April 29, 2025 • 57 mins
In this heartfelt conversation, Katie sits down with the iconic Christie Brinkley or an intimate look at the moments that shaped her–from her bohemian days in Paris to the glitz of Studio 54, from the heights of modeling fame to unexpected heartbreak. With warmth, candor, and even a little singing, Christie opens up about a life lived in full technicolor--and now finally captured in her new memoir, Uptown Girl
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
And this day, as I was rushing in to call
my vet, I literally smashed right into Eryl Sawyer, the
photographer who had seen me there before and had a
client who was looking for California sporty, California type girl.
(00:25):
And so that's how it happened.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Hi, everyone, I'm Kitty Kuric, And this is next question.
Of course, everyone knows who Christy Brinkley is, right, Sports Illustrated,
swimsuit model multiple times, Billy Joel's uptown girl. But there's
so many things that you probably don't know about Christy Brinkley,
(00:53):
Like she had a very abusive biological father until Don
Brinkley came to the rescue and loved her unconditionally. That
she's had a number of love affairs, one that ended
in tragedy, to where the guys were just awful people.
It turns out anyway, she's got quite a life story.
(01:18):
She's also incredibly talented. She's a great artist. She can sing,
she speaks fluent French. She was roxy Heart in Chicago
on Broadway. I mean, who just is able to do that?
I think after you hear this conversation with Christy Brinkley,
you're going to fall in love with her. I'm kind
of obsessed with her myself, so much so that I
(01:41):
spent an hour and twenty five minutes talking with her.
Don't worry, everybody, before you freak out. We did edit
it down, but here's my conversation with the one and
only Christy Brinkley about her new memoir Uptown Girl. Okay,
I want to get started, because I know you've got
a million things going on. Christy. First of all, thank
(02:01):
you for doing this. I'm very excited to talk to you.
You know what a huge fan I am of you.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Oh well, likewise, I mean, Katie, I have to say
you're doing such an amazing job right now with what's
going on in the world, you know, and everybody seems
like so afraid to speak up, and you're speaking up
in like you're bold and you're amazing, and I applaud
you and I thank you well.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
I love getting your dms, and I'm always like Christy's
on it. She cares as much as I do, So
thank you for that. Because the whole team that's here
listening to that nice comment, Christy, they're the people who
are helping me every day.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
So thank you team, because boy oh boy, we are
up against.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
It, I know, and I'll maybe ask you a political
question at the end, but let's sell some books.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Let's sell some books.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Okay. So Christy, the first question I have for you
is why now? Why did you decid, you know what,
it's time for me to write my life story.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
I'm seventy one. If I don't do it now, when
am I ever going to do it? You know, I
had started it before. Actually, Stephen Gaines was working with
me a little bit on it, and he immediately said,
the title of the book is Uptown Girl, period, nothing
to discuss. And then I was like, I want to
do this. Who wants to read a story about me?
(03:26):
And so then I just was like, eh, I don't
need to do it. And in fact, when I went
into HarperCollins, I was like, I know I have a
book in me, but part of me thinks that the
book is a Nancy Meyers movie. And because I've got
the real estate, the wardrobe, the crazy xs and once
(03:49):
you get out of the divorce, it's funny, you know,
I mean, especially my last one.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
There's so much to laugh about that one, even though
at the time weren't doing a lot of laughing.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Even though at the time, I felt like I was
going to die Like.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Well, I should point out for people who don't know you,
you've got an incredible sense of humor, this extraordinary ability
to laugh at yourself. And when you were deciding, you know,
I'm going to put my life down, what were the
animating ideas that you had. Did you say, I'm going
to be just brutally honest. That's what I did with
(04:26):
my book. My husband said, do not write a book
unless you can be totally honest.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
And a great title for your book that delivered that message.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
You know, what's the point of kind of sugarcoating things
after you've lived a life with good, bad, ups and downs. Yeah,
you know what, what did you think about when you
said I'm going to write my book? What was your
guiding principle? I guess I don't even know if I
really had one.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
First I had to decide if it was going to
be a Nancy Meyer's comedy or a sweet story of
my days and pairs, you know. And then once Lisa
Sharky wrote me a letter the publisher at HarperCollins, and
she convinced me that my life story needed telling, and
so I started it. Actually with a writer, a guy,
(05:18):
and it didn't sound like me at all. And I
also have to mention I have kept journals for sixty years.
I had started, like, you know, sort of cleaning things up,
and I came across my journals that was really the
thing that said I've got to tell a story. Because
I left to Paris to be an artist, and then
(05:40):
when I became a model, I had no time to
be an artist, so my art shrank and I got
a repetiograph, which is a very fine point pin, and
I would do these little drawings in my journal, like
Beulah's restaurant in e Lucera and the whole crew sitting
around the table, and I think, someday I'll do a
(06:02):
big canvas with this and I'll paint it. But my
life hasn't slowed down to be able to do that yet.
But someday I'll paint that meantime, that kind of became
the book. Then I started working with a female writer,
Sarah Toland, who I worked with, and we started sort
(06:22):
of culling the stories because at seventy one, your life
just doesn't fit in a book. It just does not
fit in There's so many adventures that I couldn't put
in there. Maybe another book.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Yeah, well, you put a lot of great stuff in there,
so many great stories, and you're right. I mean, you
had a treasure trove of source material, including letters you'd
written to your mom and dad from Paris. But you
also had to I think, excavate a lot of childhood
memories that I think were really painful and I felt
(06:58):
so terrible out your childhood up to the age of eight.
Your biological father was this guy named Herb Hudson, and
he was a real jackass and abusive to you. Talk
about what that was like, because I was really upset
(07:20):
to read what you had to endure as a little girl.
He terrified you.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Yeah, he You know, writing the book, there are lots
of parts of the book that I didn't really want
to write about, And I can get choked up even
thinking about that, because you know, I just didn't really
want to ever write about it. But I guess I
also didn't really want to think about it. I never
(07:48):
did think about it in my life because my mom
also didn't want to think about it. And once we
met my dad, who, you know, the greatest dad in.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
The world, Don Brinkley.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Don Brinkley. Once we met him, you know, everything change,
but we also pretended as though the other life never
even existed. And because of that, I think I had
buried a lot of those memories. So when I did
have to try and remember the things that were popping
(08:23):
into my head, which were things that I didn't want
to remember. Unfortunately, the things that stood out were his belt,
you know, his whipping me with it, one of my
other childhood memories when I was singing into the microphone.
You know, I remembered that, I think because it was
also there was pain attached to it, you.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Know, and he would wash your mouth out with soap,
and you know, you would basically be terrified about him
coming home from work. You said, he used to look
for excuses to punish you, and you know, looking back
on it, I'm curious if you and I know you
and your mom just kind of basically blocked it out.
(09:08):
But do you have any better understanding, Christy, about what
made him the person he was and why he did
that to you? And did he do the same thing
to your brother?
Speaker 1 (09:19):
You know, I really don't know. I remember. All I
can remember about my brother was that he got a
lot of really, really bad headaches, which my mom thought
was because he was stressed from her putson. But I
can't really speak to what you know, he felt. But
my mom would mention things every now and then occasionally,
(09:44):
and I used to say to her because she didn't
have anything nice to say, and I used to say
to her, you know what, Mom, I don't like thinking
that I made out of part of that horrible person.
And I'd rather just not hear about it, because then
it makes me feel like, am I going to be
mean like that? You know? Am I going to be
(10:04):
evil like that? So even if she did feel like
speaking to me at that moment, I didn't want to
speak about it.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Right.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
We didn't really psychoanalyze what was going on with him.
We didn't spend much time talking about it. All I
can surmise is that, you know, I really felt like
my life with him was this black and white movie
that you know when the film breaks and then you're
in a new phase of the life, you know, like
(10:35):
I have a little I have a little memory of
once we went to Disneyland in California, and I really
really really wanted to go on that auto ride where
you get to drive the cars, but to a point
in the line. Seemed like we were waiting for so
long in the line, and they left me to hold
(10:58):
the place in line, and then they went to go
get some drinks or something like that. Right, And as
soon as I got to the place in the line
where I could see the cars, I got so mesmerized
by the cars I forgot to keep moving and I
was just like staring at this car, like are my
feet going to fit the pedal? And what do I
do when I get to that turn? I was really like,
(11:20):
and I'm going to speed on that part, you know.
I was like really into it. And suddenly I was
like broken out of my reverie by him grabbing my
arm and going, why didn't you move? You didn't move?
The line moved. We were behind those people way up there,
you know, And so he pulled me out and said,
you're not going on. And those are the kind of
(11:42):
memories that I have of my childhood with him, So
no wonder. I didn't want to think about it.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
And yeah, you know, but everything changed when you were eight.
He gave up his parental rights and Don Brinkley, who
really is your dad? Yes, for all intents and purpose,
has stepped in and you couldn't understand why your biological
father was abandoning you basically, But in retrospect, thank god
(12:09):
that that happened.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yes, at the time, it was confusing because on the
one hand, I really didn't want to see him on
his visitations, so it was a relief in a way.
But I also thought that I was unlovable, you.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Know, and even if someone is a horrible father, there
is that biological pull and you always want to understand
why they don't love you right as much as anything.
So I'm sure you just felt this terrible confusion about
why he was so willing to give you up.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Yeah. Well, I also lived with the constant threat that
he was going to send me to the orphanage. And
I don't know about you, but I loved Shirley Temple
movie and it seemed like Shirley Temple was always being
sent to an orphanage. So I thought that was like
a fate so terrible. I was truly terrified of that,
(13:12):
of being sent to the orphanage. I remember when he
came in the room, I just kind of hold steel, like,
don't do anything wrong, because you'll end up in the orphanage.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
How do you think you know, I'm sure you've thought
about this, but how do you think he shaped you ultimately?
