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American supermodel and actress Christie Brinkley disclosed her skin cancer diagnosis on March 14 via an Instagram post. The 70-year-old wrote:
“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”
Christie Brinkley, who is mother to her two daughters and a son, said she found out about her condition while on a health checkup for her daughter. The model was married to Billy Joel from 1985 to 1994, of whom her eldest Alexa Ray Joel was born. Christie later married Richard Taubman in 1994 and the marriage ended the following year. They have a son together — Jack Paris Brinkley.
The supermodel and entrepreneur tied the knot with real estate agent Peter Halsey Cook in 1996 and had her second daughter Sailor Brinkley Cook in 1998. Peter and Christie ended their marriage in 2008. Peter adopted Christie's son Jack, who now uses the surname Cook.
Christie's first marriage was with François Allaux but they had no children together. The couple remained married from 1973 to 1981. She is not currently married to anyone.
All about Christie Brinkley's former husbands and children amid her skin cancer diagnosis
In 1973, when Christie Brinkley was 19, she met Jean-François Allaux, a French artist while she was in Paris to study art. They got married the same year and stayed together for about 8 years. Allaux worked as an Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s Department of Art and Design. As per the school’s website, he retired from his position in 2019.
Christie’s most noted marriage was to Billy Joel, the iconic Piano Man. The two met in 1983 while both were on a vacation in St. Barts. Their wedding was held on a 147-foot yacht in New York Harbor in 1985. Later that year, their daughter Alexa Ray Joel was born. In 1994, the Christie and Billy had split.
The California supermodel said at the time:
“Just because people can express themselves through their art doesn’t mean they are great communicators in person.”
Christie Brinkley met her third husband Richard Taubman in April 1994 in an unusual setting. They were in a helicopter crash in Colorado’s Telluride. Fortunately, they both survived. In May, Taubman, a real estate developer, proposed to the supermodel, while she was still married to Billy Joel.
However, the couple divorced around the same time, allowing Christie and Taubman to start their relationship. They got married in the same year and welcomed their son Jack Paris Brinkley the following year. However, their marriage was a brief one that ended a year later.
Christie met Peter Cook, her fourth husband when she first entered the modeling industry. They got engaged years later in 1996, followed by a marriage. Peter adopted Jack and gave him the Brinkley-Cook surname. In July 1998, Jack had his half-sister Sailor Brinkley Cook.
The couple stayed married for 10 years before splitting in 2006. It was reportedly caused by Peter’s alleged extramarital affair with a young assistant.
Christie Brinkley’s eldest daughter Alexa Ray Joel followed in her father Billy Joel’s footsteps in the music industry. She made a name for herself as an established singer-songwriter. Alexa performed alongside her father as well. The 38-year-old discussed her love for Broadway in an interview. She said this fascination was heavily influenced by her parents:
“My mom would dress me up as Liesl from Sound of Music. My dad would play. And we would just do that all day long.”
Christie’s second child, Jack keeps his life more private. In an interview with PEOPLE, he said:
“I think that the main thing I got from my mom was a sense of adventure.”
Jack also said:
“Probably my favorite thing in the world is the ocean. I surf, I sail, I swim. Whatever it is, everything that has to do with the ocean, I've learned from her so I think that's something I've gained from her because she loves the ocean, too.”
He enrolled in a marketing course at Emerson College but left after a year. Jack later attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute to study acting and graduated in 2016.
Christie Brinkley’s youngest child Sailor Lee Brinkley-Cook, 25, shares a striking resemblance with her mother. Due to this, the mother-daughter duo are often called ‘twins’. Sailor pursued a career in modeling like her mother. She has appeared in modeling gigs for Vogue and Sports Illustrated.
Sailor walked the runway alongside her mother in 2019 at the New York City Fashion Week.
Christie Brinkley shares sun protection advice
Christie advised everyone how to take precautions against skin cancer by diligently practicing sun protection — using sunscreen or putting on accessories and clothes to hide one’s skin from the UV rays. The model added she was late to consider sun protection seriously.
However, Christie said she would be putting on her SPF 30 from now on, and re-apply it if required. She would also wear a “wide brim hat” and long sleeves. Regular full-body checkups are a must that the model would be going for.
The 70-year-old supermodel described each of her freckles was examined by the doctor with a magnifying glass. Christie asked the doctor to look at a tiny dot where she felt something while applying her foundation. Upon close examination of that spot, the doctor told her she needed an immediate biopsy, which was performed there.
Thus, Christie Brinkley advised everyone to go for a checkup at the earliest and start using sunscreen. She also thanked the doctors who assisted in her surgery.
