Christie Brinkley, UPTOWN GIRL: A Memoir

[1:35]Zibby Owens: Hi. This is Zibby Owens, and you're listening to Totally Booked with Zibby. Formerly, moms don't have time to read books. In my daily show, I interview today's latest best selling, buzziest, or underrated authors and story creators whose work I think is worth your time. As a bookstore owner, publisher, author, and obviously podcaster, I get a comprehensive look at everything that's coming out and spend my time curating the best books so you don't have to. Stay in the know, get insider insights, and connect with guests like I do every single day. For more information, go to zibbymedia.com and follow me on Instagram at zibby owens. Today's episode is the number six most downloaded totally booked episode of 2025. We're halfway there to number one.

[3:01]Zibby Owens: magazine covers worldwide. She lives in the Hamptons. Welcome, Christy. Thank you so much for coming on Totally Booked with Zivvy to talk about Uptown Girl, a memoir.

[3:11]Christie Brinkley: Yeah. So pleased to be here. Thank you for having me. Oh, it's my pleasure.

[3:16]Zibby Owens: What a journey. I there are so many surprising things in this book. I feel like it is such a wild ride. Like, I had to buckle my seat belt. I love it. I was really taken by just how much grief and loss and and sort of trauma has been in your life. You have had, yes, of course, so much glamor and success professionally and all that, but all these sort of unlucky things. How if you could talk a little bit about about that and just how you find the strength to always just

[3:51]Christie Brinkley: keep going. Well, you know, it's funny because in retrospect, I feel that it's like you say unlucky, but I feel like some of the bad things, if they hadn't happened, the next great thing wouldn't have happened. And in and I'm seeing now as I put it all together that it really has been an opportunity to find the silver linings in all those bad things and either learn from it, find out about my own strength that I didn't know that I had, or allow it to propel me kind of in a, Oh yeah, I'll show you kind of way. So I don't think of them. I think of them almost like a good thing now, like a gift that propelled me onto the next thing. Well, that's a it's a lovely attitude, but I I just you know, some of the abuse that you faced as as a young age

[4:51]Zibby Owens: Olivier, the times you you almost died. I mean, the stalker, the hulker outside your room in Crete, and, you know, just like I just couldn't believe one thing, and you're just like, and then I just picked up and did the next thing. So it's a lot, and it's really amazing to And those

[5:11]Christie Brinkley: are the stories that made it. There are so many more that, you know, that's the thing. When you wait until you're 70 to write your memoir, it's just not all going to fit in the book. It's just not. So I a lot of stories that I couldn't fit in there because my publishers knew kind of the right size of book. Otherwise, it could be intimidating, too expensive. And so we had to sort of pick and choose. But I think that it was a good idea. And I think that somehow people are relating to it and are giving me such positive feedback. It is really great because when you do put it all out there, the good, the bad, the ugly, and you feel very vulnerable the day before it's coming out. Like, you know, what if it just sits there? You know? What if nobody gets it? What if? What if? But I'm so relieved. It has been so wonderfully received.

[6:23]Zibby Owens: So Well, I am I am not surprised. Thank you for it's a privilege that you shared your whole life with us. You know, one another thing I was struck by is is your humbleness throughout everything. And you had a quote in the book that said, during my fifty years as a model, I've always assumed that every job I've ever had would be my last. How do you tell me about that. This attitude like, oh, this was great, but it you know, I'm sure this is this is the end of the line. Like, that kind of attitude. Oh, definitely.

[6:53]Christie Brinkley: I thought, well, you know, I'm gonna say yes because this may be the last time anybody asked me. And then I'd go in with the attitude of, Well, I better make it good because this is the last one and something to remember. And I think that it kind of worked for me because I gave it my all. And then miraculously, there'd be another job and another job. And it wasn't until I realized that there was actually a possibility that I could actually make a go of this thing. Then I got very nervous about it. Like once I decided, okay, I'm doing this and I'm gonna like, I'm going to become a model. I'm gonna eat nothing and I'm gonna exercise and I'm gonna really try and succeed. Then I got anxiety because I think it's it's almost better to look at it like a one off because really now is all you really know that you have.

[7:57]Zibby Owens: That's true. Well, I appreciated the times when you're like, and then I had a lot of anxiety, so I finally decided to do something about it. You did, like, a couple different points in your life. And I'm like, okay. I can understand that. Look at all the times. Yes. One thing you didn't really talk that much about in the book is how it feels having been a model and having even though, you know, you have a very, like, I'm so lucky this happened, and it was not, like, your goal in life to be a model or anything, How it feels having you know, aging and being in the public eye and having to cope with all the stuff that we all have to deal with both publicly and because of your role with the beauty world. How do you feel about that?