I mean, thank god, Dom Brinkley stepped in and was
the total opposite and loved you unconditionally. But you must
think back of those extremely formative years and young life
experiences and wonder, gosh, what do you think that did
(13:47):
to me as an adult?
Speaker 1 (13:48):
I think that luckily, you know, my most formative memories
I think came because my life was so vivid and
so full of life and color. And I mean, Don
Brinkley was just the most amazing man, the greatest man,
truly he was. He was like a saint in a way.
(14:10):
I mean, at the end of his life he had
scoliosis ann Parkinson's and the two are a terrible combination
because it crunched him down so he really couldn't breathe,
and you know, and ended up that he couldn't talk
because he had to get a feeding to be breathing,
(14:31):
you know, like it was. It was so awful, and
he never he never complained. He would it was a
rigmarole to get the word. But then it would make
you laugh or make you smile, and that was what
he did. He was unbelievable, unbelievable from the very beginning.
(14:55):
He could have a deadline, you know, for a script
do but if I need his help with homework, he
was there for me. I'm so choked up because I'm
so moved, But my good fortune, my parents were amazing,
and so I think I made a conscious choice to
escape that part of my life and to leave it
(15:16):
behind and not even try to think about it, not
try and psycho analyze it, but instead focus on the
great part of my life that blossomed in front of me,
you know, this great technicolor adventure that he gave our family.
He had apartment in Malibu on the beach on Old
(15:38):
Malibu Road, and all of a sudden we were, you know,
able to wake up and run downstairs and be at
the beach and find pebbles and stones, and there was
another rock we call Peer Rock and Volcano Rock a
little further. That's where our forts were, you know, and
(15:59):
of course in the posts behind the houses and stuff.
But it was like this whole new world and the
hillsides behind us before Pepper dyed, before all of that,
I knew every nook and cranny, you know, every canyon,
every little waterfall, every little thing. You know, it was
just pure magic. It was amazing. So rather than psychoanalyzed,
(16:22):
like when I first started writing my book and I
tell the story about the day I flew over the cornfield,
the first writer that I was working with really wanted
to psychoanalyze that moment, and I said, no, No, life
is so full of things that we don't understand. I
(16:42):
don't want to see backstage at Disneyland. I just want
to see the magic. I just want that part.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
The cornfield was when you were escaping mentally, and you
would imagine yourself flying over a cornfield to escape your terrible,
abusive father. But I'm glad you included that because I think,
in contrast, your dad don gave you everything, and it
(17:10):
made you appreciate the gift of unconditional love that we
should all be so lucky to have that. Sadly, so
many people aren't. And I feel the same way about
my parents. You know that I never, for one second
of my life doubted for one nano second that they
(17:31):
didn't love me unconditionally and completely, and that I think
you realize as you get older what a gift that is,
and how sad it is that not everyone has that.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Oh yeah, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
If you want to get smarter every morning with a
breakdown of the news and fascinating takes on health and
wellness and pop call sure sign up for our daily newsletter,
Wake Up Call by going to Katiecuric dot com. I
(18:14):
want to fast forward, though we have so much to cover,
and I know we don't have tons of time, but
we hopefully have more time to talk about how you
went to Paris at nineteen tell us about becoming an artist.
I know Alexa describes you as kind of bohemian, but
what prompted you to decide I'm going to Paris, I'm
going to be an artist. I'm going to live this life.
(18:37):
I just always felt it, I knew it.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
I always just had this dream that I would live
in a little garrett in Paris. I would wear my beret.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
There's a very cute photo of you in your beret.
I know, yes, and everything was pointing me towards that.
I remember the film Le de Cherbourg came out, The
Umbrellas of Sherbro The Umbrellas of Cherbourg with Catherine.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
De Geneve, and my dad got me the album, and
so I would put the needle back and I would
sing along, Oh trefoi game unfarm noon, then a pal
ou la pelle lola, oh t hepiubi. You know, I
(19:35):
was like, I was just like. I loved the music,
I loved the language, and I just had to get
into the thick of it. If it was the last
thing I did so, I don't know. But when the
opportunity presented and California was no longer big enough for
(19:56):
the two of us, I had a break up with
my boyfriend, and so I decided I'll show him. I'll
fly away.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
And you did. You flew away to Paris. And I'm
going to talk about your first love or your first
marriage in a moment. But it was in Paris that
you were discovered by photographer Eryl Sawyer. Tell me how
he discovered you and how that happened.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Well, I was living in the garret under the rooftops.
I had fallen in love already with Chaffausseus, a French artist,
an amazing artist, really really great, and he got drafted
into the French military, and so we got this little
dog to keep me company. The little dog was sick,
(20:45):
so I would put the little dog in a little pannier,
you know, over my shoulder and go into the telephoning
office because in my little garret, my little latitier, I
did not have a shower, or a bathroom or a telephone.
So I went a couple blocks away to the Bampoublique,
the public baths, and I used the telephone a couple
(21:08):
of blocks over, and I would call the vet, and
I was calling him almost daily because my dog was sick.
And this day, as I was rushing in to call
my vet, I literally smashed right into Errol Sawyer, the
photographer who had seen me there before and had a
(21:30):
client who was looking for California, sporty, California type girl.
And he was like, that's the girl at the phone office.
I'm going to go back to the phone office and
see if I see her. And sure enough, as fate
would have it, I came in that day to make
the call and he said are you a model? And
(21:53):
I said no, and he said, well then you should be,
and I have a and he started telling me about it,
and then he gave me his name and number address
I should say, because he also didn't have a phone,
so he said, this is my studio and it wasn't
too far from me, and he said, please, please trust me.
(22:15):
Come let's do some photos. I'll take them into the
model agency. I'll take you into the model agency. And
I was like, really, okay. I wasn't sure if this
was a line or what. But then I was speaking
to a friend of mine, Stephanie, who went to the
Lion Los Angeles with me, and she said, no, no, no,
(22:38):
I've seen his name on a byline. I'll go with you.
Come on, let's go. And so that's how it happened.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
And the rest, as they say, is history, life change.
As you wrote on a dime, But you also talk
about how your so called flaws, which makes me laugh,
that you were too curvy, that you had chipmunk cheeks. Right.
I was told my cheeks were too round, my body
too curvy. But it turned out those were exactly the
(23:06):
things that set me apart. I do remember when you
arrived on the scene. I mean, to describe you as
curvy is laughable to me, because you have the most
beautiful physique. But you know, at the time your body
was a bit of an anomaly in terms of what
models were looking like. Right.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
I immediately assumed that when you took me into the
model agency. They would make me look like them, right,
Like I was like, oh, what would.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
They do to me?
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Like I'm picturing you know, they'll do something to my hair.
But yeah, that was the thing that set me apart.
So sometimes the things that you worry about are the
things that make you different and end up to be
your key to success. And I was so lucky the
timing because modeling just prior to that had been elegant,
(24:01):
you know, kind of long, lean, thin, elegant beauties. And
then suddenly it was let's get physical physical, you know,
with that whole movement of athletics, you know, people starting
to work out at home with Jane Fonda, right, I
mean I loved I worked out at home with Jane Fonda.
(24:23):
I did so many Jane Fonda tapes. The one in
the purple that she wore purple, that Alexa found this
doll that looked just like it and she called it
Jane Aga and we said Jane anam And we had
to take that doll all over the world with us
on tour, by the way, and Alexa learned to count
because I put that on. You know, I was like
(24:43):
losing the baby waiter. I was losing the baby wait
for the next five years. But I would put that
on and Alexa would count.
Speaker 3 (24:51):
She'd go plan two three, make it burn full, five,
six and more seven eight, and that make it better.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Like that, You're such a good mimic. So I know,
Christy that four years and ten months you ran into
Eryl Sawyer. You were on your first Sports Illustrated cover
and that was in nineteen seventy nine. Wow, what was
that like?
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Well, you know it was it was like I had
no idea, Like I really was clueless. Like they threw
a big party for me, and I literally called the
agency to say, you know, I don't think I can
go to that party, and they were like, what do
you mean you can't go to the party? It's for you.
(25:46):
I just had no idea. It's like, oh, okay, I
was doing my makeup in the car on the way there,
you know, sort of wet hair and just throwing myself together.
You know. By the third one, I had hear and
make people. I had a stylist getting me close, but
I really didn't know, Like I was a very reluctant model.
(26:08):
I have to say, you know, I don't even know
if I had a chance to write that in my memoir.
I used to love sitting at a cafe in Paris,
for instance, with my little sketch pad and be able
to just blend in, you know, and like not be noticed.
And then Sports Illustrated. After Sports Illustrated, you get noticed.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
What was that like?
Speaker 1 (26:32):
You know, it wasn't like it bothered me, but it was.
It was different. It was different. But people have always
been very nice. I have to say, you know, because hard.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
For your kids too write. It's sometimes hard because.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
Lesson just thought that we were really popular, Like everybody
likes my mom and dad, you know, they have a
lot of friends.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Obviously, You've had such an interesting life in terms of
your loves and your marriages, and I wanted to just
kind of talk about that because you mentioned Jean Francois,
as you said, he was a remarkable artist. You were
in a way to peace and a pod I guess
(27:16):
at the time, but as your fame increased, and I
think this is the tricky part of fame. I think
about this like for people who are in marriages when
they're both actors, or one person has more success than
the other. That really derailed your marriage to Jean Francois
(27:36):
in many ways, didn't it.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
Yeah, But you know, as opposed to other people, it
was because he had so much character, he was such
a great guy that he didn't want to spend my money.
