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Los Angeles Times
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Christie Brinkley details turbulent marriage with Billy Joel: ‘I hesitated to put that scene in the book'
To make it as a fashion model is one thing; to endure in such an intensely competitive field, as Christie Brinkley has done, is quite another. It means having to live in constant fear that your job might be snatched by someone younger, or thinner, or whatever the zeitgeist might be hunting for at any given moment. If Brinkley's new memoir, 'Uptown Girl,' has one lesson to impart to its readers, it's that no one, not even the beauty icon, rides through life for free. Brinkley, who grew up in Canoga Park and Malibu, was discovered in 1973 by photographer Errol Sawyer at 19 while waiting for a payphone on a Paris street corner. Things went whoosh! and she signed with legendary agent John Casablancas, then decamped to New York, where she worked for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and virtually every other fashion magazine on the newsstand. In 1974, Brinkley booked her first job for Sports Illustrated, a collaboration that endures today. (Last year Brinkley appeared, along with Tyra Banks, Martha Stewart and other celebrities, on an SI cover celebrating 60 years of the swimsuit issue.) Life was grand for Brinkley. She recalls one lunch in the early 1970s with agent Nina Blanchard at the old Brown Derby in Hollywood, when she booked her first three major TV commercials before coffee was served, just by sitting there. Francesco Scavullo, Patrick Demarchelier and Helmut Newton trained their lenses on her and the rest was history. She bought her first apartment in a prewar building on the Upper West Side soon after. Brinkley bemoans the present colonization of the fashion space by digital media. 'There was a kind of dance between photographer and model,' says Brinkley via Zoom from a hotel suite in midtown Manhattan. 'You felt as if it was a joint creation, but that's been lost. Digital photos can be retouched any which way, so what happens on a shoot becomes an afterthought. And there is also the fact of holding a magazine in your hands without being interrupted by pop-up ads.' In January 1983, while on location in St. Barts for a photo shoot, she met Billy Joel at a motel dive bar. Both were reeling from their previous relationships; Joel had recently divorced his first wife, Elizabeth Weber. Joel played 'The Girl From Ipanema' on the bar piano while Brinkley sang along. Brinkley knew nothing about Joel, let alone that he was a global pop megastar. Two months later, she knew all too well, as Joel wooed Brinkley in grand rock-star fashion. There were thousands of roses, presidential suites in impossibly picturesque hotels, a white horse as a Christmas gift. On her 30th birthday, Joel chartered a Gulfstream III jet to sweep Brinkley from Long Island to his concert in South Bend, Ind., where a grotesquely large cake was rolled onto the stage and 16,000 fans sang 'Happy Birthday' to her. The couple got married on March 23, 1985, in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. What happened next was like a Nora Ephron script rewritten by John Cassavetes. In the summer of 1986, the couple and their then-4-year-old daughter, Alexa Ray, were staying in a rented cottage in Montauk while Gate Lodge, Joel's estate on Long Island's North Shore, was being renovated. One rainy night, Brinkley woke up in the early morning hours to discover her husband had vanished. Shortly before dawn, he returned home, stumbling out of a cab, drunk and ornery. It was the first in a series of scary scenes for Brinkley, whose feelings for Joel vacillated between veneration, unconditional love and abject fear. 'I loved him and I wanted to make it work,' she says. 'Drinking is a disease. And I knew that there had to be some way to help him, and not always get to that point where this person who you love is suddenly a stranger to you.' Given the very public nature of their marriage, Brinkley found herself unable to cultivate support for fear that the tabloids would find out about Joel's addiction. 'I was 100% dedicated to Billy, but I never told anyone about our issues, not even my friends,' she says. 'It was very difficult in that way, but we had a child together and I was trying to protect the family.' Then Joel's issues began to shade into psychosis. Brinkley in her book describes one ugly scene when Joel, deep in his cups, ate a heap of spaghetti directly from a large pan on the stove, then vehemently kicked everyone out of the house for eating his pasta. 'I hesitated to put that scene in the book,' she says. 'But at the same time, it demonstrates what I was up against.' Despite the roiling storms she was navigating in her private life, Brinkley's public persona was expanding beyond fashion's gilt frame into the American mainstream. By the early 1980s, she had become synonymous with the massively popular Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, appearing on the cover three years in a row. Then there was the 1983 music video for Joel's hit 'Uptown Girl,' in which Brinkley, wearing a strapless black and white dress, is the unattainable object of desire for the pop star, who plays against type as a working-class car mechanic. 'Suddenly, I had a theme song,' she says. 'That was definitely a gift that Billy gave to me.' Brinkley hacked it for 11 years with Joel, until one final crescendo of boozy madness and a string of well-publicized affairs prompted her to file divorce papers in 1994. As it turned out, this was a mere prelude for a far more traumatic incident in her life. That same year, a helicopter crash on a mountain in Telluride, Colo., nearly killed Brinkley and her five traveling companions. She married crash survivor Richard Taubman, a real estate developer, in the aftermath. The couple had a son and divorced in 1995. Despite the vicissitudes of her life, Brinkley has maintained a vigorous career as a model and entrepreneur, enduring far longer than her contemporaries, readjusting her approach to the marketplace, finding the niche that eludes everyone else. 'In the years after the copter crash, I have maintained an extraordinary sense of gratitude on steroids,' she says. 'We're all so lucky to make it through each day, especially now.' In other words, nobody rides for free.
