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Christie Brinkley makes surprising revelation about aging as she prepares to celebrate 70th birthday next year

Christie Brinkley may be in the last year of her 60s – she celebrated her 69th birthday on February 2nd – but as she nears 70, she maintains she doesn't feel a day over 30.

Age doesn't have anything to do with both looking and feeling good for the star, who first kicked off her career as a model in the early 1970s when she had just entered her 20s. She went on to become a household namewith her appearances in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues – she had three consecutive covers in 1979, 1980, and 1981 – plus she spent 25 years as the face of CoverGirl.

Though she admits she considers 70 a milestone number, aging has only been a shock for her in the sense that it didn't feel as big of a deal as she once thought it would be.

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"I pretty much feel, as I'm approaching 70, the same way that I felt when I was approaching 30," she told People while hosting Pet Life Unlimited's Furever Young senior dog adoption event at the Animal Haven shelter in New York City on May 23.

She maintained: "I feel good. I feel strong," adding: "I feel like the number doesn't match my spirit, so I may as well just keep spiriting on."

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Though she said each decade signals "to us certain things," she explained: "I've been shocked by not feeling the way I thought I was supposed to be feeling at that age."

Christie Brinkley attends Pet Life Unlimited Furever Young Senior Dog Adoption Event In NYC at Animal Haven on May 23, 2023 in New York City
Christie Brinkley attends Pet Life Unlimited Furever Young Senior Dog Adoption Event In NYC at Animal Haven on May 23, 2023 in New York City

Really, age isn't something she is focused on, and she further told the outlet: "I don't believe that focusing on age is going to make you feel any better about it."

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She added: "I think curiosity in the world around you and just wanting to do something with each day, that is what keeps you young and going."

Christie Brinkley attends The Men's Fashion Association of America's 1982 American Image Awards on Ocotber 25, 1982 at The Sheraton Centre in New York City
Christie Brinkley attends The Men's Fashion Association of America's 1982 American Image Awards on Ocotber 25, 1982 at The Sheraton Centre in New York City

Christie likes to spend her time between her beloved beach home in Turks and Caicos, which she calls Lucky House, and her longtime residence in Bridgehampton, not far from the Sag Harbor home where her mom Marjorie "Marge" Brinkley and stepdad Donald Brinkley lived in until their deaths in 2012, months apart from each other.

"I just love any time I have any family and friends around, just being able to sit and laugh – I think laughter heals everything," she said.

Christie Brinkley, Jack Brinkley Cook, Alexa Ray Joel, and Sailor Brinkley-Cook at the 32nd Annual Footwear News Achievement Awards, Presentation, New York in 2018
Christie Brinkley, Jack Brinkley Cook, Alexa Ray Joel, and Sailor Brinkley-Cook at the 32nd Annual Footwear News Achievement Awards, Presentation, New York in 2018

If you include her beloved dog Chester, (she would), Christie has four children: Alexa Ray Joel, 37, with ex-husband Billy Joel, who she was married to from 1985 to 1994, plus Jack Paris Brinkley Cook, 27, and Sailor, 24, with Peter Cook, to whom she was married from1996 until 2008.

Born in Monroe, Michigan in 1954, after starting her career when she was discovered in 1973 by American photographer Errol Sawyer in a post office in Paris, Christie went on to make appearances on over 500 magazine covers, and made her acting debut in the classic1983 comedy National Lampoon's Vacation as "The girl in the red Ferrari" opposite Chevy Chase, with whom she recently reunited in December 2022 at ComicCon.

Christie Brinkley poses, dressed in business attire, against a white background, 1976. She wears a neckerchief, a tweed jacket over a button-down blouse, a corduroy skirt, and boots
Christie Brinkley poses, dressed in business attire, against a white background, 1976. She wears a neckerchief, a tweed jacket over a button-down blouse, a corduroy skirt, and boots
Christie Brinkley sat on the beach
Christie Brinkley sat on the beach

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