I was like, it's not my money. We are a team,
you know, I wouldn't be able to do half these
(27:58):
things if I didn't know that I was coming home to,
you know, my wonderful so so, no, we're a team
and we help each other. And he knew, but he
became uncomfortable with like, no, I can't really afford a
plane ticket right now. And the more opportunities that I
had to experience places and things and see things and explore,
(28:21):
then he started to become more uncomfortable with it because
he couldn't afford it on his dime. And he was
successful in what he did, but what he did didn't
earn the same kind of money that what I did.
I mean, his dream was to work for the New
York Times, and he got to do that. But he just,
(28:42):
you know, was like the opposite of a lot of
guys in a way that you know, most people would
be like, oh, sure, buy me a ticket, let's go.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
You know, he didn't want to feel like he was
taking advantage of it.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Yeah, he didn't want to feel like that. But it
did become a bit of an issue because even though
it was a nice way of doing it, like he
was nice about it and great about it, I just
wanted him to be comfortable with it and let's go,
let's keep exploring and doing things.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
And you have to remember, this was a number of
decades ago where this I think was a much bigger
issue than it is today. I still think it exists,
but you know, it was very unusual for the woman
to be more financially secure than the man, and I
think it was after a lot of cultural conditioning, really
(29:34):
hard for I think men to handle it. It's still
I think can be, but I think we're much more
enlightened now than we were back then, because, as I said,
this was when you were nineteen years old, you met
Olivier Chandon, you fell for him hard. Tell us about
that love affair, Christy.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Olivier. He was such a great guy, was so extraordinary
from the moment I met him. I met him actually
the night at Studio fifty four, the first time I
ever went to Studio fifty four and Ford models and
Sports Illustrated combined to do this party for me. And
(30:17):
as I walked in, he walked over and congratulated me
on the evening, and I recognized his accent, and so
we started to speak a little bit in fringe. You know.
He was very handsome, but he you know, everybody was
trying to you know, I was like the person that
they wanted to take a picture of or whatever.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Because it was their party, right, yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
And so he didn't want to hang on to me.
He was like, ooh, go, everybody wants to you know, go.
So I went on, but I was kind of thinking
about where did that cute guy go, you know. And
then sure enough, the next day I got the most beautiful,
giant bouquet of flowers with the loveliest note in French
(31:02):
that said, ivanta ser sevanri gesperte lauvois before these these
few flowers fade, I hope to see you again.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
I was like, oh. And so then I called my
friend Maury Hopson, who I call hops, and I called
Hopps and I said, Hops, Hops, that guy Olivier send
me flowers. And he's like, wait, Olivier Chandon and I
said yes, yes, and he said, Oh my gosh, Christy,
(31:37):
he's a count. I said, he's a what he said,
he's a count? I said, well, what does that even mean?
You know, he's adorable and he sent me flowers and
it also mentioned he wanted to take me out for dinner.
So I said, so, I'm seeing him later, and it
just started like that, Like everywhere we went. He was
(31:59):
so worldly, you know, he was so he spoke every language. Obviously,
he spoke English really well. He spoke French, he spoke Portuguese,
he spoke Spanish. He was like brilliant. He listened to
classical music and it moved him and he loved it.
And he loved the ballet and he knew all the
(32:20):
ballerinas and they all knew him. And he loved art
and he loved life. He was a liver, like so
was hawks, my best friend at the time. They were
both of them. I'd say, you guys are livers, you know,
you like to live it up. And they just were
the type of people that liked to dive in, you know,
(32:42):
and immerse themselves in life. And I loved that, and
so I loved going everywhere, you know with Olivier. At
the time, that I met him. He was actually working
for Otis Elevators, but he wanted to be a race
car driver. Was his lifelong dream.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Whoa wait, the count was working for ODIs Elevator.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
He was working for ODIs Elevators. He was like selling
accounts or something, you know, super boring, he thought. And
every day he would like drive out of the city
to someplace.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Like that just doesn't square with everything you just told me,
I know, but.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
He really, you know, he'd come back and he would
like talk about, like, you know, how he wanted to
do this other thing. And he started pursuing that, and
you know, we went to the different races and I
was like, don't do that, that's too risky. But he
had a fear of dying, so like he wanted to
(33:44):
face the fear of dying.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
And so in nineteen eighty three he did.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Yeah, he did. And it was for a person that
young and full of life and joy and just somebody
who was just so immersed in each and every day,
just you know, as soon as he'd get off work.
(34:14):
And he turned pretty quickly. I mean, you know, that
was just in the very beginning. And then he started,
you know, pursuing his dream, and on the one hand,
it was his dream that killed him, but it also
you know, gave him so much joy doing that. And
then yeah, it got him.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
At just twenty seven, which is so so young.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
Way too young, way too young. And it was so
shocking to me that the day that it happened. Well,
I can't I don't want to say too much because
it's such a sad story. All the circumstances surrounding it
are confusing and so sad and so awful, and I
(35:05):
don't know, I still can't really find the words.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
You know, do you think that you all would have
gotten married and lived a life together.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
You know, we spoke about like having a baby someday,
but not at the moment because we were both still
trying to you know, get our careers stabilized or you know,
grow our careers. And he was so enthusiastic about it.
(35:37):
I mean I went with him to a race in Chicago.
I went with him to Las Vegas, and we would
wake up in the morning and you hear the cars
buzzing on the track and it was just like this
electricity you know, that was charging him, like let's go,
let's get there. And when he got you know, had
(35:58):
his suit and at his sing suit, and I went
with him to one of the things when he spun
out on the track. And I begged him after that
because we were in some place in California as a
speedway and it was kind of desert y, and all
of a sudden he hit the dust and the dust
plume went up and we didn't know, and we just
(36:18):
shot out of there and we were running as fast
as we could to get to him. And after that,
I was like, please don't do this anymore, Please give
it up. It's just too dangerous. It's just too dangerous.
And then the last day that I saw him, we
were in a little bit of an argument and I
(36:40):
didn't kiss him goodbye, And I'll regret that for you know,
my whole life. Like I always say, don't ever have
an argument and leave. Don't ever do that. We all
mean too much to each other to ever let the
other one the room angry or upset. You know, So
(37:05):
in life, don't anybody listening ever do that. Always make
sure that people they know how much you love them.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
In a way, you were still grieving this loss when
you met Billy in Saint Bart's. I love that you
have that photo from the night you all met, and
it sounds like he really was your salvation in a way.
And I read that you thought his name was Billy
(37:53):
Joe and you didn't really know that much about him,
and yet your relationship turned out to be really magical.
I know that you write about how you were hurt
by these media characterizations of like beauty and the beasts,
and that bothered me too. I thought that was hurtful
(38:15):
and so shallow. But you know, you are this perfect
looking woman, Christy, whether you like it or not. And Billy,
you know, was this sort of dark, you know, haired guy,
not super tall, with these kind of deep set eyes
and kind of this moody look. And what was it
(38:35):
that attracted you to Billy? Obviously? I know you say
that he's physically hot and intellectually charismatic and that there
was this chemistry between you two.
Speaker 1 (38:49):
Yeah, it's funny because Katie, the first night that I
met him, in same parts, I looked right past him,
but he was so funny. I knew that night that
I wanted to be friends with him forever. I was like, oh,
I'm definitely going to make sure that we stay friends
(39:11):
because we laughed. We laughed, and the next night we
all went out, you know, the whole gang of us.
We all went out for dinner, and again we all laughed.
We all laughed, I wrote in my journal, and then
we both went home with the wrong person.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
You know.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
But after Olivier died, well even before Olivier died, Billy
had called a couple times, and you know, we were
on the phone, laughing and being friends, being each other's friend.
Then after he died, he waited a little bit and
then he called me and he said, you know, I
know what you're going through, and I just want to
(39:50):
say I want to be there for you in any
way I can if you need me, if you want
to talk about it, in any way, shape or form,
I'm there for you. And he was really sincere about it,
and he he really was my friend, and we were
friends at first, and I remember being bothered by his
(40:14):
hair and his shoes and I literally said to my mom,
you know, I'm seeing this guy and I really like him,
and he really makes me laugh, and he's we have
so much fun together and he's very very different from
you know, the from guys that I've been with before,
(40:34):
and were's these sort of little pointed shoes, and she said,
you can change a man's shoes, you can change a
man's hair, but you can't do anything about the rest.
So if the rest is good for you, go with it.
And so I said, yeah, well, he's got a good
heart and a good sense of humor, and she said,
(40:55):
go with it. And then I just like, you know,
a couple of little tweaks, and he was super hot.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
And where was he in his career at the time.
He was really, I mean, listen Billy's body of work,
like you can't compare it to anything, I mean to
really all the greats. And I know a documentary's coming
out about him, which I can't wait to see. But
was he on the cusper? Had he already exploded when
(41:25):
you met?
Speaker 1 (41:26):
You know, I didn't know where he was professionally, because
I didn't know any of his work prior to that.
But he was professionally just starting a new album, which
was amazing because I think he had like one or
two songs, and then he was writing as our relationship
(41:48):
was growing, and I would be in the studio and
he'd be singing, you know these songs, and I was
right there through the whole process, and I mean that
was pure, pure magic. I love music. To me, I
love the arts, but to me, music is the art
that literally paints the air around you. They can make
(42:12):
you get up out of your chair and dance, or
it can remind you of a special moment. It just
takes you places and it becomes, you know, the soundtrack
to your life. And I felt like in my years
with Billy and Alexa, I've been lucky to have like
a home full of beautiful music playing all the time.
(42:35):
There was somebody at the piano, you know, just filling
the air, and oh it was amazing, amazing.
Speaker 2 (42:45):
It kind of came crashing down, or the relationship ended
because of Billy's drinking. And you're very honest about this, Christy,
And I'm curious how he felt about that and how
hard it was to be this honest about the crumbling
of your marriage and your relationship.
