“I was literally told you will be chewed up and spit out by 30,” recalls Christie Brinkley.
So what did the supermodel do on the morning of her 30th birthday? She climbed a mountain.
“I stood at the top, thinking I’ve never felt better in my life,” says Brinkley, 71. “And that’s when I decided to kiss the numbers goodbye because I wasn’t going to let them define me.”
And how. She has one of the most storied careers in the business — and a juicy new memoir, Uptown Girl, full of revelations — not to mention a few bombshells. “When I first went to my publisher, they said, ‘Christie, is there anything to write about that we don’t already know?’ And I said, ‘Oh yes, tons!”
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With a life often in front of the camera, she’s sometimes asked her stance on cosmetic procedures. “I mainly do lasers,” she says. ”I don’t try to get rid of every wrinkle.”
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“I’ve dabbled with fillers and I go to my doctor in the city,” she notes, adding “I don’t want to look ‘done’ or anything. I just did Fraxel [a skin resurfacing treatment] because I had skin cancer and that helps get rid of pre-cancerous cells. It’s mainly about health for me now.”
After five decades in the beauty biz — and counting — she applauds the changes that have come with time that have led to more inclusivity. “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.”
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Still, she says, “Age is the last frontier. You see older women on runways and in magazines but it’s still not enough.”
Nonetheless, she remains positive about the beauty industry’s efforts to create makeup meant for the unique needs of more mature skin.
“When I went back to Cover Girl, [in 2005, the cosmetics company asked her to return as a spokesperson at 51 years old] it was specifically [for products] with light reflecting things that get inside the wrinkle and reflect out so it blurs,” she says. “I’m not saying that you can’t have wrinkles — but it’s a little less is more.”
Uptown Girl by Christie Brinkley comes out April 29 from Harper Influence and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.
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