Brinkley's modeling journey began in 1973 when she was discovered by photographer Errol Sawyer at a Paris post office. Introduced to John Casablancas of Elite Model Management, she quickly rose to prominence. Her breakthrough came with multiple appearances on Glamour magazine covers and a record-breaking 25-year contract with CoverGirl-one of the longest-running modeling contracts in history.
Her most iconic moment arrived when she became the first model to grace three consecutive covers of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue (1979, 1980, and 1981). Over her career, Brinkley appeared on over 500 magazine covers, including Vogue, Life, Rolling Stone, and Esquire . She also worked with major brands such as Chanel No. 19, Diet Coke, Anheuser-Busch, and many others.