Speaker 1 (43:07):
Well, I think you know, and I don't want to
speak for Billy, but you know I am in his
documentary and he said, don't hold back, you know, say
whatever you want to say, whatever you're comfortable with, whatever
you need to say, whatever I understand. And I'm not
gonna be mad or you know, anything he said, just whatever.
(43:32):
I think that he's capable of doing that now because
I know that in part of his you know, healing
was knowing what you did. When a person drinks to
a certain point that they don't remember what they did
the night before, I think that it's helpful in a way.
(43:56):
I don't know. I mean, I certainly am not out
to hurt anybody, but I think that you need to
know what you did hurt people.
Speaker 2 (44:06):
You all have a really nice relationship now, don't you.
Speaker 1 (44:09):
Yeah. I mean I'll always love Billy. I always will.
We were together in such formative years, you know, years
that really shaped both our futures. You know, we had
some of the best years of my life. And you
have a daughter, my firstborn, you know, so that was
(44:32):
really really special. And you know, Alexi always say to Alexa,
you know, Alexa, you got us for the first ten
years of your life, you know, without any other siblings
to you know, pull our attention away.
Speaker 2 (44:45):
So and I think it's interesting. I've watched a video
of you and Alexa going through photos together, which I
really enjoyed, and sounds like she's a lot more like
Billy than she is.
Speaker 1 (44:57):
You oh, yes, she's are definitely two peas and upond alexa.
When she was a little she always categorized people in colors,
and she had red and green people, which she and
her dad are red and green and blue and yellow people.
And I'm a blue and yellow person. So I'm like, oh,
like Oshan in the sun, like cozy Christmases, you know.
(45:22):
And she said, yes, pretty much like that. Intellectual and
not intellectual.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
No, that's not true. I think you give yourself a
short shrift. I think you're very smart. I swear I
could go all Joe Rogan on you, Christy and like
talk for three hours. I'm not going to. But in
your acknowledgments you thank your divorce lawyer who said you
have a bad picker. Moving after Billy, you did have
(45:50):
a couple of relationships which did not turn out the
way you had hope, to say the least. I know
that one was with Richard Talbman. He was your third husband.
I know that you say you quote unquote trauma bonded
after you were in a helicopter crash in nineteen ninety four,
and I remember when that happened and how scary that was.
(46:14):
But that relationship ended up being incredibly disappointing. You say
it was chaotic and draining financially and otherwise. Was that
kind of your classic rebound relationship you think, Christy, because
I know at one point you thought, after the helicopter crash,
this was Billy's chance to be a knight and shining
(46:35):
armor and come and rescue you, but he didn't. I
actually had met this guy on he who shall not
be named, Yes, yes, you shall not be I have
a few of those.
Speaker 1 (46:50):
But he was kind of working me. I guess, you know,
everything that I love. He was into and on the
verge of doing or doing. But I actually went skiing
because I wanted to show Billy that he could lose me.
Speaker 2 (47:09):
You know.
Speaker 1 (47:09):
I wanted to like remove myself and was kind of
just sitting there at home in the Hamptons, you know,
So I wanted to be like out and about separated,
and I thought maybe he would see that and be like, oh,
I need to really pay attention now and clean up
my act and go after her. That's what I was
(47:29):
hoping for by going to Aspen or to tell your
ride on my couple of ski trips that I was doing.
But he didn't take the bait, But there was another
guy that did show interest and eventually caught my attention
(47:50):
in a big way.
Speaker 2 (47:51):
You all ended up having your son Jack, and I
know that you write you married Peter Cook, your fourth husband,
in nineteen ninety six, and you write for a number
of reasons, primarily because I felt both a sense of
urgency to find Jack a father figure and terror it
(48:12):
that thought that Ricky might swoop back in if I didn't.
This is after you all got divorced. I said yes
when Peter asked me to marry him later that year.
I should preface that question by saying that Ricky got
in touch with your biological father, Herb, and even said quote,
(48:33):
I'm going to walk away from you and the baby,
just like Herb Hudson did. What an asshole? Well, I mean,
first of all, that's pretty psychotic.
Speaker 1 (48:43):
I couldn't believe. It was like a time machine, you know,
like somebody had reached back into my past and plucked
this person out and brought them, you know, inserted him
into my life in a way that was so unexpected
(49:03):
and cruel that I just couldn't even believe that this
was happening. How do you even it was so diabolical
to even come up with that concept.
Speaker 2 (49:16):
So you marry Peter. You all looked, on the face
of it, like the perfect couple. He's handsome, blonde, he
adopts Jack, right, which is great, you have sailor your
daughter together, and then he ends up basically having a
(49:38):
thing with this teenage girl in the Hamptons, right, who
worked at a toy store. Yeah, yeah, Honny me Christy,
I have to agree with your divorce lawyer. I know
you have a bad picker, I know, and it was.
Speaker 1 (49:58):
Yeah, it was a very bad bad pick on my part. Now,
those last two marriages, reading my journals and stuff, I
just look at myself and I just like, during the
third one, I was like, why didn't I get out
of it faster? Why didn't I see that? Although it
(50:18):
could make a funny Nancy Meyers.
Speaker 2 (50:20):
Movie, there's always Nancy Meyer.
Speaker 1 (50:25):
Like with distance. Now, oh man, there's stuff there that
would just be hilarious, hilarious, But I couldn't laugh a
lot while it was going on.
Speaker 2 (50:39):
I'm sure very very very trying, very trying, and so
public and so mortifying for you. I felt for you
so much during that period of time in your life
and where are you now? I mean, do you feel
happy and content? I think I know the answer to this,
(51:00):
risty Yeah. And do you feel like, gosh, I would
like a partner. I know you don't feel like you
need a partner at this point in your life.
Speaker 1 (51:10):
Yeah. I you know, whenever something really really exciting, great happy,
whether it's like magnificent sunset or anything, you know, an
exciting trip or something, that's when I feel like I
wish I could share this with somebody. But I very
(51:33):
often my house is full, I you know, always have,
there's always there's always at least one of the kid
home with a group of friends. It's very busy place,
and so I'm very content and grateful for what i have.
But when there is a very magical sunset, sometimes I
(51:54):
feel like going, oh, yeah, there's nobody there.
Speaker 2 (51:58):
You know.
Speaker 1 (51:59):
That's a little sad that, but that's it. You know.
Speaker 2 (52:03):
You describe Olivier Chandon and your friend Hops, who I've
never met, so I'm just referring to him again as
real livers, not the organ but the attitude. And you know,
I feel like you are too. You continue to stay
so engaged in the world. You're always you know, you're entrepreneurial,
(52:23):
you're politically active. You are I think, living your life
to the fullest every single day, and I really admire
that about you.
Speaker 1 (52:36):
You know that is I've always felt a sense of
gratitude always. My mom and dad raised me like that.
But after you know, my death defying life, I feel
like I kind of have gratitude on steroids, and I
just am like so grateful when I wake up in
(52:58):
the morning and I got a new day to dive into.
I cannot even leave my property, but feel like, you know,
just so ecstatic to be in the day. And whatever
it is, whatever that I get into, I enjoy it.
I just do, whether it's watering my house plants and
(53:19):
look at my little tree here, I am very happy.
Speaker 2 (53:23):
Well, I'm so glad you wrote a book about your life.
We've only scratched the surface of everything that you've experienced,
and I highly recommend people read it. I just think
you're a very special person. I feel, even though we
don't know each other super well, I admire you and
(53:46):
feel connected to you and appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (53:49):
And I love the fact that I know that if
a band strikes up a song and we know the
backup that you'll be up there with me singing backup,
I will.
Speaker 2 (54:03):
I just think you're a great person. I really like you.
And you know, I was interviewing somebody about the Pope
this morning, and I said, what do you think his
legacy was? And this Jesuit priest said, he was just
a really great person and he was just really really loved.
And I don't know, I feel the same. Not that
I'm comparing you to Pope Francis.
Speaker 1 (54:24):
But the Pope loved everybody. The Pope like literally loved everyone.
And I think that's why I loved the Pope, you know,
because I loved his love. And that's what we all
need to do right now, is we all need to
(54:48):
just say stop everything, Let's just love one another. Let's
just stop this madness going on in Washington. Just stop,
and let's just go back to just let's just love.
Let's try and be friends with everybody. Let's just you know,
(55:09):
it's time for love. Because love is the strongest thing
in the world.
Speaker 2 (55:13):
We know that it's a.
Speaker 1 (55:15):
Fact, and it's time for love to prevail. It's time.
Speaker 2 (55:20):
Christy. Thank you. Speaking of time, you've given me a
lot of viewers, so thank you. My team is probably like, Katie,
when is she going to stop? She's been talking to
Christie Brinkley No, for like an hour and a half,
But there were so many things I wanted to talk
with you about. I hope I get to see you
in person soon and.
Speaker 1 (55:41):
Call me when you're out and let's eat and keep
up the good work, Katie.
Speaker 2 (55:46):
Okay, I'm trying, Honey, I'm trying.
Speaker 1 (55:48):
Thank you, happy, trying hell again until I figure out
how to find the off button. You kill me? Love
you too.
Speaker 2 (56:01):
The end A little Roxyheart ladies and gentlemen, Thanks for listening. Everyone.
If you have a question for me, a subject you
want us to cover, or you want to share your
thoughts about how you navigate this crazy world, reach out
(56:25):
send me a DM on Instagram. I would love to
hear from you. Next Question is a production of iHeartMedia
and Katie Couric Media. The executive producers are Me, Katie Kuric,
and Courtney Ltz. Our supervising producer is Ryan Martz, and
our producers are Adriana Fazzio and Meredith Barnes. Julian Weller
(56:46):
composed our theme music. For more information about today's episode,
or to sign up for my newsletter Wake Up Call,
go to the description in the podcast app, or visit
us at Katiecuric dot com. You can also find me
on Instagram and all my social media channels. For more
podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
(57:09):
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
And this day, as I was rushing in to call
my vet, I literally smashed right into Eryl Sawyer, the
photographer who had seen me there before and had a
client who was looking for California sporty, California type girl.
