Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all? In the world of 61-year-olds, it’s likely that iconic supermodel Christie Brinkley qualifies. And she’s sharing just how in a new book, “Timeless Beauty” (Grand Central Life & Style; $30).
Brinkley says she decided to write the book after gracing the cover of People magazine in a bathing suit at the age of 60, which, she notes, was not her original plan. “I recall saying at 35, this is my last bathing suit cover,” says Brinkley, who has appeared on more than 500 magazine covers. But the People stylists brought a swimsuit, so Brinkley decided to give it a shot. “I kind of tiptoed out wearing it.”
The cover was a smash, bringing on all kinds of questions: “What do you eat? What kind of exercise do you do? What’s your secret?” Brinkley says she started looking at how she managed “challenges in an industry in which I was told I would be chewed up and spit out by the time I was 30. And I decided to write it down.” Those challenges include making a Broadway stage debut in 2011 as Roxie Hart in “Chicago;” running her own vegan skin care and hair extension lines; not to mention being a devoted mother to her children, Alexa, 29, Jack, 20 and Sailor, 17.
Brinkley, a vegan who eats organic and cheats only rarely (a sliver of mozzarella in Italy), shares tips on everything from fashion and skin care (she admits to using fillers, and a bad bout with Botox) to fitness and even recipes — zucchini noodles and tomato sauce, anyone? She doles out advice without a hint of bossiness, instead motivating almost as if she were a caring BFF. “I would feel horrible if my book made women feel pressured. My message is you don’t have to be perfect to be perfect.”