Inside Christie Brinkley’s devastating personal tragedies – from four failed marriages to her daughter’s attempted suicide – as 70-year-old reveals she’s been diagnosed with skin cancer

Christie Brinkley once earned the nickname Uptown Girl after she inspired her former husband Billy Joel’s hit song of the same name.

And while it may be a fitting moniker when it comes to her immensely successful career and quick ascent to the top of the modeling world, the same can’t be said of her personal life.

On first glance, it seems the former catwalk queen’s story is a glittering tale of a small town girl who achieved a fairytale ending filled with fame, wealth, and dazzling success in front of the camera. 

But if you take a closer look into Christie’s life behind the glitz and glamor, her story is actually filled with a series of devastating tragedies and terrifying health woes. 

The supermodel has endured numerous heartbreaks over the years, including the death of her boyfriend and a bitter divorce battle that saw the sordid details of her husband’s infidelities laid bare to the entire world.

After three failed marriages in quick succession, Christie was convinced she had finally found her soulmate when she walked down the aisle a fourth time to Peter Halsey Cook in 1996.

But what she thought would be her long-deserved happily ever after ultimately turned into her biggest nightmare – when a man approached her at a local event and told her, ‘Your husband is having an affair with my teenage daughter.’

Christie’s entire world began crumble as she unraveled the layers upon layers of her husband’s lies.

Not only was he cheating on her with an 18-year-old, but he had also secretly signed up for a porn website and was sharing crude videos and images of himself on the internet while searching for more mistresses.

A horrified Christie quickly filed for divorce, unknowing that it would launch an explosive, years-long court showdown between her and her now-ex-husband that brought every aspect of the controversial affair into the spotlight.

The cheating scandal was only one of the many devastations that Christie has had to endure over the years.

In addition to her rocky love life, she’s also faced a series of health scares and gruesome injuries – including a terrifying helicopter crash that left her in pain for more than 20 years.

Christie was also forced to get emergency surgery in 2019 after she suffered from a terrible fall while rehearsing for Dancing With the Stars that completely ‘shattered’ her arm.

In the latest terrible twist to Christie’s story, the former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit star revealed this week that she had been diagnosed with skin cancer.

As she shares the shocking news with the world, FEMAIL has recapped her rollercoaster ride journey from start to finish.

From her impressive modeling career that has seen her grace the cover of more than 500 magazines to her husband’s shocking affair, her multiple surgeries, and now, her newly-announced cancer battle, take a look back at Christie’s many career highs and personal lows. 

Christie’s quick rise to the top: How she went from a small town girl to a top supermodel and catwalk queen that now has a net worth of $100 million

Christie was born in Monroe, Michigan, on February 2, 1954, but she moved to Los Angeles, California, at a young age when her mom married acclaimed TV writer and producer Donald Brinkley.

After she graduated from the elite private school Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles in 1972, Christie moved to Paris, France, so she could study art.

One year later, she was discovered by photographer Errol Sawyer after he noticed her in a post office in the French city.

Errol became instantly drawn in by her bright blue eyes, golden hair, and dazzling smile, and insisted on photographing her.

He then helped introduce her to modeling executive Eileen Ford, who asked her to come to California for a lunch meeting with her assistant – and by the end of that meal, despite having no experience, Christie had already booked three national campaigns.

After that, the young model burst onto the scene.

She landed the cover of Glamour magazine, booked a 25-year contract with CoverGirl, and graced the front of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit three years in a row – in 1979, 1980, and 1981.

Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Christie’s career soared. She stomped the runway for numerous big brands and landed a slew of partnerships with companies like Revlon, Diet Coke, Nissan, and Chanel. 

She also posed for a ton of well-known magazines, including Vogue, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, and Cosmopolitan, to name a few – racking up more than 500 magazine covers during her heyday.

Christie also entered the world of acting, making an appearance in the 1983 film National Lampoon’s Vacation, as well as its 1987 sequel, Vegas Vacation.

She also had a guest role in NBC’s Mad About You in 1994, which became the network’s highest-rated 30-minute episode at the time.

Then, in 1992, the supermodel landed her own CNN show, entitled Living in the 90s – With Christie Brinkley.