Al Bawaba
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Bawaba
The most expensive private jets owned by celebrities – A look at their flying palaces
These aircraft are flying castles in the sky, complete with opulent seating, entertainment systems, and even bedrooms. In addition to increasing their status, owning a private aircraft allows them to travel the world with ease and saves time. Let's examine the ten priciest private aircraft that celebrities around the world own! 1. Drake's $185 million Boeing 767 Rapper Drake, from Canada, is the owner of the massive Boeing 767, which he famously calls "Air Drake." This luxurious jet, which has been customized with leather seats, plush interiors, and high-end amenities, is valued at $185 million. It provides the highest level of comfort for the artist's overseas trips. 2. Gulfstream 6650ER ($150 million) and Kim Kardashian The $150 million Gulfstream 6650ER belongs to celebrity TV personality and business magnate Kim Kardashian. The luxurious seats, superb privacy, and all-beige interior of this plane allow her to tour the world in elegance. 3. Gulfstream III by Tyler Perry ($125 million) Actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry has a Gulfstream III private jet worth $125 million. With a movie theater, meeting rooms, and comfortable seats, the jet is one of the most expensive celebrity planes. 4. Boeing 737 Max 9 ($118 million) owned by Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani (Photo by Punit PARANJPE and Punit PARANJPE / AFP) Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani owns a Boeing 737 Max 9 for $118 million. This aircraft resembles a flying palace with its private room, business office, and cutting-edge security features. 5. Boeing 757, owned by Donald Trump ($100 million) the Boeing 757 owned by US President Donald Trump, which is worth $100 million. With its private bedroom, top-of-the-line entertainment system, and gold-plated decor, it provides the ultimate in luxury. 6. Gulfstream G550 ($78 million) owned by Elon Musk The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, takes trips on his $78 million Gulfstream G550. This aircraft's ultra-fast flight, state-of-the-art technology, and comfort enable Musk to efficiently run his global businesses. 7. Gulfstream 700, owned by Oprah Winfrey ($75 million) Oprah Winfrey, a well-known media figure and multibillionaire, owns a luxurious Gulfstream 700 worth $75 million. This ultra-modern jet's spacious interiors, plush seating, and first-rate facilities allow her to fly in complete luxury and privacy for both work and leisure purposes. 8. Gulfstream G650, owned by Dwayne Johnson ($65 million) Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, a Hollywood tycoon, owns a Gulfstream G650 worth $65 million. This private plane ensures a smooth and comfortable journey for him when he travels for filming and promotional engagements. 9. Kylie Jenner, $73 million; Bombardier Global Kylie Jenner, the youngest Kardashian-Jenner billionaire, owns a $73 million Bombardier Global company. Her private jet boasts a stylish pink interior, comfortable couches, and a private bedroom. 10. Taylor Swift's $54 million Dassault Falcon 7X Pop sensation Taylor Swift owns a $54 million Dassault Falcon 7X. This plane makes traveling the world easy with its opulent cabins, excellent comfort, and quick connectivity. 11. Amitabh Bachchan's $24 million Bombardier Challenger 300 The renowned Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan owns a $24 million Bombardier Challenger 300. The design of this plane allows for both short- and long-distance luxury travel, ensuring comfort and convenience for the veteran celebrity.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Community south of Los Angeles sinking towards Pacific Ocean
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. – Radar data from NASA shows increasing rates of landslides along the Palos Verdes Peninsula, south of Los Angeles, threatening hundreds of structures. Data from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory showed the terrain of the peninsula shifted at a rate of 4 inches per week following periods of heavy rainfall in 2024. The region, about 25 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, has been home to historic landslides, but weather events after the remnants of Hurricane Hilary in the summer of 2023 impacted the region caused the movement to accelerate. The area was put under a state of emergency in 2024 after record rains then caused some ground to give way. Some homes have been split in two, while other residents have permanently left the region, fearing additional movement in the terrain. These 7 States Hold The Most Landslide-prone Counties In The Us Nasa says it was able to compose a dramatic visualization of the affected region by using its Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar, which is mounted on a Gulfstream III jet. After a series of passes, specialists were able to compose a map depicting how fast the soil underneath the Palos Verdes Peninsula was moving and highlighted the direction of movement with added arrows. "In effect, we're seeing that the footprint of land experiencing significant impacts has expanded, and the speed is more than enough to put human life and infrastructure at risk," Alexander Handwerger, a JPL landslide scientist who performed the analysis, said in a statement. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, landslides are considered to be a type of "mass wasting," where soil and rocks are at the mercy of gravity. Landslides are typically initiated by rainfall, snowmelt, erosion, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and human activity. In the West, Oregon, Washington, California and Idaho have the greatest vulnerabilities from landslides, which cause billions of dollars in damage each year. The Insurance Information Institute reminds homeowners that, similar to earthquakes, damage from landslides is excluded from standard insurance policies. 7 Facts About Earthquakes As part of the response to the unfolding situation, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services announced a $42 million buyout program for property owners in 2024. "While JPL's radar imagery strongly visualizes this dramatic acceleration and expansion of the landslide area during September and October 2024, the city would note that the landslide has decelerated since October due to the drier weather conditions and the city's installation of highly productive deep dewatering wells," the City of Rancho Palos Verdes stated. "The city is hopeful that this trend holds with its dewatering and winterization measures and continues to urge state and federal agencies to financially support these efforts."Original article source: Community south of Los Angeles sinking towards Pacific Ocean