(00:25):
And so that's how it happened.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Hi, everyone, I'm Kitty Kuric, And this is next question.
Of course, everyone knows who Christy Brinkley is, right, Sports Illustrated,
swimsuit model multiple times, Billy Joel's uptown girl. But there's
so many things that you probably don't know about Christy Brinkley,
(00:53):
Like she had a very abusive biological father until Don
Brinkley came to the rescue and loved her unconditionally. That
she's had a number of love affairs, one that ended
in tragedy, to where the guys were just awful people.
It turns out anyway, she's got quite a life story.
(01:18):
She's also incredibly talented. She's a great artist. She can sing,
she speaks fluent French. She was roxy Heart in Chicago
on Broadway. I mean, who just is able to do that?
I think after you hear this conversation with Christy Brinkley,
you're going to fall in love with her. I'm kind
of obsessed with her myself, so much so that I
(01:41):
spent an hour and twenty five minutes talking with her.
Don't worry, everybody, before you freak out. We did edit
it down, but here's my conversation with the one and
only Christy Brinkley about her new memoir Uptown Girl. Okay,
I want to get started, because I know you've got
a million things going on. Christy. First of all, thank
(02:01):
you for doing this. I'm very excited to talk to you.
You know what a huge fan I am of you.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Oh well, likewise, I mean, Katie, I have to say
you're doing such an amazing job right now with what's
going on in the world, you know, and everybody seems
like so afraid to speak up, and you're speaking up
in like you're bold and you're amazing, and I applaud
you and I thank you well.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
I love getting your dms, and I'm always like Christy's
on it. She cares as much as I do, So
thank you for that. Because the whole team that's here
listening to that nice comment, Christy, they're the people who
are helping me every day.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
So thank you team, because boy oh boy, we are
up against.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
It, I know, and I'll maybe ask you a political
question at the end, but let's sell some books.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Let's sell some books.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Okay. So Christy, the first question I have for you
is why now? Why did you decid, you know what,
it's time for me to write my life story.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
I'm seventy one. If I don't do it now, when
am I ever going to do it? You know, I
had started it before. Actually, Stephen Gaines was working with
me a little bit on it, and he immediately said,
the title of the book is Uptown Girl, period, nothing
to discuss. And then I was like, I want to
do this. Who wants to read a story about me?
(03:26):
And so then I just was like, eh, I don't
need to do it. And in fact, when I went
into HarperCollins, I was like, I know I have a
book in me, but part of me thinks that the
book is a Nancy Meyers movie. And because I've got
the real estate, the wardrobe, the crazy xs and once
(03:49):
you get out of the divorce, it's funny, you know,
I mean, especially my last one.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
There's so much to laugh about that one, even though
at the time weren't doing a lot of laughing.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Even though at the time, I felt like I was
going to die Like.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Well, I should point out for people who don't know you,
you've got an incredible sense of humor, this extraordinary ability
to laugh at yourself. And when you were deciding, you know,
I'm going to put my life down, what were the
animating ideas that you had. Did you say, I'm going
to be just brutally honest. That's what I did with
(04:26):
my book. My husband said, do not write a book
unless you can be totally honest.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
And a great title for your book that delivered that message.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
You know, what's the point of kind of sugarcoating things
after you've lived a life with good, bad, ups and downs. Yeah,
you know what, what did you think about when you
said I'm going to write my book? What was your
guiding principle? I guess I don't even know if I
really had one.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
First I had to decide if it was going to
be a Nancy Meyer's comedy or a sweet story of
my days and pairs, you know. And then once Lisa
Sharky wrote me a letter the publisher at HarperCollins, and
she convinced me that my life story needed telling, and
so I started it. Actually with a writer, a guy,
(05:18):
and it didn't sound like me at all. And I
also have to mention I have kept journals for sixty years.
I had started, like, you know, sort of cleaning things up,
and I came across my journals that was really the
thing that said I've got to tell a story. Because
I left to Paris to be an artist, and then
(05:40):
when I became a model, I had no time to
be an artist, so my art shrank and I got
a repetiograph, which is a very fine point pin, and
I would do these little drawings in my journal, like
Beulah's restaurant in e Lucera and the whole crew sitting
around the table, and I think, someday I'll do a
(06:02):
big canvas with this and I'll paint it. But my
life hasn't slowed down to be able to do that yet.
But someday I'll paint that meantime, that kind of became
the book. Then I started working with a female writer,
Sarah Toland, who I worked with, and we started sort
(06:22):
of culling the stories because at seventy one, your life
just doesn't fit in a book. It just does not
fit in There's so many adventures that I couldn't put
in there. Maybe another book.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Yeah, well, you put a lot of great stuff in there,
so many great stories, and you're right. I mean, you
had a treasure trove of source material, including letters you'd
written to your mom and dad from Paris. But you
also had to I think, excavate a lot of childhood
memories that I think were really painful and I felt
(06:58):
so terrible out your childhood up to the age of eight.
Your biological father was this guy named Herb Hudson, and
he was a real jackass and abusive to you. Talk
about what that was like, because I was really upset
(07:20):
to read what you had to endure as a little girl.
He terrified you.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Yeah, he You know, writing the book, there are lots
of parts of the book that I didn't really want
to write about, And I can get choked up even
thinking about that, because you know, I just didn't really
want to ever write about it. But I guess I
also didn't really want to think about it. I never
(07:48):
did think about it in my life because my mom
also didn't want to think about it. And once we
met my dad, who, you know, the greatest dad in.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
The world, Don Brinkley.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Don Brinkley. Once we met him, you know, everything change,
but we also pretended as though the other life never
even existed. And because of that, I think I had
buried a lot of those memories. So when I did
have to try and remember the things that were popping
(08:23):
into my head, which were things that I didn't want
to remember. Unfortunately, the things that stood out were his belt,
you know, his whipping me with it, one of my
other childhood memories when I was singing into the microphone.
You know, I remembered that, I think because it was
also there was pain attached to it, you.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Know, and he would wash your mouth out with soap,
and you know, you would basically be terrified about him
coming home from work. You said, he used to look
for excuses to punish you, and you know, looking back
on it, I'm curious if you and I know you
and your mom just kind of basically blocked it out.
(09:08):
But do you have any better understanding, Christy, about what
made him the person he was and why he did
that to you? And did he do the same thing
to your brother?
Speaker 1 (09:19):
You know, I really don't know. I remember. All I
can remember about my brother was that he got a
lot of really, really bad headaches, which my mom thought
was because he was stressed from her putson. But I
can't really speak to what you know, he felt. But
my mom would mention things every now and then occasionally,
(09:44):
and I used to say to her because she didn't
have anything nice to say, and I used to say
to her, you know what, Mom, I don't like thinking
that I made out of part of that horrible person.
And I'd rather just not hear about it, because then
it makes me feel like, am I going to be
mean like that? You know? Am I going to be
(10:04):
evil like that? So even if she did feel like
speaking to me at that moment, I didn't want to
speak about it.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Right.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
We didn't really psychoanalyze what was going on with him.
We didn't spend much time talking about it. All I
can surmise is that, you know, I really felt like
my life with him was this black and white movie
that you know when the film breaks and then you're
in a new phase of the life, you know, like
(10:35):
I have a little I have a little memory of
once we went to Disneyland in California, and I really
really really wanted to go on that auto ride where
you get to drive the cars, but to a point
in the line. Seemed like we were waiting for so
long in the line, and they left me to hold
(10:58):
the place in line, and then they went to go
get some drinks or something like that. Right, And as
soon as I got to the place in the line
where I could see the cars, I got so mesmerized
by the cars I forgot to keep moving and I
was just like staring at this car, like are my
feet going to fit the pedal? And what do I
do when I get to that turn? I was really like,
(11:20):
and I'm going to speed on that part, you know.
I was like really into it. And suddenly I was
like broken out of my reverie by him grabbing my
arm and going, why didn't you move? You didn't move?
The line moved. We were behind those people way up there,
you know, And so he pulled me out and said,
you're not going on. And those are the kind of
(11:42):
memories that I have of my childhood with him, So
no wonder. I didn't want to think about it.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
And yeah, you know, but everything changed when you were eight.
He gave up his parental rights and Don Brinkley, who
really is your dad? Yes, for all intents and purpose,
has stepped in and you couldn't understand why your biological
father was abandoning you basically, But in retrospect, thank god
(12:09):
that that happened.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yes, at the time, it was confusing because on the
one hand, I really didn't want to see him on
his visitations, so it was a relief in a way.
But I also thought that I was unlovable, you.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Know, and even if someone is a horrible father, there
is that biological pull and you always want to understand
why they don't love you right as much as anything.
So I'm sure you just felt this terrible confusion about
why he was so willing to give you up.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Yeah. Well, I also lived with the constant threat that
he was going to send me to the orphanage. And
I don't know about you, but I loved Shirley Temple
movie and it seemed like Shirley Temple was always being
sent to an orphanage. So I thought that was like
a fate so terrible. I was truly terrified of that,
(13:12):
of being sent to the orphanage. I remember when he
came in the room, I just kind of hold steel, like,
don't do anything wrong, because you'll end up in the orphanage.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
How do you think you know, I'm sure you've thought
about this, but how do you think he shaped you ultimately?
I mean, thank god, Dom Brinkley stepped in and was
the total opposite and loved you unconditionally. But you must
think back of those extremely formative years and young life
experiences and wonder, gosh, what do you think that did
(13:47):
to me as an adult?