Her more recent roles include the 2011 comedy Jack and Jill, the NBC show Parks and Recreation, and the sitcom Nightcap.

That’s not all. She also wrote and illustrated her own book on health and beauty, called Christie Brinkley’s Outdoor Beauty and Fitness Book, in 1983, released her own fragrance in 1998, entitled Believe, and teamed up with Swank to drop a jewelry collection. 

The catwalk queen is now also a vastly successful business woman, and has been behind numerous companies, including a beauty brand called Christie Brinkley Authentic Skin Care, a hair extension line called Hair2Wear, a sparkling wine label called Bellissima Prosecco, and an eyewear collection called Christie Brinkley Eyewear.

Her net worth was estimated to be at a whopping $100 million as of 2023.

Her rocky love life and blistering divorces: Christie has endured four failed marriages and was involved in an explosive cheating scandal after it was revealed that her husband had an affair with a teenager

While Christie’s career has soared, it’s hard to say the same for her personal life.

The supermodel has spent decades looking for love, walking down the aisle four different times – only for each one to tragically end in divorce.

She has endured heartbreak after heartbreak, suffering from the horrific death of a boyfriend, a blistering divorce battle, and an explosive cheating scandal when it was revealed that her husband had been embroiled in a secret affair with a teenager.

Christie first walked down the aisle in 1973, when she was only 19 years old and living in Paris, to a French artist named Jean-François Allaux.

They were together for eight years before they ultimately split in 1981. 

After that, she started dating race car driver and French champagne heir Olivier Chandon de Brailles – but he tragically passed away in a horrific car crash in 1983, one year after they got together.

Christie moved on with musician Billy soon after, who she had met months before Olivier’s shock death while they were both on vacation in St. Barts.

The Piano Man singer once explained that he reached out to Christie after he heard that her boyfriend had died to offer his condolences, they struck up a friendship, and things eventually turned romantic.

The two started dating while he was still in a relationship with Elle Macpherson, as Billy wrote in his 2014 memoir, Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography, that he once brought Christie home while Elle was already asleep in his bed.

‘Part of me thought, “Oh god,”‘ he recalled. ‘Another part of me was going, “Holy crap, if my friends could see me now.”‘

Elle once told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, ‘There was some overlap. Yeah, I got ousted.’

Immediately, since Christie was at the height of her modeling career and Billy was a massive music star, the world quickly became enthralled with the couple.

The public’s obsession with the pairing only heightened when he released his massive hit Uptown Girl in late 1982, which was inspired by his love for Christie; she also starred in the music video for it.

Christie and Billy officially married in March 1985 on a 147-foot yacht off the New York harbor, and they welcomed a daughter together, named Alexa Ray, later that year.

But in August of 1994, the couple shocked the world when they announced that they were getting a divorce.

Christie later shed some info on what went wrong, stating in a 2001 interview, ‘Just because people can express themselves through their art doesn’t mean they are great communicators in person.’

Following her and Billy’s split, the star struck up a romance with real estate mogul Richard Taubman after they were introduced by a mutual friend.

They exchanged vows in December of that year – almost as soon as her divorce from Billy was finalized – and announced that they were expecting their first child together soon after.

Their son, Jack Paris, was born in June 1995, but her and Richard’s romance was short-lived, ultimately ending just seven weeks after Jack’s birth.

Christie walked down the aisle for a fourth time in 1996 to architect Peter. 

They welcomed their daughter, named Sailor Lee, in 1998, and it seemed like Christie had finally gotten her happy ever after.

‘I finally have what I always wanted – a husband who is so involved in the family, who cares about it with every ounce of his being, who is there for us,’ she gushed following the birth of their daughter.

On the outside, the couple looked picture-perfect, but behind close doors, the marriage was plagued by Peter’s infidelities – which were brought to light during their explosive divorce trial years later.

The couple announced that they were ending their marriage in 2006 after a decade together, and soon, the sordid details of his wrongdoings began to emerge.

Soon after news hit the web that they were divorcing, an 18-year-old woman named Diana Bianchi came forward and claimed that then-47-year-old Peter had been cheating on Christie with her.

