Christie Brinkley Declares, ‘70 Is the New 40’

These days, when it comes to candles on a birthday cake, the more the merrier.

“I think 70 is the new 40,” Christie Brinkley wrote on her Instagram page, alongside a photograph from a recent Social Life Magazine cover shoot of herself looking radiant with blown out hair and a plunging fluid dress. “A great time to take on new challenges, volunteer, travel, or start a new company. The sky is the limit.”

Brinkley, who turned 70 in February, is embracing the new decade with her signature smile and a sunny outlook: “Now is a great time to make your dreams and goals a reality. Here’s to loving the age you’re in!”

And women everywhere are enthusiastically responding.

Christie Brinkley in a recent photoshoot

Courtesy: polohamptons.com

“You are breaking/shattering stereotypes!” and “You are such an inspiration” are among the many comments posted from fans. Another reads, “You are one of THE BEST examples of the adage ‘Age is just a number.’ It truly is! I’m with you!!”

The former CoverGirl has long been outspoken about the challenges women face when it comes to aging and how women are changing the narrative.  

“I think that this generation is a generation that has grown up understanding the importance of nutrition and exercise and 40, 50, 60 doesn’t look like how it used to look. We want to look as good as we feel,” Brinkley told AARP in 2019, days before her 65th birthday. “I think the 60s are pretty exciting because you kind of are free of any little voices that might challenge you. And you feel just ready for anything, like, I don’t know … nothing’s gonna stop me now!” Two years earlier, Brinkley had appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the age of 63.

Five years later, she has proved unstoppable at 70. It’s quite a change from the norms of yesteryear, when a woman’s worth depended on her age — a ticking time bomb for women in the modeling and showbiz industries.

“They told me by the time you’re 30, you’ll be chewed up and spit out of this business,” Brinkley told People magazine in June. But it seems those days are long gone. “Fifty isn’t 50 anymore. Thirty isn’t 30 anymore.”

“It’s the start of a great decade,” she said. “I’m hearing from women on my Instagram, like, ‘Now I’m looking forward to my 7-0. I was kind of dreading it, but you’re making it look so fun.’ And it is really important to make it fun, and so far, so great.”

Brinkley is doing just that: Last month, she celebrated the launch of her HSN collection, called Twrhll, and was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s 60th anniversary Swimsuit issue alongside other SI modeling legends.

She was in good company: Seated among fellow fabulous icons, Brinkley was perched behind Martha Stewart, who rocked it as a cover model for Sports Illustrated’s 2023 Swimsuit issue — when she was 81.