Speaker 1 (13:48):
I think that luckily, you know, my most formative memories
I think came because my life was so vivid and
so full of life and color. And I mean, Don
Brinkley was just the most amazing man, the greatest man,
truly he was. He was like a saint in a way.
(14:10):
I mean, at the end of his life he had
scoliosis ann Parkinson's and the two are a terrible combination
because it crunched him down so he really couldn't breathe,
and you know, and ended up that he couldn't talk
because he had to get a feeding to be breathing,
(14:31):
you know, like it was. It was so awful, and
he never he never complained. He would it was a
rigmarole to get the word. But then it would make
you laugh or make you smile, and that was what
he did. He was unbelievable, unbelievable from the very beginning.
(14:55):
He could have a deadline, you know, for a script
do but if I need his help with homework, he
was there for me. I'm so choked up because I'm
so moved, But my good fortune, my parents were amazing,
and so I think I made a conscious choice to
escape that part of my life and to leave it
(15:16):
behind and not even try to think about it, not
try and psycho analyze it, but instead focus on the
great part of my life that blossomed in front of me,
you know, this great technicolor adventure that he gave our family.
He had apartment in Malibu on the beach on Old
(15:38):
Malibu Road, and all of a sudden we were, you know,
able to wake up and run downstairs and be at
the beach and find pebbles and stones, and there was
another rock we call Peer Rock and Volcano Rock a
little further. That's where our forts were, you know, and
(15:59):
of course in the posts behind the houses and stuff.
But it was like this whole new world and the
hillsides behind us before Pepper dyed, before all of that,
I knew every nook and cranny, you know, every canyon,
every little waterfall, every little thing. You know, it was
just pure magic. It was amazing. So rather than psychoanalyzed,
(16:22):
like when I first started writing my book and I
tell the story about the day I flew over the cornfield,
the first writer that I was working with really wanted
to psychoanalyze that moment, and I said, no, No, life
is so full of things that we don't understand. I
(16:42):
don't want to see backstage at Disneyland. I just want
to see the magic. I just want that part.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
The cornfield was when you were escaping mentally, and you
would imagine yourself flying over a cornfield to escape your terrible,
abusive father. But I'm glad you included that because I think,
in contrast, your dad don gave you everything, and it
(17:10):
made you appreciate the gift of unconditional love that we
should all be so lucky to have that. Sadly, so
many people aren't. And I feel the same way about
my parents. You know that I never, for one second
of my life doubted for one nano second that they
(17:31):
didn't love me unconditionally and completely, and that I think
you realize as you get older what a gift that is,
and how sad it is that not everyone has that.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Oh yeah, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
If you want to get smarter every morning with a
breakdown of the news and fascinating takes on health and
wellness and pop call sure sign up for our daily newsletter,
Wake Up Call by going to Katiecuric dot com. I
(18:14):
want to fast forward, though we have so much to cover,
and I know we don't have tons of time, but
we hopefully have more time to talk about how you
went to Paris at nineteen tell us about becoming an artist.
I know Alexa describes you as kind of bohemian, but
what prompted you to decide I'm going to Paris, I'm
going to be an artist. I'm going to live this life.
(18:37):
I just always felt it, I knew it.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
I always just had this dream that I would live
in a little garrett in Paris. I would wear my beret.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
There's a very cute photo of you in your beret.
I know, yes, and everything was pointing me towards that.
I remember the film Le de Cherbourg came out, The
Umbrellas of Sherbro The Umbrellas of Cherbourg with Catherine.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
De Geneve, and my dad got me the album, and
so I would put the needle back and I would
sing along, Oh trefoi game unfarm noon, then a pal
ou la pelle lola, oh t hepiubi. You know, I
(19:35):
was like, I was just like. I loved the music,
I loved the language, and I just had to get
into the thick of it. If it was the last
thing I did so, I don't know. But when the
opportunity presented and California was no longer big enough for
(19:56):
the two of us, I had a break up with
my boyfriend, and so I decided I'll show him. I'll
fly away.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
And you did. You flew away to Paris. And I'm
going to talk about your first love or your first
marriage in a moment. But it was in Paris that
you were discovered by photographer Eryl Sawyer. Tell me how
he discovered you and how that happened.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Well, I was living in the garret under the rooftops.
I had fallen in love already with Chaffausseus, a French artist,
an amazing artist, really really great, and he got drafted
into the French military, and so we got this little
dog to keep me company. The little dog was sick,
(20:45):
so I would put the little dog in a little pannier,
you know, over my shoulder and go into the telephoning
office because in my little garret, my little latitier, I
did not have a shower, or a bathroom or a telephone.
So I went a couple blocks away to the Bampoublique,
the public baths, and I used the telephone a couple
(21:08):
of blocks over, and I would call the vet, and
I was calling him almost daily because my dog was sick.
And this day, as I was rushing in to call
my vet, I literally smashed right into Errol Sawyer, the
photographer who had seen me there before and had a
(21:30):
client who was looking for California, sporty, California type girl.
And he was like, that's the girl at the phone office.
I'm going to go back to the phone office and
see if I see her. And sure enough, as fate
would have it, I came in that day to make
the call and he said are you a model? And
(21:53):
I said no, and he said, well then you should be,
and I have a and he started telling me about it,
and then he gave me his name and number address
I should say, because he also didn't have a phone,
so he said, this is my studio and it wasn't
too far from me, and he said, please, please trust me.
(22:15):
Come let's do some photos. I'll take them into the
model agency. I'll take you into the model agency. And
I was like, really, okay. I wasn't sure if this
was a line or what. But then I was speaking
to a friend of mine, Stephanie, who went to the
Lion Los Angeles with me, and she said, no, no, no,
(22:38):
I've seen his name on a byline. I'll go with you.
Come on, let's go. And so that's how it happened.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
And the rest, as they say, is history, life change.
As you wrote on a dime, But you also talk
about how your so called flaws, which makes me laugh,
that you were too curvy, that you had chipmunk cheeks. Right.
I was told my cheeks were too round, my body
too curvy. But it turned out those were exactly the
(23:06):
things that set me apart. I do remember when you
arrived on the scene. I mean, to describe you as
curvy is laughable to me, because you have the most
beautiful physique. But you know, at the time your body
was a bit of an anomaly in terms of what
models were looking like. Right.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
I immediately assumed that when you took me into the
model agency. They would make me look like them, right,
Like I was like, oh, what would.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
They do to me?
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Like I'm picturing you know, they'll do something to my hair.
But yeah, that was the thing that set me apart.
So sometimes the things that you worry about are the
things that make you different and end up to be
your key to success. And I was so lucky the
timing because modeling just prior to that had been elegant,
(24:01):
you know, kind of long, lean, thin, elegant beauties. And
then suddenly it was let's get physical physical, you know,
with that whole movement of athletics, you know, people starting
to work out at home with Jane Fonda, right, I
mean I loved I worked out at home with Jane Fonda.
(24:23):
I did so many Jane Fonda tapes. The one in
the purple that she wore purple, that Alexa found this
doll that looked just like it and she called it
Jane Aga and we said Jane anam And we had
to take that doll all over the world with us
on tour, by the way, and Alexa learned to count
because I put that on. You know, I was like
(24:43):
losing the baby waiter. I was losing the baby wait
for the next five years. But I would put that
on and Alexa would count.
Speaker 3 (24:51):
She'd go plan two three, make it burn full, five,
six and more seven eight, and that make it better.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Like that, You're such a good mimic. So I know,
Christy that four years and ten months you ran into
Eryl Sawyer. You were on your first Sports Illustrated cover
and that was in nineteen seventy nine. Wow, what was
that like?
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Well, you know it was it was like I had
no idea, Like I really was clueless. Like they threw
a big party for me, and I literally called the
agency to say, you know, I don't think I can
go to that party, and they were like, what do
you mean you can't go to the party? It's for you.
(25:46):
I just had no idea. It's like, oh, okay, I
was doing my makeup in the car on the way there,
you know, sort of wet hair and just throwing myself together.
You know. By the third one, I had hear and
make people. I had a stylist getting me close, but
I really didn't know, Like I was a very reluctant model.
(26:08):
I have to say, you know, I don't even know
if I had a chance to write that in my memoir.
I used to love sitting at a cafe in Paris,
for instance, with my little sketch pad and be able
to just blend in, you know, and like not be noticed.
And then Sports Illustrated. After Sports Illustrated, you get noticed.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
What was that like?
Speaker 1 (26:32):
You know, it wasn't like it bothered me, but it was.
It was different. It was different. But people have always
been very nice. I have to say, you know, because hard.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
For your kids too write. It's sometimes hard because.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
Lesson just thought that we were really popular, Like everybody
likes my mom and dad, you know, they have a
lot of friends.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Obviously, You've had such an interesting life in terms of
your loves and your marriages, and I wanted to just
kind of talk about that because you mentioned Jean Francois,
as you said, he was a remarkable artist. You were
in a way to peace and a pod I guess
(27:16):
at the time, but as your fame increased, and I
think this is the tricky part of fame. I think
about this like for people who are in marriages when
they're both actors, or one person has more success than
the other. That really derailed your marriage to Jean Francois
(27:36):
in many ways, didn't it.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
Yeah, But you know, as opposed to other people, it
was because he had so much character, he was such
a great guy that he didn't want to spend my money.
I was like, it's not my money. We are a team,
you know, I wouldn't be able to do half these
(27:58):
things if I didn't know that I was coming home to,
you know, my wonderful so so, no, we're a team
and we help each other. And he knew, but he
became uncomfortable with like, no, I can't really afford a
plane ticket right now. And the more opportunities that I
had to experience places and things and see things and explore,
(28:21):
then he started to become more uncomfortable with it because
he couldn't afford it on his dime. And he was
successful in what he did, but what he did didn't
earn the same kind of money that what I did.