In an explosive interview with the New York Post, Diane said that she had been seduced by the architect while she was working as his employee, eventually striking up a romantic love affair that went on for months while he was still married to the supermodel.

During their divorce trial two years later, Christie took to the stand and told the jury that she found out he was cheating in June 2006, and it ‘completely shattered’ her whole ‘world.’

She said she was approached by a police officer at a local high school who told her, ‘That husband of yours won’t knock it off. He’s having an affair with my teenage daughter.’

After that, Christie said she looked through his computer and not only discovered racy messages between him and teenager Diana, but also came across his $3,000-a-month subscription to a porn site.

She told the court that she was horrified to find that he had used his computer webcam to record himself masturbating and had uploaded naked photos of himself to the site.

‘It was not [only] a voyeur site. It was a meeting site,’ she added. ‘It was more than I could bear.’

The divorce was ultimately settled in 2012 after a multi-year-long court battle. Christie had to pay Peter $2.1 million but was given full custody of their daughter and got to keep their whopping 18 properties – which likely added up to more than $2.1 million.

Peter later spoke about the affair to ABC News, stating, ‘I was seeking a connection I could not find in my own marriage. 

‘I think the emotional aspect of our lives had changed. I think we were both feeling more like we were living with a brother and sister than a life partner.

‘I think I just suddenly realized when I was getting attention from someone else that this is something that is missing in my life.’

When asked to expand further on what was ‘missing’ from his marriage to Christie, he added, ‘I wanted a little acknowledgement, a little attention, a little thank you every now and then for my efforts, for the amount of time I took to care for her and my family, for the wealth I was building.

‘Just the tremendous amount of work I was putting into my family. My world became her world. It had to be that way.

‘There came a time when I pulled up [to] the driveway to the home that I found, that I built, that I lived in, and I felt like I was a guest in someone else’s life.’

Christie went on to date singer John Mellencamp in 2015, but they split after one year together.

Since then, she hasn’t been linked to anyone, but in 2022, she admitted to Hello! that while she was not ‘looking for romance’ she hadn’t given up on finding love.

She also confessed at the time that her friends had just ‘set her up’ on a blind date. 

‘I am not looking for romance – there is an expression when you don’t look, it happens so I haven’t been looking for a while and maybe it will happen,’ she shared.

‘It’s not very often my friends set me up, but recently a friend has sort of made an introduction so we’ll see what happens.’

Her daughter’s heartbreaking suicide attempt: The supermodel was shattered when her eldest child tried to take her own life by overdosing on pills

The model faced another horrific blow when it was reported that her eldest daughter, Alexa, who she shares with Billie, had attempted suicide in 2009 by purposely overdosing on sleeping pills.

The aspiring singer was rushed to the hospital and thankfully survived. 

In the months before the incident, Alexa, who had just moved out of her family home and into her own West Village apartment, had shared a series of worrisome posts online.

‘I’ve really been having a hard time with everything lately, between moving into my new apartment and getting used to living alone… I was crying my eyes out tonight,’ she wrote in one post. ‘I felt overwhelmed and terribly lonely.’

Christie later reflected on her daughter’s struggles to Home Journal in 2010.

‘Your job as a parent is to listen. And to dole out as much love as you can. That includes tough love,’ she said.

‘I told Alexa, “You got yourself worked into such a tizzy. You need to examine that, you need to seek professional advice.”‘

The mom-of-three added that Alexa was going through a heartbreak at the time, and was ‘trying to do something dramatic to prove to her boyfriend how much he had hurt her.’

‘I think many people can relate to that excruciating pain of love gone wrong. I’d rather have a broken arm than a broken heart,’ she joked.

She also insisted that it was ‘homeopathic aspirin’ that Alexa had taken, adding, ‘She’s not the kind of kid who hangs around clubs and does drugs.’

Her numerous health woes and terrifying near-death accident: Christie was involved in a horrific helicopter crash in the ’90s that left her with injuries that would plagued her for decades

Long before her recent cancer diagnosis, Christie faced numerous other health woes – and she even once suffered from a terrifying near-death accident.