[8:39]Christie Brinkley: I think it's a really interest interesting time to age because aging never had so many options. It's like it's like optional now if you wanna age or not, you know, that's up to you. And so I think we see examples all around us of aging, not aging gracefully, not aging not gracefully, aging like aging yourself because you're trying so hard not to age that it's actually making you look older than you are. I mean, it's very interesting. So with all the options out there, there's a lot of talk about aging. And also we are the generation like my age and I would say ten years below, well even twenty years below me and up, we're really the generation that is changing the way we think about those numbers. Because this is an industry that told me I'd be chewed up and spit out at 30. And at 30, I remember I was on top of a mountain I had just hiked and I never felt better. And I was like, so much for your idea of chewing up and spitting out. And there were moments where the business, my beauty business, my fashion and beauty world no longer was like, so sending me offers all day long and all of that. And it was kind of up to us to create ourselves and talk about aging and talk about representation just like the industry has spread its arms so beautifully to be accepting and to actually help people see beauty in all sizes, all shapes, all colors, ethnicities, but age is like the last frontier. It really remains the last frontier and everybody's aging in their own individual ways. And I think that all those different ways should be represented and discussed because, you know, there are so many options now. And so I think it as I said, I think it's kind of an interesting time to be aging in America.

[11:13]Zibby Owens: Absolutely. A 100%. And what is it like bringing up so so your daughter, Alexa Rae, I was her counselor a long time ago in a day camp out in the Hamptons. You're kidding. Oh. I was like a CIT at the time and she was in my group, and it was so cute, like, watching whatever little performances and whatever. Wow. Which camp was that? Oh my gosh. In the city or in the country? No. No. In the country. Like, in East Yeah. East Hampton. It doesn't exist anymore. It was like a tiny little camp, East Hampton day camp or something. Yes. Yes. Yes. Oh, she's so terrified to go there. Oh.

[11:49]Christie Brinkley: She would cry like the whole way there. And then she would get there and always had fun. She'd always come back going, we have fun and da da da da da But she did not wanna go there.

[12:02]Zibby Owens: Well, you you write about her and your and your other kids in the book, and I'm wondering how you handle sort of being in the public eye, and then when things happen with your kids, you touch on this in the book, you know, when she had so much heartbreak and how supportive you were of that. And, you know, as a mom of four myself, that really, you know, hit home to me. Like, how do you go through those moments, a, in public and just, b, as as a mom? Yeah. You know, having kids is probably one of the areas that's the toughest. Dealing with a certain amount of celebrity

[12:35]Christie Brinkley: and the scrutiny that goes along with it is hard when that overlaps and they start scrutinizing your kids and comparing. And that really hurts, really. It's the one thing that I can say has been the biggest bummer of being, you know, sort of famous is that because you never want what you're doing to hurt anybody. And Alexa, she really got hurt by things that the media would say about her and continued to say about her through the years. It was really hard on her and it really affected her. And I think it's really hard. My other two came ten years later and Sailor, who got compared to me for looking like me, had, you know, also difficulty with that because she struggled with her weight and she dabbled in modeling. She didn't really love it. It wasn't her thing. But when she was younger and she dabbled in it, she thought, now I have to look like a model and I have to lose weight. But it was rough on her too and she got an eating disorder and she got like anorexic and it's just tough. So now I say to them, look at somebody like Kate Hudson, who's so well adjusted. She's got Goldie Hawn, super famous, like really, really famous and Kurt Russell as her dad and her stepdad. And she just keeps doing things. Like she never lets any of the press bother her or catch up to her. Like if anybody ever dared call her a nepo baby or whatever, she just like shrugs it off and is on to the next thing, you know. So I try and just say to them, don't even read the press for starters. And like, not the press, but the letters or the the the people write, you know. Although I must say, I think we have a very nice group of people on our Instagram. I rarely see anybody being mean there. I think they it's just all beautiful souls, but it has been, you know, difficult to get through all of that. And really, I think the best advice that I can give is to just keep charging ahead and don't let anything slow you down. And if they say, I say to Alexa, if they say you're a Neppo baby because you sing, it's like, do they say to the kid whose dad, you know, owns the hardware store and he takes over the hardware store, is that a Neppo baby? It's like, it's a family business. Like, you grew up on a sound stage or on the edge of Madison Square Garden stage. That's your life. That's how you grew up. Of course, that's gonna be an influence. And of course, you're gonna wanna go into showbiz yourself. And, you know, so what? Neppo baby is just a term that means your parents were in showbiz. So run with it. Who cares?

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[19:08]Christie Brinkley: Yes. Well, luckily, there are resources now that will connect you to other people that are going through similar things. When I was going through my last divorce, there was very little information on narcissism and what that really means. And now luckily, there are resources and specifically divorcing a narcissist and One Moms Battle website will help people navigate these waters, not feel like they're crazy, not feel alone because it is a long haul battle that you're gonna face. It's very, very hard to divorce a narcissist because they can't have a chink in their armor. They can't have a chip that's anything less than perfect and you're putting that chip there, that chink in their armor. And so they need to destroy you. And so that's really hard to deal with. So I'm glad that that there are resources now And Tina Swithin has written these, like, several books now. And as I mentioned, has a very good website and Instagram and can help people understand what they're up against. Amazing.

