SUPERMODEL Christie Brinkley is at the centre of a tax scandal after officials in the US applied to recover $531,000 in unpaid taxes from her - and it seems Brinkley knew nothing about it.

"Christie Brinkley was surprised to hear today that a tax lien had been filed," a spokeswoman for the supermodel said today, "and has instructed her team to resolve the matter immediately."

Brinkley - who is reportedly worth in excess of $80 million thanks to an impressive property portfolio, largely in the Hamptons, New York - divorced fourth husband Peter Cook in 2008 and has recently turned her hand to singing and acting, with a part as Roxie Hart in Chicago on Broadway and in London's West End.

YOU SHOULD SEE: Brinkley's London stage debut...

YOU SHOULD SEE: How Brinkley keeps her incredible figure as she nears 60...