In 1994, while she was on a ski trip with friends in Telluride, Colorado, the model was involved in a horrific helicopter crash. 

It was said that Christie and five others became ‘trapped’ on a mountain amid ‘heavy winds and snow’ for over five hours after the aircraft went down – before finally getting rescued.

She later recalled thinking to People, ‘I am going to die. Right now? Like this? A ski trip? Today?

‘All of a sudden I said, [my daughter’s name] Alexa. I suddenly thought, “I am her mother, and she needs me. I am not going to die. I refuse. I won’t.”‘

While at the time it was reported that she had only suffered ‘minor injuries,’ the model has been open about how the incident lead to many health complications ever since.

And in 2021, she revealed that she had to undergo a hip replacement due to the crash, 26 years after it happened.

‘I injured my hip in a back country skiing helicopter crash on a mountaintop in Telluride many years ago. The pain in my hip got a little bit worse each year,’ she wrote on Instagram at the time.

’12 years ago I was told it needed to be replaced but the surgery was daunting. And I had things to do.

‘But quarantine put a damper on any plans so I decided to finally take time for myself and do something about the pain that had progressively influenced my decisions.

‘I wanted to be ready to be able to say yes to opportunity. I had my surgery at Thanksgiving and I was dancing in my kitchen by New Years Eve.

‘I’m writing all this to say If you’ve been putting something off that could improve your well-being but hesitate out of some sort of fear, I suggest learning as much as you can about the process and the results and expectations. 

‘I found the best Doctor for my circumstances and voila! I can’t tell you how happy I am to have done this.

‘Now I can focus on getting back in shape and rebuilding my strength. Never to old to get hip.’

In 2019, the model suffered from another gruesome injury while she was rehearsing for the competition series Dancing With the Stars.

She told People that she fell while practicing, and instantly ‘felt shards in her arm.’ 

‘There’s a little bone at the thumb that usually posts one way – mine was in the opposite direction,’ she said. 

‘[The bone] was just shattered into a thousand little pieces, just a million of little pieces.’

She needed surgery, where doctors inserted a plate and screws to help her ‘shattered’ arm. Her daughter Sailor ultimately replaced her on the show.

In 2022, two years later, Christie told Hello! that she had also injured her shoulder in the fall, which still ‘had not recovered.’

‘I have done a round of MRIs and they told me I need a complete shoulder replacement,’ she shared. 

She added that she didn’t ‘have time’ to go under the knife at the moment, but was ‘looking at stem cell treatments.’

Her latest horrific blow: Christie announced that she had been diagnosed with skin cancer this week and that she had undergone surgery to remove a ‘basal cell carcinoma’ from her face

In the latest tragic twist, Christie announced this week that she had been diagnosed with skin cancer.

Taking to her Instagram on Wednesday, she revealed that she had undergone surgery to remove a ‘basal cell carcinoma’ from her face.

She also shared graphic photos of the wound after the cancer was removed – as she urged fans to check their bodies regularly for any abnormalities. 

She said ‘the good news’ was that she had ‘caught it early’ and that she had ‘great doctors’ who were able to ‘remove the cancer.’

‘The good news for me is we caught the basal cell carcinoma early. And I had great doctors that removed the cancer and stitched me up to perfection like an haute couture Dior,’ she wrote.

‘The good news for you is that all of this can be avoided by being diligent with your sun protection.

‘I got serious a bit late so now for this ole mermaid/gardener, I’ll be slathering on my SPF 30, reapplying as needed, wearing long sleeves and a wide brim hat, and doing regular total body check ups… that is a MUST.

‘I was lucky to find mine, because I was accompanying one of my daughters to HER check up.

‘The doctor was looking at each freckle with a magnifying glass… it wasn’t my appointment so I wasn’t going to say anything but at the very end I asked if he could just look at a little tiny dot I could feel as I applied my foundation.

‘He took a look and knew immediately it needed a biopsy. He did it then and there! 

‘So make your own good luck by making that check up appointment today. And slather up my friends.’

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is a type of non-melanoma skin cancer, which means it does not involve skin pigment cells.

BCC often appears as scabs that bleed; it makes up more than 80 per cent of all forms of skin cancer in the UK and US.