "two teenagers in love." Although Christie admits "he definitely didn't look like a rock star," they fell "hopelessly in love."
The celeb told PEOPLE, "We laughed like you couldn't believe. But also, he was so sensitive and he did all the old-fashioned things, the flowers, the notes and the poems and the songs. He was going into the recording studio and he was writing all these songs and saying 'This one's for you.' How could I not fall in love with him?"
Christie was hooked, finding herself "undeniably attached to this physically hot and charismatic man."
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Alexa Ray Joel Shares Memories of Her Parents' Relationship
Alexa Ray Joel joined her mom in a YouTube video where they reminisce over family pictures. She says, "Didn't dad always call you the uptown girl, too, and he was the uptown guy? So it was already their joke – their inside joke."
Sadly, the couple's nine year marriage ended in divorce in 1995 because of alcohol. In Christie's memoir, she writes, "To be clear, I never wanted to end things with Billy. But his drinking was bigger than the both of us."
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Christie's Artsy Side
The memoir contains lots of fun scoop, like Christie's love of art. In fact, she shares some of her creativity in her YouTube video with Alexa, saying, "[As a kid,] I was very artistic; I was artsy, I was always doing arts and crafts. I did lots of paper mâché things and I would paint them and I was very industrious. I had a business called 'Its and Bits.' And I had a clothesline and I would put my water colors on the clothesline, I would put my paper mâché Mateus rosé wine bottles that I would hand paint, and then I made beautiful crepe paper flowers, and I once made $500 in a day because we lived on Old Malibu Road and there was a public beach at the end of the road, so when everybody would drive by and I would sell mica from the mountains, too—you know, the shiny rocks?"
Alexa added, referring to her mom's younger self as "bohemian," "You were like very bohemian—Mom was a free spirit I would say. You know? To this day! You haven't changed that much, I mean, come on!"
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Her Thoughts on Aging
The forever model is now 71 years old and still looks amazing. The famous face of CoverGirl has accomplished a great deal and is still at it. She prioritizes self-care and maintains a refreshing and inspiring mindset when it comes to her age. Much has changed over her 50+ year career.
"The most beautiful thing that's happened in our industry of beauty is the expansion of what we consider beautiful," she notes. "And it includes us 'seasoned' gals."
Uptown Girl: A Memoir will be out April 29 and can be pre-ordered now.
