One of the most famous supermodels of our time recently turned 65. Though Christie Brinkley never intended to be a model (she was famously discovered by a photographer in Paris while attending art school), her hesitation didn't stop her. When she graced the cover of Sports Illustrated three consecutive issues in a row in 1979, a career and star was born.

Brinkley holds the record for the longest-ever CoverGirl contract, but she's also worked as an actress, illustrator, television personality, photographer, writer, and designer. She's also been an activist for human and animal rights and the environment during her career.

One might say that Brinkley is quick to jump into marriage. She's been married four times and has three adult children who are quite spread out over the years: daughter Alexa Ray Joel born in 1985 with legend Billy Joel, son Jack Paris Brinkley Taubman born in 1995 with real estate developer Richard Taubman, and daughter Sailor Lee Brinkley Cook born in 1998 with architect Peter Halsey Cook. Sailor is a spitting image of Christie and started her own modeling career at the mere age of 15. Brinkley has been divorced from her last husband since 2008 and has said she has no plans to marry again.

The beauty's milestone birthday isn't slowing her down for a second. She returned to Broadway's Chicago as the lead role, Roxie Hart. Brinkley originally played the role in 2010 and reprised it for several productions in the spring of 2019. Still looking gorgeous, she proves that age really is just a number if you take good care of yourself.

The model also joined the television show "Dancing With the Stars" for the fall 2019 season, but unfortunately broke her arm during a practice, before the show's season premiere. Her daughter, Sailor, took her place on the show per Brinkley's request. Brinkley fell while practicing a dance move, but it's worth noting that aging increases your risk of both falling and breaking a bone. So it's important to be careful!

But Brinkley also sees psychological benefits to aging, telling US Weekly "Around 50, you start letting yourself off the hook, and you have a real awareness of priorities and what really matters. Others' opinions just don't have power over you anymore. The only opinions that really matter to you are those of the people you love." Wise words.

Oh, need a tip for getting your adult children to visit more? She says in an AARP article, “It’s all about the real estate. Get a place on a ski mountain or a beach, and they come home.” We might not all have the ability to do this, but it's a good tip, nonetheless. Maybe something less expensive and simpler could translate, like adding a pool for the grandkids.

Image: Rubenstein [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)] Cropped