Christie Brinkley began modeling in the 1970s. By 1976, she became a CoverGirl for the cosmetics company of the same name. Brinkley then appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition three years in a row. The fame allowed her to do some acting in film, television, and on both Broadway and London's West End. She gave birth to Sailor Brinkley-Cook in 1998 during her marriage to Peter Cook.

In March of 2023, Brinkley-Cook posted a photo of herself on Instagram with her mom Christie and older half-sister Alexa Ray Joel (daughter of musician Billy Joel). The resemblance between Brinkley-Cook and her mom is uncanny, as many in the comments pointed out. Her Instagram post also included a photo of the three of them from when Brinkley-Cook was a child. In both pictures, they are wearing matching white outfits. She captioned the photo, "I just love my ladies so much."