Totally Booked with Zibby – Episode Summary

Guest: Christie Brinkley
Book: Uptown Girl: A Memoir
Host: Zibby Owens
Release Date: December 29, 2025

Overview

In this engaging and heartfelt episode, Zibby Owens welcomes legendary model, actress, and entrepreneur Christie Brinkley to discuss her memoir, Uptown Girl. Their conversation is an honest exploration of Brinkley's fascinating five-decade career, her family and personal challenges, her resilience through trauma and adversity, the evolution of the modeling industry, and what it means to age, parent, and find continued meaning in the public eye.

Brinkley provides candid reflections on loss, motherhood, celebrity, and self-worth, while Owens invites her to share the wisdom learned from a uniquely visible—and vulnerable—life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Christie’s Journey: Triumphs, Trauma, and Resilience

• Turning Adversity into Strength

  • Brinkley discusses how many hardships, from trauma and grief to encounters with stalkers and loss, shaped her into who she is today.
  • “Some of the bad things, if they hadn't happened, the next great thing wouldn't have happened... it's really been an opportunity to find the silver linings in all those bad things.” (Christie Brinkley, 02:50)
  • She shares that she sees adversity as a “gift that propelled me onto the next thing.”

• The Memoir’s Vulnerability & Reception

  • With decades of stories, she had to select what would fit—leaving many untold.
  • Expresses her fear about sharing so much: “You feel very vulnerable the day before it’s coming out. Like, what if it just sits there? What if nobody gets it?” (Christie, 04:39)
  • Grateful for the overwhelmingly positive feedback and how readers have related to her honesty.

Handling Change, Anxiety, and Career Uncertainty

• Living ‘One Job at a Time’

  • Brinkley admits to always working as if each gig could be her last, fueling a tireless work ethic:
  • “During my 50 years as a model, I’ve always assumed that every job I’ve ever had would be my last.” (Quote from the memoir discussed at 05:22)
  • Reflects on the paradox: fearing the end motivated her, but when she finally aimed for long-term success, anxiety set in.

• Aging, Appearance, and Industry Expectations

  • Brinkley comments on the pressures and options for aging in today’s beauty culture.
  • “Aging never had so many options. It’s like optional now. If you want to age or not, that's up to you... age is like the last frontier.” (Christie, 07:38)
  • She applauds broader representation in fashion—except for age, which still lags behind.

Modeling, Motherhood, and Protecting Her Children

• Fame’s Double-Edged Sword

  • Brinkley opens up about the pain of her children becoming subjects of public scrutiny and comparison.
  • “You never want what you're doing to hurt anybody. Alexa... really got hurt by things the media would say. It was really hard on her.” (Christie, 11:25)
  • Her approach: encourage her kids not to read the negativity and to keep forging ahead regardless of outside opinions.

• Navigating the ‘Nepo Baby’ Label

  • Dismisses criticism of children following in parental footsteps as natural:
    “If they say you’re a nepo baby because you sing... it's a family business... that's your life, that's how you grew up.” (13:38)
  • Advises: “Don't let anything slow you down.”

Divorce, Narcissism, and Support Resources

• Finding Help in Hard Times
  • Candidly addresses the challenges of divorcing a narcissist, emphasizing that there are now resources (such as Tina Swithin’s books and sites like One Mom’s Battle) that didn’t exist during her hardest times.
  • “It is a long haul battle... they can’t have a chip that’s anything less than perfect... so they need to destroy you.” (Christie, 15:41)

The Memoir’s Success and Industry Change

• Navigating Publishing, Comparing Past & Present
  • Reflects on how her previous books were buoyed by media campaigns (like Diet Coke commercials), and how memoir as a category is competitive.
  • Nervous her story would be met with indifference, she was delighted to hit the bestseller list and moved by reader connections.
  • “Your book makes me want to get up and live.”—memorable reader feedback (Brinkley cites feedback at 19:42)

Sensitive Topics: Relationship with Billy Joel

• Writing with Compassion and Honesty
  • Brinkley worried about how recounting her marriage’s difficulties would be perceived, especially by Billy Joel himself.
  • “I don't like to ever say anything bad about anybody. But I needed to explain myself… I had to do some, you know, just preserve my own soul.” (Christie, 20:21)
  • Responds to media distortions, confirming her aim wasn’t revenge but context and empathy.
  • Zibby observes Brinkley wrote about it “with a lot of respect… you even showed us some of the reasons why he was under all that stress.” (23:25)

Broader Reflections and Personal Joys

• Artistry, Parenting, and Love of Family
  • Zibby highlights lesser-known details: Brinkley's lifelong artistry, French, photography, profound love for family.
  • Brinkley’s deep affection and gratitude for her audience is a strong episode throughline.

Notable Quotes

• “Some of the bad things, if they hadn't happened, the next great thing wouldn't have happened.”
  —Christie Brinkley (02:50)

• “During my 50 years as a model, I’ve always assumed that every job I’ve ever had would be my last.”
  —Christie Brinkley (05:22, quoting the memoir)

• “Aging never had so many options. It’s like optional now. If you want to age or not, that's up to you… age is like the last frontier.”
  —Christie Brinkley (07:38)

• “You never want what you're doing to hurt anybody [especially your kids].”
  —Christie Brinkley (11:25)

• “Your book makes me want to get up and live.”
  —Reader feedback, cited by Christie Brinkley (19:42)

• “I don't like to ever say anything bad about anybody. But I needed to explain myself…”
  —Christie Brinkley (20:21)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:10 – Brinkley on overcoming trauma and finding silver linings
• 05:22 – Discussing her 'one job at a time' mindset
• 07:38 – Candid thoughts on aging, beauty, and the industry
• 11:00 – Parenting in public: Fame and children
• 15:41 – Advice and resources for divorcing a narcissist
• 17:12 – Changing face of publishing and memoir’s success
• 20:21 – On writing about Billy Joel with compassion
• 23:25 – Reception and perspectives on sharing difficult truths
• 24:00 – Brinkley’s gratitude and what this journey has meant

Memorable Moments

• Zibby and Christie share an unexpected East Hampton summer camp memory (10:12), bonding over their connections as mothers.
• Brinkley reveals her trepidation on memoir eve, worrying about possible negative reception, only to receive warm and life-affirming messages from readers.
• Sensitive handling of family pain and public misconceptions, especially regarding her relationship with Billy Joel and the realities of divorce.

Tone and Language

The episode is compassionate, reflective, and unguarded—true to both Zibby’s empathetic interviewing and Christie Brinkley’s sincerity and humility. The conversation balances gravity and hope, underscoring resilience, gratitude, and the broadening definition of beauty and success.

For listeners: This episode provides both inspiration and actionable wisdom for handling public scrutiny, personal transformation, and the arc of a truly full life.