As part of Live Talks Los Angeles, the two iconic supermodels went deep into Christie Brinkley’s new memoir about her roller coaster ride in the spotlight.
By John Lavitt
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 05-06-2025
When Christie Brinkley stepped onto the Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center stage, she brought over five decades of fame with her. However, what she and fellow supermodel Cindy Crawford unpacked in their candid conversation wasn’t about magazine covers or photo shoots. It was about identity, resilience, and how a seemingly picture-perfect life can hide chapters no one expects.
Brinkley’s new memoir, Uptown Girl, is a profoundly personal look behind the curtain. You might expect tales of glamor, yachts, and runways—and they’re all there—but the raw stuff really lands. The betrayals, the four marriages, the near-death experiences. And yes, the heartbreak of her divorce from Billy Joel still stings even as she laughs about their amazing daughter. She still remembers choosing to leave when Joel could not put down the bottle.
It all started in 1974, when a 20-year-old Christie was spotted outside a phone booth in Paris. That moment—so random, so fairy tale—catapulted her into superstardom. But as she told Cindy with a wry smile, “I never quite felt like I fit the mold they wanted me to be in.”
Something is refreshing about hearing that from a woman who was the mold for an entire generation of beauty standards. She felt insecure and scared from the beginning. Indeed, she thought every photo shoot would be her last.
What followed was an electric conversation—two icons, now mothers and moguls, swapping stories with the comfort of old friends and the honesty of survivors. Cindy, who’d also shared her story with Live Talks LA in her memoir “Becoming,” asked thoughtful, probing questions. Christie responded with unfiltered and warm replies in a breezy manner that was refreshing. Indeed, her breeziness is the root of her humor and her survival.
However, she does not shy away from difficult challenges. The book opens with the near-fatal helicopter crash that transformed Brinkley’s life in 1994. While heli-skiing near Telluride, Colorado, she survived an incident that very few people endure, reminding her of how precious this rare gift of human life truly is.
Let’s be honest: reducing Christie Brinkley to her megawatt smile is easy. But Uptown Girl reclaims the narrative. She discusses being ghosted by her biological father and how that wound shaped her relationships. She shares her lifelong love of art—illustrating, painting, and even sketching as a form of healing. Indeed, she told Cindy how she dreams of finding the time to return to her first passion and her original reason for being in Paris.
There’s also a playful tone in her reflections. For instance, she was on National Lampoon’s Vacation for over six weeks, waiting for a rainy day to justify shooting an indoor scene. Instead of complaining, she embraced the opportunity to become a cowgirl and explore the Wild West of America. Indeed, such memories were highlights of Christie Brinkley’s discussion of her memoir at Live Talks Los Angeles.
Today, Christie Brinkley is stepping into a different spotlight—one she controls. The modeling world she helped shape has changed. Ageism still lurks, but she is pushing back, reminding us that reinvention isn’t just for twentysomethings. Cindy Crawford 100% agrees with her.
Founder of Bellissima Prosecco, a clothing line, and a philanthropist working with Smile Train and environmental health organizations, Christie Brinkley tries her best to realize her stepfather’s original message: “Baby, You Write Your Own Script!”
As for her greatest career success? When Crawford asked that question, Brinkley knew the answer immediately. She loved playing the role of Roxie Hart in Chicago and felt so blessed when asked to join the National Tour. She never thought she had the talent to be on the big stage, like Barbara Streisand and her childhood heroes.
When she realized that not only was she good enough, but she was great and people loved her performance, all of her insecurities melted away. Indeed, it is an expression of the success that we all deeply crave within our own souls.
Pictures Courtesy of LiveTalks LA and Warner Brothers