I mean, his dream was to work for the New
York Times, and he got to do that. But he just,
(28:42):
you know, was like the opposite of a lot of
guys in a way that you know, most people would
be like, oh, sure, buy me a ticket, let's go.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
You know, he didn't want to feel like he was
taking advantage of it.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Yeah, he didn't want to feel like that. But it
did become a bit of an issue because even though
it was a nice way of doing it, like he
was nice about it and great about it, I just
wanted him to be comfortable with it and let's go,
let's keep exploring and doing things.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
And you have to remember, this was a number of
decades ago where this I think was a much bigger
issue than it is today. I still think it exists,
but you know, it was very unusual for the woman
to be more financially secure than the man, and I
think it was after a lot of cultural conditioning, really
(29:34):
hard for I think men to handle it. It's still
I think can be, but I think we're much more
enlightened now than we were back then, because, as I said,
this was when you were nineteen years old, you met
Olivier Chandon, you fell for him hard. Tell us about
that love affair, Christy.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Olivier. He was such a great guy, was so extraordinary
from the moment I met him. I met him actually
the night at Studio fifty four, the first time I
ever went to Studio fifty four and Ford models and
Sports Illustrated combined to do this party for me. And
(30:17):
as I walked in, he walked over and congratulated me
on the evening, and I recognized his accent, and so
we started to speak a little bit in fringe. You know.
He was very handsome, but he you know, everybody was
trying to you know, I was like the person that
they wanted to take a picture of or whatever.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Because it was their party, right, yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
And so he didn't want to hang on to me.
He was like, ooh, go, everybody wants to you know, go.
So I went on, but I was kind of thinking
about where did that cute guy go, you know. And
then sure enough, the next day I got the most beautiful,
giant bouquet of flowers with the loveliest note in French
(31:02):
that said, ivanta ser sevanri gesperte lauvois before these these
few flowers fade, I hope to see you again.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
I was like, oh. And so then I called my
friend Maury Hopson, who I call hops, and I called
Hopps and I said, Hops, Hops, that guy Olivier send
me flowers. And he's like, wait, Olivier Chandon and I
said yes, yes, and he said, Oh my gosh, Christy,
(31:37):
he's a count. I said, he's a what he said,
he's a count? I said, well, what does that even mean?
You know, he's adorable and he sent me flowers and
it also mentioned he wanted to take me out for dinner.
So I said, so, I'm seeing him later, and it
just started like that, Like everywhere we went. He was
(31:59):
so worldly, you know, he was so he spoke every language. Obviously,
he spoke English really well. He spoke French, he spoke Portuguese,
he spoke Spanish. He was like brilliant. He listened to
classical music and it moved him and he loved it.
And he loved the ballet and he knew all the
(32:20):
ballerinas and they all knew him. And he loved art
and he loved life. He was a liver, like so
was hawks, my best friend at the time. They were
both of them. I'd say, you guys are livers, you know,
you like to live it up. And they just were
the type of people that liked to dive in, you know,
(32:42):
and immerse themselves in life. And I loved that, and
so I loved going everywhere, you know with Olivier. At
the time, that I met him. He was actually working
for Otis Elevators, but he wanted to be a race
car driver. Was his lifelong dream.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Whoa wait, the count was working for ODIs Elevator.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
He was working for ODIs Elevators. He was like selling
accounts or something, you know, super boring, he thought. And
every day he would like drive out of the city
to someplace.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Like that just doesn't square with everything you just told me,
I know, but.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
He really, you know, he'd come back and he would
like talk about, like, you know, how he wanted to
do this other thing. And he started pursuing that, and
you know, we went to the different races and I
was like, don't do that, that's too risky. But he
had a fear of dying, so like he wanted to
(33:44):
face the fear of dying.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
And so in nineteen eighty three he did.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Yeah, he did. And it was for a person that
young and full of life and joy and just somebody
who was just so immersed in each and every day,
just you know, as soon as he'd get off work.
(34:14):
And he turned pretty quickly. I mean, you know, that
was just in the very beginning. And then he started,
you know, pursuing his dream, and on the one hand,
it was his dream that killed him, but it also
you know, gave him so much joy doing that. And
then yeah, it got him.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
At just twenty seven, which is so so young.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
Way too young, way too young. And it was so
shocking to me that the day that it happened. Well,
I can't I don't want to say too much because
it's such a sad story. All the circumstances surrounding it
are confusing and so sad and so awful, and I
(35:05):
don't know, I still can't really find the words.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
You know, do you think that you all would have
gotten married and lived a life together.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
You know, we spoke about like having a baby someday,
but not at the moment because we were both still
trying to you know, get our careers stabilized or you know,
grow our careers. And he was so enthusiastic about it.
(35:37):
I mean I went with him to a race in Chicago.
I went with him to Las Vegas, and we would
wake up in the morning and you hear the cars
buzzing on the track and it was just like this
electricity you know, that was charging him, like let's go,
let's get there. And when he got you know, had
(35:58):
his suit and at his sing suit, and I went
with him to one of the things when he spun
out on the track. And I begged him after that
because we were in some place in California as a
speedway and it was kind of desert y, and all
of a sudden he hit the dust and the dust
plume went up and we didn't know, and we just
(36:18):
shot out of there and we were running as fast
as we could to get to him. And after that,
I was like, please don't do this anymore, Please give
it up. It's just too dangerous. It's just too dangerous.
And then the last day that I saw him, we
were in a little bit of an argument and I
(36:40):
didn't kiss him goodbye, And I'll regret that for you know,
my whole life. Like I always say, don't ever have
an argument and leave. Don't ever do that. We all
mean too much to each other to ever let the
other one the room angry or upset. You know, So
(37:05):
in life, don't anybody listening ever do that. Always make
sure that people they know how much you love them.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
In a way, you were still grieving this loss when
you met Billy in Saint Bart's. I love that you
have that photo from the night you all met, and
it sounds like he really was your salvation in a way.
And I read that you thought his name was Billy
(37:53):
Joe and you didn't really know that much about him,
and yet your relationship turned out to be really magical.
I know that you write about how you were hurt
by these media characterizations of like beauty and the beasts,
and that bothered me too. I thought that was hurtful
(38:15):
and so shallow. But you know, you are this perfect
looking woman, Christy, whether you like it or not. And Billy,
you know, was this sort of dark, you know, haired guy,
not super tall, with these kind of deep set eyes
and kind of this moody look. And what was it
(38:35):
that attracted you to Billy? Obviously? I know you say
that he's physically hot and intellectually charismatic and that there
was this chemistry between you two.
Speaker 1 (38:49):
Yeah, it's funny because Katie, the first night that I
met him, in same parts, I looked right past him,
but he was so funny. I knew that night that
I wanted to be friends with him forever. I was like, oh,
I'm definitely going to make sure that we stay friends
(39:11):
because we laughed. We laughed, and the next night we
all went out, you know, the whole gang of us.
We all went out for dinner, and again we all laughed.
We all laughed, I wrote in my journal, and then
we both went home with the wrong person.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
You know.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
But after Olivier died, well even before Olivier died, Billy
had called a couple times, and you know, we were
on the phone, laughing and being friends, being each other's friend.
Then after he died, he waited a little bit and
then he called me and he said, you know, I
know what you're going through, and I just want to
(39:50):
say I want to be there for you in any
way I can if you need me, if you want
to talk about it, in any way, shape or form,
I'm there for you. And he was really sincere about it,
and he he really was my friend, and we were
friends at first, and I remember being bothered by his
(40:14):
hair and his shoes and I literally said to my mom,
you know, I'm seeing this guy and I really like him,
and he really makes me laugh, and he's we have
so much fun together and he's very very different from
you know, the from guys that I've been with before,
(40:34):
and were's these sort of little pointed shoes, and she said,
you can change a man's shoes, you can change a
man's hair, but you can't do anything about the rest.
So if the rest is good for you, go with it.
And so I said, yeah, well, he's got a good
heart and a good sense of humor, and she said,
(40:55):
go with it. And then I just like, you know,
a couple of little tweaks, and he was super hot.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
And where was he in his career at the time.
He was really, I mean, listen Billy's body of work,
like you can't compare it to anything, I mean to
really all the greats. And I know a documentary's coming
out about him, which I can't wait to see. But
was he on the cusper? Had he already exploded when
(41:25):
you met?
Speaker 1 (41:26):
You know, I didn't know where he was professionally, because
I didn't know any of his work prior to that.
But he was professionally just starting a new album, which
was amazing because I think he had like one or
two songs, and then he was writing as our relationship
(41:48):
was growing, and I would be in the studio and
he'd be singing, you know these songs, and I was
right there through the whole process, and I mean that
was pure, pure magic. I love music. To me, I
love the arts, but to me, music is the art
that literally paints the air around you. They can make
(42:12):
you get up out of your chair and dance, or
it can remind you of a special moment. It just
takes you places and it becomes, you know, the soundtrack
to your life. And I felt like in my years
with Billy and Alexa, I've been lucky to have like
a home full of beautiful music playing all the time.
(42:35):
There was somebody at the piano, you know, just filling
the air, and oh it was amazing, amazing.
Speaker 2 (42:45):
It kind of came crashing down, or the relationship ended
because of Billy's drinking. And you're very honest about this, Christy,
And I'm curious how he felt about that and how
hard it was to be this honest about the crumbling
of your marriage and your relationship.
Speaker 1 (43:07):
Well, I think you know, and I don't want to
speak for Billy, but you know I am in his
documentary and he said, don't hold back, you know, say
whatever you want to say, whatever you're comfortable with, whatever
you need to say, whatever I understand. And I'm not
gonna be mad or you know, anything he said, just whatever.
