HS:
If you could go back in time and change anything, what would it be?
CB:
I can honestly say that I would not change a thing. Because I really believe everything that I’ve been through, all my mistakes—and there’ve been some doozies—all brought me to where I am today. Without having traveled this crazy path that I’ve taken, I might never have found my son, my daughters, and Peter. So everything that’s happened has ended up with something good coming out of it. Mistakes are a most human quality, and if you accept them and move on, you’ll probably move into a really good place. Sometimes your most original idea comes from an accident or mistake. So I think that we have to be willing to make mistakes and have failures, and pick ourselves up from them, learn what we can from them, and move on.
"I really believe everything that I’ve been through, all my mistakes—and there’ve been some doozies—all brought me to where I am today."
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HS:
Who’s the most beautiful person on the inside that you know as a role model?
CB:
My kids have probably taught me the most. All three of them are beautiful inside and out. I think that through them I’ve really learned some of my best lessons—their innocence, their joy, their trust, and their honesty.
HS:
What are the rewards and disadvantages of being a supermodel?
CB:
It’s an incredible career, especially nowadays. When I started, there weren’t as many opportunities in the business, and now modeling has turned into a real business opportunity. And whoever would have thought that at 48, I’d still be able to call myself a model? When I started out, I wanted to see every corner of the world, and I’ve accomplished that. And of course it’s a good paying job, so there are lots of bonuses to it.
I think that the biggest negative would be that I’d caution any parent from allowing a child to do it too soon. I started late for a model, and that worked to my advantage. I was 19 or 20.
"And whoever would have thought that at 48, I’d still be able to call myself a model?"
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HS:
That’s over the hill, of course.
CB:
Yeah, and that was really considered old at that time. But it’s pretty heavy stuff when you start out so young and you’ve got people floating around you, doing your hair and makeup, and transforming you into this totally different person in the mirror. And saying ‘Oh, your fabulous,’ ‘You’re to die for.’ If you’re too young, you might just believe it!
And of course, people love to pigeonhole you, and say ‘She must be dumb.’ Nowadays, I tend to think that this sort of works for me, because the other day when I was testifying before the Senate subcommittee hearings in Washington, a Senator hit me with a question that he must have thought I didn’t know the answer to. I came back at him with facts and figures. So it kind of worked to my advantage!
HS:
Growing up in Malibu, what was your childhood like?
CB:
Well Malibu is just a wonderful place to grow up. We had a house on pilings right on the sand, so my brother and I literally lived in the ocean. I remember my mom holding our lunch on plates and wading out to our surfboards, where we’d just continue to spend the rest of the day—which does not bode well for my skin.
HS:
Come on, Christie. After talking with you, it’s obvious you’re an amazing combo of brains and beauty. Thanks.
