Christie Brinkley Biography

Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.

Date of Birth: 2 February 1954, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Birth Name: Christie Lee Hudson

Height: 5' 9" (1.75 m)

Mini Biography:

Adriana Francesca Lima was born on June 12, 1981 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. At the tender age of 13, Adriana entered the Ford Supermodel of the World Contest, where her unique beauty, derived from her Native-Brazilian, African-Brazilian, Portuguese, French, and Caribbean heritage, won her second place. Moving to New York at age 16, Adriana joined the Elite Model Management and further pursued her modeling career, landing a campaign for the fashion designer Anna Molinari's clothing line. However, it was her appearance in several Guess? campaigns that gained her the recognition that catapulted her to her status as one of the world's top fashion models. Since then, she has appeared in campaigns for Anna Sui Jeans, Bebe, Gasoline, Mossimo, Victoria's Secret, BCBG, Keds, and XOXO, and has appeared on the covers of magazines such as Vogue and Marie Claire. She consistently appears in the hyped Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows, gaining recognition as one of the Victoria's Secret's Perfect 10. In her spare time, Adriana dedicates her services to help orphans in her native Brazil. She has appeared in the Italian TIM mobile Commercials.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Gerard

Biography:

Brinkley was discovered in 1973 by American photographer Errol Sawyer in a post office in Paris. He took her first modeling pictures and introduced her to John Casablancas of Elite Model Management agency in Paris.[6] Brinkley stated later: "I was basically a surfer girl from California. I never looked like a model." After being introduced to Elite, where Brinkley also met the French photographer Patrick Demarchelier, she returned to California, and by the end of a lunch meeting with Nina Blanchard, Eileen Ford affiliate in Los Angeles, she had been booked for three national ad campaigns.

Multiple appearances on the cover of Glamour soon followed, along with a record 20-year contract with cosmetics brand CoverGirl, the longest in the history of the modeling industry. In 2005, CoverGirl again signed Brinkley, using her in ads in magazines and TV commercials for mature skin products.

Brinkley appeared on three consecutive Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Edition covers (1979, 1980 and 1981) - the first time that had happened - and appeared in the publication’s annual swimsuit issues and television specials for years to follow. Brinkley was featured exclusively in the first Sports Illustrated Calendar and also released two of her own exclusive calendars to unparalleled success. In 2005, Brinkley was featured in the special Sports Illustrated 40th Anniversary Issue’s Hall of Fame, celebrating the most revered figures in the magazine's history (photo).

As an editorial model, Brinkley has appeared on over 500 magazine covers, including US, Vogue, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Glamour and the best-selling issue of LIFE ever (photo). She has held major contracts with Chanel No. 19, Prell, MasterCard, Breck, Diet Coke, Anheuser-Busch, Got Milk?, Healthy Choice, Max Factor, Nissan, Noxema, Revlon, Clairol, Borghese Cosmetics, Danskin, Nu Skin, Yardley of London, Halston, Vogue Patterns, Gottex and Black Velvet, among others

Brinkley played her first role as an actress in the 1983 hit National Lampoon's Vacation as "The girl in the red Ferrari" opposite Chevy Chase; she reprised that role in the 1997 sequel Vegas Vacation. and later spoofed it in a 2008 DirecTV commercial interspliced with footage from Vacation.

As for television, Brinkley hosted Celebrity Weddings InStyle, the highest rated special in Lifetime's history, and her appearance on NBC's Mad About You was the broadcaster's highest rated half-hour episode, since the finale of The Cosby Show.

In 1983, Brinkley appeared on the Today Show in a four part segment featuring beauty tips and, in 1992, began her own television series Living in the 90's - With Christie Brinkley, a daily half-hour show on CNN.

Brinkley made further television appearances, including Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Specials and music videos for Billy Joel (Uptown Girl, Keeping the Faith, All about Soul, River of Dreams, A Matter of Trust and Leningrad) and Mick Jones Just Wanna Hold.

In 1983, Brinkley wrote and illustrated a book on health and beauty titled Christie Brinkley's Outdoor Beauty and Fitness Book, which topped the New York Times best seller list.

Brinkley has designed clothing patterns for Simplicity Pattern and in March, 1994 helps design, for brand Nouveau Eyewear, her line of prescription glasses and sunglasses called Christie Brinkley Perspectives with worldwide sales.

Brinkley has appeared with Chuck Norris in a long-running series of cable TV infomercials promoting Total Gym home fitness equipment.

In Spring 1998, released her own signature fragrance, Believe. Her jewelry collection is manufactured by Swank.

Brinkley was one of three models featured as dolls produced by Matchbox Toys called The Real Model Collection.

Brinkley illustrated the cover art for Joel's 1993 triple platinum album River of Dreams. For this, Rolling Stone Magazine awarded her the honor of Best album cover of the year.

In 1998, Playboy readers voted Brinkley one of the 100 sexiest women of the 20th century.

In 2008, Brinkley and Dr. Carlon Colker promote National Family Fitness Day with Xbox 360 at the Boy's and Girl's Club

Brinkley is in the 3rd position of the AskMen.com Top 10 Supermodels Of All Time.

Spouse:

Peter Cook (21 September 1996 - 3 October 2008) (divorced) 1 child

Richard Taubman (22 December 1994 - 1995) (divorced) 1 son

Billy Joel (23 March 1985 - 25 August 1994) (divorced) 1 daughter

Jean-François Allaux (1973 - 1981) (divorced)

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Fun Facts

Trivia:

Daughter, with Peter Cook, Sailor Lee Brinkley Cook, was born. [2 July 1998]

Daughter, with Billy Joel, Alexa Ray Joel, was born. [1 January 1986]

Son, with Richard Taubman, Jack Paris Brinkley, was born. [2 June 1995]

Filed a $42 million defamation suit against the National Enquirer and jointly sued her former personal assistant Beth La Face as the contact for the tabloid. [9 September 1997]

Her first SPORTS ILLUSTRATED swimsuit issue cover was in 1979. She also appeared on the cover in 1980 and 1981, making her the first model to appear on 3 consecutive covers.

Brinkley was one of three models featured as dolls produced by Matchbox Toys called "The Real Model Collection".

She and her then husband-to-be Richard Taubman survived a helicopter crash in March 1994 near Telluride, Colorado. Nine months later they married near the spot of the crash.

Was a democratic delegate from New York state at the 2000 Democratic Convention in Los Angeles.

Is a vegetarian.

Daughter of producer-director Don Brinkley and Marge Brinkley.

Wears size 7 1/2-8 shoe. (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)

Measurements: 36C-23 1/2-35 1/2 (her model card) (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)

Sister of Greg Brinkley.

Recovering from emergency back surgery following a skiing injury that occurred during a recent family ski trip [February 28, 2007].

Went to Palisades High School in Los Angeles, California.

Personal Quotes:

If a person lies to you about what's in their bank account, they'll lie to you about other things as well.

I have this helicopter crash, and I fall in love with this man who was in the crash with me. I must have been suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome.