Christie Brinkley first catapulted to fame in the ‘80s when she appeared in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues. She snagged her first cover in 1979, then two more consecutive covers in 1980 and 1981, cementing her future as a household name. After a meeting with Ford, she immediately booked three national ad campaigns. Brinkley would make history after receiving a 25-year contract with CoverGirl, marking one of the longest contracts in modeling history. Outside of CoverGirl, she’s appeared in ads for Diet Coke, Nissan and Halston.
Here, WWD takes a closer look at the model’s style through the years.
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Christie Brinkley, 1982
Christie Brinkley and Lee Majors at Faces of the ’80s in 1982.
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Christie Brinkley, 1983
Christie Brinkley at the Mr. Chow’s Restaurant in Beverly Hills, California in 1983 for a New Year’s Eve celebration.
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Christie Brinkley, 1984
Christie Brinkley unveils her sportswear and swimear collection on June 21, 1984, at Russ Togs Headquarters in New York City.
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Christie Brinkley, 1986
Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley during 1986 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.
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Christie Brinkley, 1987
Christie Brinkley at “The Inquiry” New York City premiere in 1987.
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Christie Brinkley, 1988
Christie Brinkley, Alexa Joel and Billy Joel at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City in 1988.
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Christie Brinkley, 1992
Christie Brinkley during the 7th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 1992 at Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.
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Christie Brinkley, 1992
Christie Brinkley during VH1 Top 21 Fashion Countdown on March 20, 1992, at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City.
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Christie Brinkley, 1992
Christie Brinkley during 3rd Annual Billboard Music Awards at Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles in 1992.
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Christie Brinkley, 1996
Christie Brinkley during Cartier Launches The Tank Francaise Watch at Former B. Altman Store in New York City in 1996.
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Christie Brinkley, 1996
Christie Brinkley during Fragrance Foundation 24th “FiFi” Awards at Lincoln Center Avery Fisher Hall in New York City in 1996.
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Christie Brinkley, 1996
Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook at the “Indepedence Day” premiere in 1996.
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Christie Brinkley, 1997
Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook at the Supper Club in New York City in 1997 for a Democratic Party fundraiser.
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Christie Brinkley, 1998
Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook during Unicef 50th Anniversary in New York City in 1998.
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Christie Brinkley, 1998
Christie Brinkley during Debut of Christie Brinkley’s New Fragrance “Believe” at Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City in 1998.
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Christie Brinkley 1999
Christie Brinkley in 1999.
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Christie Brinkley, 2000
Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook during 1-800-flowers.com and The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund to debut The Power of Pink Collection at Hotel Plaza Athenee in New York City.
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Christie Brinkley, 2000
Christie Brinkley during The White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C., in 2000.
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Christie Brinkley, 2003
Model Christie Brinkley attends the Prudential Financial Grand Prix Hamptons Classic Horse Show Aug. 31, 2003, in Bridgehampton, New York.
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Christie Brinkley, 2004
Christie Brinkley during Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition launch at Deep in New York in 2004.
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Christie Brinkley, 2004
Christie Brinkley during “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” New York Premiere at Radio City Music Hall in New York City in 2004.
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Christie Brinkley, 2006
Christie Brinkley attends The Skin Cancer Foundation’s 27th annual Skin Sense Award Gala at The Pierre in 2006.
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Christine Brinkley, 2006
Christie Brinkley at Princess Grace Awards gala in 2006.
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Christie Brinkley, 2007
Former super model Christie Brinkley attends the opening night premiere of “SOS” at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival on April 25, 2007, in New York City.
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Christie Brinkley, 2007
Christie Brinkley arrives at a special movie screening of director Jake Paltrow’s “The Good Night” at the East Hampton Movie Theater on Aug. 18, 2007, in East Hampton, New York.
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Christie Brinkley, 2008
Christie Brinkley attends the 125th Metropolitan Opera opening night at Lincoln Center on Sept. 22, 2008, in New York City.
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Christie Brinkley, 2008
Christie Brinkley and Li Jun Li pose backstage at “South Pacific” on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre on Oct. 29, 2008, in New York City.
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Christie Brinkley, 2009
Fomrer model Christie Brinkley is seen around the 2009 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 16, 2009, in Park City, Utah.
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Christie Brinkley, 2010
Model Christie Brinkley attends the screening of “Fair Game” hosted by Giorgio Armani & The Cinema Society at The Museum of Modern Art on Oct. 6, 2010, in New York City.
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Christie Brinkley, 2011
Christie Brinkley poses at the Broadway opening night of “Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical” at the Palace Theatre on March 20, 2011, in New York City.
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Christie Brinkley, 2010
Christie Brinkley attends The Cinema Society’s “Dinner for Schmucks” party in East Hampton.
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Christie Brinkley, 2010
Christie Brinkley attends the Princess Grace Foundation’s 2010 Midsummer Garden Fete hosted by Louis Vuitton and Prince Albert II of Monaco.
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Christie Brinkley, 2012
Model Christie Brinkley attends the Heart Truth’s Red Dress Collection 2012 Fashion Show at Hammerstein Ballroom on Feb. 8, 2012, in New York City.
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Christie Brinkley, 2013
Christie Brinkley attends the Social Life Magazine 10 Year Anniversary Party at 70 Tanager Lane on May 25, 2013 in Watermill, New York.
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Christie Brinkley, 2013
Christie Brinkley attends the Park Avenue Garage Spring Sale in 2013.
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Christie Brinkley, 2014
Model Christie Brinkley attends the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 50 Years of Swim in NYC Celebration at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Beach House on Feb. 18, 2014, in New York City.
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Christie Brinkley, 2013
Christie Brinkley at the 2013 Style Awards.
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Christie Brinkley, 2016
Christie Brinkley at the 2016 Footwear News Achievement awards on Nov. 29, 2016.
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Christie Brinkley, 2018
Christie Brinkley at the 2018 Harper’s Bazaar Icons party.
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Christie Brinkley, 2018
Christie Brinkley at the Stephan Weiss Apple Awards in 2018.