Supermodel Cheryl Tiegs Has Had Some Wildly Famous Friends Over The Years

Cheryl Tiegs' journey to global fame started with a down-to-Earth approach to modeling. "I was going to give it a try, do my best, and go as far as it would take me," Tiegs informed Westlake Malibu Lifestyle. "My ultimate goal was to be a librarian." Instead, Tiegs took the modeling profession in a completely new direction, becoming one of the most popular models of the 1970s.

Early on, friendship played a pivotal role in Tiegs' career. "My girlfriend next door kept coming over with Seventeen magazine saying, 'Cheryl, you could be a model.' I thought she was crazy," Tiegs admitted to Artful Living in 2017. Still, it apparently planted a seed. Tiegs took initiative, focused on building her portfolio, and didn't get discouraged when she got passed over. "I never took it as rejection," Tiegs explained to Naples Daily News in 2014. Her persistence paid off, and it didn't take long before Tiegs was in Seventeen magazine.

Over the years, Tiegs' celebrity helped her form some interesting connections with other well-known individuals. For instance, Zach Peck, one of actor Gregory Peck's grandchildren, is Tiegs' son from her marriage to Anthony Peck. Zach even named his son Atticus, after his granddad's iconic role in "To Kill a Mockingbird" — a choice that likely thrilled book-loving Tiegs. Beyond famous actor in-laws, Tiegs has also formed some interesting friendships with wildly famous people in modeling, music, and the art world.

Cheryl Tiegs got to know Andy Warhol through her second husband, photographer Peter Beard. Tiegs and Beard married in 1981, and Warhol took her picture on a number of occasions. One of his artworks featuring Tiegs is on display at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, and Tiegs posed with it when she visited there in 2010.

The supermodel also has some of Warhol's work in her personal collection, including a very special impromptu work. "I was on the cover of Time magazine [and] I had it put up, as a triptych, on a piece of cardboard," Tiegs recalled to the Chicago Tribune in 2008. "He started taking different colors and drew all over it." As a personal touch, Warhol even put his handprints on the piece. Even before Warhol turned the 1978 cover into priceless art, it was highly valued by Tiegs. "That's when I became a household name and people would greet me as I walked down the street," Tiegs recalled to Westlake Malibu Lifestyle. "I viewed it as a wonderful new phase in my life where I had millions of new friends."

Tiegs also was a guest on one of Warhol's TV shows. Although her particular episode isn't available online, other clips of Warhol's show demonstrate that his deadpan, dry commentary made the show highly entertaining.

Decades later, Christie Brinkley is just six and a half years younger than Cheryl Tiegs, and both women enjoyed career highs in the 1970s and 1980s. They've also had common clients: Sports Illustrated frequently featured each of them in its special swimsuit issue, and they both partnered with Cover Girl makeup. Tiegs' association with Cover Girl was a huge boon to Brinkley and their fellow models. When negotiating her contract, Tiegs created a lucrative financial precedent. "The daily rate back then was $2,025 per day, and I decided to raise my rate to $3,500," Tiegs explained to Westlake Malibu Lifestyle. "That figure then became the bargaining standard for the top models."

In 2004, Tiegs and Brinkley worked together to push back on ageism when they joined a pantheon of Sports Illustrated models to celebrate the swimsuit issue's 40th anniversary. Both women were in their 50s at the time. Four years earlier, Tiegs mentioned the possibility of a return to the magazine. While it's unclear if she was being prescient or actively worked to make it happen, Tiegs was committed to her ongoing position as a trailblazer. "Women are making their own rules," Tiegs informed The Los Angeles Times in December 2000. "At least, I know I am." 

Decades later, Brinkley and Tiegs continue to look amazing, and they share a similar attitude about beauty and aging. "I think that there's a freedom that comes with age that's quite wonderful," Brinkley informed Social Life in 2026 (via People).

Given her fame, perhaps it's not surprising that Cheryl Tiegs had a close connection with Frank Sinatra. During the mid-'80s, their association was partly professional, and Tiegs appeared as part of the star-studded cast of Frank's "L.A. Is My Lady" music video. In 1995, Tiegs joined numerous other celebs for Frank's big 80th birthday celebration.

Tiegs attended the party with her then-husband, Anthony Peck. Their romance paved the way for an even closer connection with Frank, since Anthony's dad, Gregory Peck, had a decades-long friendship with the crooner. Frank even played a pivotal role at Tiegs' 1990 nuptials. "Tony (Anthony) and I eloped to Palm Springs to the Frank Sinatra compound around Thanksgiving, and Frank walked me down the aisle," Tiegs divulged to Westlake Malibu Lifestyle. "There were only six of us at the wedding! It was thrilling and unique."

Tiegs was also chummy with Frank's daughter, Tina Sinatra. In a 2021 Instagram post, Alana Stewart, former wife of rocker Rod Stewart, posted this vintage snap of her, Tiegs, and Tina hanging out in a kitchen together. Like Tiegs, Stewart started modeling as a teen. However, this pic looks like a candid snap rather than a work commitment, since three women appear to be cooking and enjoying each other's company.

Cheryl Tiegs and Farrah Fawcett's 1970s-era selves were immortalized on posters. For Tiegs, it was a pink bikini, while Fawcett's was a red-orange one-piece. The two women also attracted some comparisons in the media, including the 1978 Time article that chronicled Tiegs' career success. At the time, Tiegs' poster was just about to debut, and the magazine quoted Ted Trikilis, owner of Pro Arts, the company that made both posters. "Farrah is an 'incredibly sexy girl,' but Cheryl exudes that 'healthful, fresh, mysterious-girl-next-door image,'" Trikilis explained.

In real life, there was zero rivalry between the two women. Instead, Tiegs knew a good business decision when she saw one. After seeing Fawcett's poster, Tiegs decided to do one of her own. "Farrah and I were very good friends," Tiegs informed People in 2019, a decade after Fawcett's death. "She always had this dazzling smile, and she was always laughing and up for a good time." Back in the day, both Fawcett and Tiegs enjoyed hanging out at the iconic Studio 54. However, their bond extended way beyond partying. When she remembered her friend, Tiegs also noted that Fawcett was someone she could always count on in a difficult moment.

Alana Stewart was a bridge between Tiegs and Fawcett. After Fawcett died due to cancer, Stewart became president of her late friend's foundation. Since then, Tiegs has shown her support for both Stewart and Fawcett by attending the foundation's events.