[20:30]Zibby Owens: You had another bestselling book come out years ago, and now this book, Uptown Girl, is a New York Times bestseller. Congratulations. Thank you. How have you found the industry to have changed in those intervening years? I know the books are quite different, but what do you Well,

[20:49]Christie Brinkley: the books are very different. Like, I've I've had two beauty books out before. Both of them were on the New York Times bestseller list. My first one stayed there for a while because it was supported by a Diet Coke commercial that had me read my book cover open like this and then dropping the book to see me behind the book and sipping my Diet Coke, which was new on the market, we thought that was so good for you. So, that was a big seller. And when it came to the memoir, I was told, it's extremely hard to get in this category. It's extremely hard to get on the best sellers list. So do not be discouraged. It's, you know, it may not happen. And then we came out of the box and we went to number four I was like, was really great because, you know, I did put it all out there and I felt like the night before it was going to hit the bookstores and everything, I was feeling kind of vulnerable. And I felt like, what if nobody cares? And what if nobody picks it up? What if they all think, oh my god, she's been around fifty years. We know all there is to know about her. And I just I thought I could just picture the piles of books just sitting there, and I was like, But my goodness, people have been so, so sweet, so lovely. They're connecting with the material. I'm getting letters nonstop in my Instagram and real reviews like you know that are really glowing and people are saying the nicest things like, I didn't want it to end and I picked it up and I couldn't put it down. And I sat and read it in two days and I'm nearing the end so I'm savoring it now. I don't want it to end so I'm reading, I'm only allotting myself two pages a day so I can make it last. And then one person wrote, your book makes me wanna get up and live. And I just, you know, it's just really, it's better than I ever could have imagined. The speed back has just been so great. I am so grateful to everybody that's written to let me know how much they liked it. It means so much to me. I really thank you, everybody, for listening.

[23:38]Zibby Owens: When you were worrying that night before it came out and feeling quite vulnerable, Was there one part that you were like, oh, should I not have put that in? Yeah. Well, I

[23:49]Christie Brinkley: part that distressed me the most, because I never ever wanna hurt him, is about Billy. And, you know, I I I don't like to ever say anything bad about anybody. And so I tried to but I needed to explain myself, like, why would I ever have walked away from that relationship that was so wonderful, that was so just beautiful. But there was something that I couldn't compete with that I tried and I tried to come at it every angle I knew how. And, you know, I tried to make our life as perfect as I could, his life as perfect as I could. And I I I tried, but I had to I had to do some, you know, just preserve my own soul at that time. And so I had to walk away, but I had to also write so that people understood why. And I think that in context, I make it clear that he was under a kind of stress that people no one should have to deal with the kind of stress that he was under. Extenuating circumstances that were really awful. And so, obviously, it doesn't excuse, you know, there is the disease and there's but it it kind of explains why that got out of hand. But I I worried about that. You know? I just don't want to ever hurt anybody. And how has it landed? Have you gotten have you heard from him about it? When it first came out the first day, it sounded like some sort of revenge novel the way it was being proceed like, written about in the press. And so I I had to explain to the press that I didn't like it being lifting. We were together for twelve years. We dated the first year and lived together. We were engaged the next year and then we were married for whatever the years. And so during that time, I have like maybe four instances in the book of where, you know, his behavior hurt me and I explained it. And in context, I think it's understandable. Out of context, I had to say, hey, this is not a revenge memoir. This is not written with the purpose of of hurting anybody. So please don't pluck things and make it seem like out of context that I'm just complaining because I think I made it very clear how magical

[26:49]Zibby Owens: my time with him was. I thought you wrote about it with a lot of respect. I really do. I mean, you're not the only woman who has had to deal with a spouse who has, you know, alcohol or drug problems and, you know, I I I felt you were very compassionate, and you even showed us some of the the reasons why he was under all that stress. So Mhmm. Mhmm. So I didn't take it that way, having read it. Just saying.

[27:13]Christie Brinkley: Good. Well, that's what I'm hearing also. People are like, no. I actually was always a Billy Joel fan, and I love him even more after reading your book. Aw. But I'm hearing from most people. That's good. I'm so glad.

[27:28]Zibby Owens: Okay. Well, Christy, thank you so much. I really loved it. I loved learning about you and all the things I I never knew, and you're speaking French and being an artist and photographer and just, like, your whole story, your deep love for your parents. And I mean, it was just really it was quite a ride. So thank you for that. Thank you for sharing it. Thank you so much for your time today and

[27:52]Christie Brinkley: and for reading my book and and giving me such a nice review. Oh, thank you.

[27:58]Zibby Owens: Alright. Thanks a lot. Okay. Bye bye. Thank you for listening to Totally Booked with Zibby, formerly moms don't have time to read books. If you loved the show, tell a friend, leave a review, follow me on Instagram at Zippy Owens, and spread the word. Thanks so much. Oh, and buy the books.