EXCLUSIVEChristie Brinkley Says It Was 'Intimidating' Reflecting on Her Life and Past Marriages in Memoir 'Uptown Girl'
Christie Brinkley admitted it wasn't easy laying her life on the line in her memoir.
May 15 2025, Published 5:53 p.m. ET
Despite decades in the public eye, Christie Brinkley felt "vulnerable" reliving her life's drama in her new memoir, Uptown Girl.
The supermodel, 71, got real about why she was nervous to open up when speaking exclusively with OK! at The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Champions for Change Gala on Wednesday, May 14.
Christie Brinkley's Nerves Surrounding Her New Memoir 'Uptown Girl'
Christie Brinkley was 'nervous' to put herself out there in her memoir.
"Oh my God. It's so intimidating, and you do feel a bit presumptuous when you first think about it," she explained. "I do have fun stories....[but] after it was done, I started to feel really nervous and vulnerable. Like, 'Oh my God, I put all this stuff out there. What if it just sits there and nobody cares?'"
She is the first to admit her anxiety is unfounded. Just minutes before the interview, she got a call that Uptown Girl is on the New York Times Best Seller's List for the second week in a row.
"I've been on the bestseller list with my other two books, but they were beauty books," she said. "It's not as hard in that category, but in this [Hardcover Nonfiction] category, it sounded like it was never gonna happen. It's that hard to get on there. So, I was really so pleased."
Christie Brinkley wrote about her past relationship with Billy Joel in her memoir.
Brinkley recalled some of her life's most tragic lows in the memoir, including her ex-husband Billy Joel's cheating allegations, her near-fatal helicopter crash in 1994 and industry pressures in the modeling industry. Although she gets deep, she also wants her audience to enjoy the "laughter and joy and love and adventure" in her story. The model hopes to encourage others to embark on their own adventures and "write their own script[s]."
"A girl on my Instagram today said, 'Christie, I just finished the book, and it made me want to live,'" she recalled. "And I just was so touched by that. That's the best feedback you can get."
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Christie Brinkley's Skin Cancer Diagnosis
Christie Brinkley was diagnosed with skin cancer in March 2024.
Beyond the pages of her book, Brinkley is transparent about her skin cancer diagnosis. As the host of The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Champions for Change Gala, she let people into one of her most intimate health struggles.
"I am so grateful to all the people in this room, having an opportunity to actually see the people who are doing the research, who are doing the surgeries, who are constantly making it better and easier for us to deal when things like this come along," she expressed at the event. "Skin cancer is really on the rise. I heard today on TV that one in five people will get skin cancer. So it's nice to know that they're constantly evolving techniques like Mohs surgery, which minimizes how deep they have to go [to preserve healthy tissue]."
The Malibu native had a "lifetime of sun," both on her home turf and in preparation for her on-screen roles.
"I got a job where they would say, 'Here's a bathing suit. Get a tan,'" the National Lampoon's Vacation alum recalled.
Christie Brinkley got her skin cancer removed.
Brinkley was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma in March 2024. She accompanied her daughter to a routine dermatologist appointment, where the doctor encouraged her to get a biopsy of a small mark on her face.
Once the test result came back as cancer, she underwent surgery to have the spot removed. Now, she is extra careful in the sun and stresses the importance of SPF. Brinkley rotates between products from Supergoop! and La Roche-Posay, "even if it looks like it's going to be cloudy" and in the winter.
