Former Michigan Girl Makes Good: Christie Brinkley's Mansion

She was the blond in the red Ferrari in National Lampoon’s Vacation, spent 25 years as the face for CoverGirl cosmetics, possibly the most popular front cover model for Sports Illustrated, married to Billy Joel.....and born in Michigan.

Christie Brinkley was born in Monroe as Christie Lee Hudson in February 1954, to Marjorie and Herbert Hudson. As for her time spent in Michigan, it was unfortunately extremely brief. When only a year old, the family packed up and moved to California – Los Angeles, to be exact.

Not sure what the circumstances were, but Marjorie and Herbert split up not long afterward. Herb remarried in 1963, divorced again in 1968. Marjorie’s second marriage worked out much better. She married Don Brinkley in the early 1960s, who adopted Christie and her brother Greg. Don was a very successful writer and producer for television, writing for hit programs like The Fugitive, Highway Patrol, Trapper John M.D., Perry Mason, The Untouchables, and many, many others.

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Unfortunately, there is hardly any information on Christie’s one year in Monroe, Michigan. The house address remains elusive, and details of her infant life from 1954-1955 are almost impossible to find. I am guessing that her Monroe address was something humble and middle class, a far cry from where her mansion sits in Long Island, New York.

Otherwise, you can find info and photos on Christie splashed all over the place...everywhere. In fact, we’re going to take a little tour of her Long Island home in the Hamptons so you can see how a little baby from a middle-class family from Monroe, Michigan ended up living in a superbly glorious home.