Christie Brinkley

Model

Name at birth: Christie Lee Hudson

Robust and athletic with a California-girl smile, Christie Brinkley was the first woman to appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition for three consecutive years (1979-81). Brinkley was studying art in Paris when she was discovered by a fashion photographer early in the 1970s, and she soon joined the Ford modelling agency. Her career really took off with her first Sports Illustrated cover in 1979. She had a cameo role in National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) and married superstar singer Billy Joel in 1985. A top model, she appeared in Joel's videos for "Uptown Girl" and "Keeping the Faith," and created the cover art for his 1988 album River of Dreams. Brinkley and Joel divorced in 1994 and she married architect Peter Cook in 1996. She left him in 2006 and their bitter divorce reached its pop culture peak in 2008, with news of Cook's affair with an 18 year-old and his expensive internet porn habit. Their legal battles were settled in July of 2008, with Brinkley getting custody of their children, Jack and Sailor Lee.

Extra credit: Like Cheryl Tiegs, Brinkley was a longtime spokesmodel for Cover Girl cosmetics... Brinkley was raised in Malibu, California, and some sources say she was born there as well... Brinkley's husbands: Jean Francois Allaux (1973-81); singer Billy Joel (1985-94); real-estate magnate Richard Taubman (1994-95); and architect Peter Cook (1996-2008). Her children: Alexa Ray (with Joel, b. 1985); Jack Paris (with Taubman, b. 1995); Sailor Lee (with Cook, b. 1998).

Elle Macpherson was the second woman to have three consecutive SI swimsuit covers; see Brinkley, Macpherson and others in our loop on Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Models.