(43:32):
I think that he's capable of doing that now because
I know that in part of his you know, healing
was knowing what you did. When a person drinks to
a certain point that they don't remember what they did
the night before, I think that it's helpful in a way.
(43:56):
I don't know. I mean, I certainly am not out
to hurt anybody, but I think that you need to
know what you did hurt people.
Speaker 2 (44:06):
You all have a really nice relationship now, don't you.
Speaker 1 (44:09):
Yeah. I mean I'll always love Billy. I always will.
We were together in such formative years, you know, years
that really shaped both our futures. You know, we had
some of the best years of my life. And you
have a daughter, my firstborn, you know, so that was
(44:32):
really really special. And you know, Alexi always say to Alexa,
you know, Alexa, you got us for the first ten
years of your life, you know, without any other siblings
to you know, pull our attention away.
Speaker 2 (44:45):
So and I think it's interesting. I've watched a video
of you and Alexa going through photos together, which I
really enjoyed, and sounds like she's a lot more like
Billy than she is.
Speaker 1 (44:57):
You oh, yes, she's are definitely two peas and upond alexa.
When she was a little she always categorized people in colors,
and she had red and green people, which she and
her dad are red and green and blue and yellow people.
And I'm a blue and yellow person. So I'm like, oh,
like Oshan in the sun, like cozy Christmases, you know.
(45:22):
And she said, yes, pretty much like that. Intellectual and
not intellectual.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
No, that's not true. I think you give yourself a
short shrift. I think you're very smart. I swear I
could go all Joe Rogan on you, Christy and like
talk for three hours. I'm not going to. But in
your acknowledgments you thank your divorce lawyer who said you
have a bad picker. Moving after Billy, you did have
(45:50):
a couple of relationships which did not turn out the
way you had hope, to say the least. I know
that one was with Richard Talbman. He was your third husband.
I know that you say you quote unquote trauma bonded
after you were in a helicopter crash in nineteen ninety four,
and I remember when that happened and how scary that was.
(46:14):
But that relationship ended up being incredibly disappointing. You say
it was chaotic and draining financially and otherwise. Was that
kind of your classic rebound relationship you think, Christy, because
I know at one point you thought, after the helicopter crash,
this was Billy's chance to be a knight and shining
(46:35):
armor and come and rescue you, but he didn't. I
actually had met this guy on he who shall not
be named, Yes, yes, you shall not be I have
a few of those.
Speaker 1 (46:50):
But he was kind of working me. I guess, you know,
everything that I love. He was into and on the
verge of doing or doing. But I actually went skiing
because I wanted to show Billy that he could lose me.
Speaker 2 (47:09):
You know.
Speaker 1 (47:09):
I wanted to like remove myself and was kind of
just sitting there at home in the Hamptons, you know,
So I wanted to be like out and about separated,
and I thought maybe he would see that and be like, oh,
I need to really pay attention now and clean up
my act and go after her. That's what I was
(47:29):
hoping for by going to Aspen or to tell your
ride on my couple of ski trips that I was doing.
But he didn't take the bait, But there was another
guy that did show interest and eventually caught my attention
(47:50):
in a big way.
Speaker 2 (47:51):
You all ended up having your son Jack, and I
know that you write you married Peter Cook, your fourth husband,
in nineteen ninety six, and you write for a number
of reasons, primarily because I felt both a sense of
urgency to find Jack a father figure and terror it
(48:12):
that thought that Ricky might swoop back in if I didn't.
This is after you all got divorced. I said yes
when Peter asked me to marry him later that year.
I should preface that question by saying that Ricky got
in touch with your biological father, Herb, and even said quote,
(48:33):
I'm going to walk away from you and the baby,
just like Herb Hudson did. What an asshole? Well, I mean,
first of all, that's pretty psychotic.
Speaker 1 (48:43):
I couldn't believe. It was like a time machine, you know,
like somebody had reached back into my past and plucked
this person out and brought them, you know, inserted him
into my life in a way that was so unexpected
(49:03):
and cruel that I just couldn't even believe that this
was happening. How do you even it was so diabolical
to even come up with that concept.
Speaker 2 (49:16):
So you marry Peter. You all looked, on the face
of it, like the perfect couple. He's handsome, blonde, he
adopts Jack, right, which is great, you have sailor your
daughter together, and then he ends up basically having a
(49:38):
thing with this teenage girl in the Hamptons, right, who
worked at a toy store. Yeah, yeah, Honny me Christy,
I have to agree with your divorce lawyer. I know
you have a bad picker, I know, and it was.
Speaker 1 (49:58):
Yeah, it was a very bad bad pick on my part. Now,
those last two marriages, reading my journals and stuff, I
just look at myself and I just like, during the
third one, I was like, why didn't I get out
of it faster? Why didn't I see that? Although it
(50:18):
could make a funny Nancy Meyers.
Speaker 2 (50:20):
Movie, there's always Nancy Meyer.
Speaker 1 (50:25):
Like with distance. Now, oh man, there's stuff there that
would just be hilarious, hilarious, But I couldn't laugh a
lot while it was going on.
Speaker 2 (50:39):
I'm sure very very very trying, very trying, and so
public and so mortifying for you. I felt for you
so much during that period of time in your life
and where are you now? I mean, do you feel
happy and content? I think I know the answer to this,
(51:00):
risty Yeah. And do you feel like, gosh, I would
like a partner. I know you don't feel like you
need a partner at this point in your life.
Speaker 1 (51:10):
Yeah. I you know, whenever something really really exciting, great happy,
whether it's like magnificent sunset or anything, you know, an
exciting trip or something, that's when I feel like I
wish I could share this with somebody. But I very
(51:33):
often my house is full, I you know, always have,
there's always there's always at least one of the kid
home with a group of friends. It's very busy place,
and so I'm very content and grateful for what i have.
But when there is a very magical sunset, sometimes I
(51:54):
feel like going, oh, yeah, there's nobody there.
Speaker 2 (51:58):
You know.
Speaker 1 (51:59):
That's a little sad that, but that's it. You know.
Speaker 2 (52:03):
You describe Olivier Chandon and your friend Hops, who I've
never met, so I'm just referring to him again as
real livers, not the organ but the attitude. And you know,
I feel like you are too. You continue to stay
so engaged in the world. You're always you know, you're entrepreneurial,
(52:23):
you're politically active. You are I think, living your life
to the fullest every single day, and I really admire
that about you.
Speaker 1 (52:36):
You know that is I've always felt a sense of
gratitude always. My mom and dad raised me like that.
But after you know, my death defying life, I feel
like I kind of have gratitude on steroids, and I
just am like so grateful when I wake up in
(52:58):
the morning and I got a new day to dive into.
I cannot even leave my property, but feel like, you know,
just so ecstatic to be in the day. And whatever
it is, whatever that I get into, I enjoy it.
I just do, whether it's watering my house plants and
(53:19):
look at my little tree here, I am very happy.
Speaker 2 (53:23):
Well, I'm so glad you wrote a book about your life.
We've only scratched the surface of everything that you've experienced,
and I highly recommend people read it. I just think
you're a very special person. I feel, even though we
don't know each other super well, I admire you and
(53:46):
feel connected to you and appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (53:49):
And I love the fact that I know that if
a band strikes up a song and we know the
backup that you'll be up there with me singing backup,
I will.
Speaker 2 (54:03):
I just think you're a great person. I really like you.
And you know, I was interviewing somebody about the Pope
this morning, and I said, what do you think his
legacy was? And this Jesuit priest said, he was just
a really great person and he was just really really loved.
And I don't know, I feel the same. Not that
I'm comparing you to Pope Francis.
Speaker 1 (54:24):
But the Pope loved everybody. The Pope like literally loved everyone.
And I think that's why I loved the Pope, you know,
because I loved his love. And that's what we all
need to do right now, is we all need to
(54:48):
just say stop everything, Let's just love one another. Let's
just stop this madness going on in Washington. Just stop,
and let's just go back to just let's just love.
Let's try and be friends with everybody. Let's just you know,
(55:09):
it's time for love. Because love is the strongest thing
in the world.
Speaker 2 (55:13):
We know that it's a.
Speaker 1 (55:15):
Fact, and it's time for love to prevail. It's time.
Speaker 2 (55:20):
Christy. Thank you. Speaking of time, you've given me a
lot of viewers, so thank you. My team is probably like, Katie,
when is she going to stop? She's been talking to
Christie Brinkley No, for like an hour and a half,
But there were so many things I wanted to talk
with you about. I hope I get to see you
in person soon and.
Speaker 1 (55:41):
Call me when you're out and let's eat and keep
up the good work, Katie.
Speaker 2 (55:46):
Okay, I'm trying, Honey, I'm trying.
Speaker 1 (55:48):
Thank you, happy, trying hell again until I figure out
how to find the off button. You kill me? Love
you too.
Speaker 2 (56:01):
The end A little Roxyheart ladies and gentlemen, Thanks for listening. Everyone.
If you have a question for me, a subject you
want us to cover, or you want to share your
thoughts about how you navigate this crazy world, reach out
(56:25):
send me a DM on Instagram. I would love to
hear from you. Next Question is a production of iHeartMedia
and Katie Couric Media. The executive producers are Me, Katie Kuric,
and Courtney Ltz. Our supervising producer is Ryan Martz, and
our producers are Adriana Fazzio and Meredith Barnes. Julian Weller
(56:46):
composed our theme music. For more information about today's episode,
or to sign up for my newsletter Wake Up Call,
go to the description in the podcast app, or visit
us at Katiecuric dot com. You can also find me
on Instagram and all my social media channels. For more
podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
(57:09):
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Host
Katie Couric
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