Christie Brinkley Explains the Story Behind the ‘Vogue’ Cover She Shared With a Lizard

The model reveals that the unusual image was not staged.

Christie Brinkley.Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

Christie Brinkley is a timeless beauty, and the three-time SI Swimsuit Issue cover model frequently shares throwbacks from her storied career on Instagram.

On Jan. 25, the 68-year-old shared a flashback in the form of her 1979 Vogue cover feature. The pic showed a young Brinkley grinning for the camera with an unusual accessory on her chest: a lizard. 

The model gave some insight into the unique image in the caption of her post.

“Leapin’ Lizards! Yep the Lizard leapt on me in the middle of a cover try and our illustrious editor the one and only @therealgracecoddington and our photographer @alexchatelaine loved it,” she wrote. “My smile says I love it too but it tickles and we don’t know how long he will pose in this perfect position.”

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A post shared by Christie Brinkley (@christiebrinkley)

Later in the caption, Brinkley added, “We were on location on a very, very strange island ..someday I’ll have to tell you the story.”

Fans and followers were quick to chime in to the comments section.

“Oh My Goodness - this is brilliant & I can’t wait to hear the full story one day soon!💞💞💞,” wrote one person, while another individual added, “Oh wow! You are so brave and professional. It definitely would have shown on my face. No way I could hide that. 🤣.”

“Let’s face it, that little lizard was never gonna make it on the cover of Vogue on his own looks. Opportunistic move that paid off for sure!” quipped a fan. “Why don’t you write down those stories for a book 😊,” suggested another.

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