Sports Illustrated’s most iconic models, from Kate Upton to Olivia Dunne, with fears magazine on brink of closing down
SPORTS Illustrated's Swimsuit issue is one of the most iconic magazines in the world.
Launching the modeling careers of the likes of Ashley Graham and Kate Upton, SI Swimsuit has become a billion-dollar business far greater than the sports magazine that spawned it.
But the future of SI Swimsuit is now in severe doubt with news that the entire staff of Sports Illustrated's print and online publication had been notified that their jobs were being eliminated.
SI Swimsuit began as a five-page supplement in 1964 as the brainchild of editor Andre Laguerre, who was looking to make the magazine more noticeable during the slow winter months.
The first cover star was German model Babette March, who wore a modest white bandeau top and boy-short bottoms.
After growing in popularity, it became a stand-alone issue, separate from the then weekly magazine in 1997.
At its peak, the swimsuit issue sold more than one million copies on newsstands and brought in an estimated $35million in ad sales.
Here is a look at some of the sexiest women who have appeared in SI Swimsuit from supermodels to world champion athletes.
Olivia Dunne
The college gymnastics star cemented her celebrity status by gracing Sports Illustrated Swimsuit's edition last year.
Dunne wowed fans when she wore a number of bikinis and swimsuits as she hit the beach for a photo shoot in Puerto Rico.
Most read in Sport
The social media sensation said it was a "dream come true" to appear in Sports Illustrated.
Dunne has continued her rapid rise in the modeling world by grace the pages of the magazine again in 2024.
"Coming back for Year 2, I mean, last year I said it was a dream come true, and nothing’s changed," she told SI of her second photoshoot.
"It’s still a dream come true. I can’t believe I can call myself a rookie. It feels unreal."
Dunne said appearing in the magazine has completely changed her life.
"Ever since my last SI shoot, I feel like it just opened a bunch of new doors into the modeling world and media world," she added.
"I announced at the ESPYs, I worked with new magazine brands, and it’s just been really cool."
Kate Upton
The three-time cover girl is one of SI Swimsuit's most celebrated models.
Kate made her magazine debut in 2011, when she was named Rookie of the Year.
She earned back-to-back covers immediately following her debut, in 2012 and 2013, before going on to land her third cover in 2017.
“To me, it means so much because I grew up looking at all the Sports Illustrated models and admiring all of them being from a sports fanatic family,” she said after her 2012 cover.
“I know how everyone talks about how it’s such a boost to your career, but it means a lot to me personally."
Kate's photoshoot in Antarctica in 2013 proved a shock to the system.
“When you think you’re going for a Sports Illustrated shoot, you think beach — sometimes it can be chilly and there’s going to be wind, but when you know you’re going to Antarctica, you know you’re going to be freezing and half naked,” Kate said.
"And I was very nervous because I grew up in Florida and I don’t do well in the snow when I’m fully dressed.”
Hannah Davis
In 2015, SI Swimsuit Issue attracted controversy when a racy shot of model Hannah Davis tugging down her skimpy bikini bottoms in 2015 was dubbed overly-suggestive by critics.
Both ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today censored the cover in order to show it on television.
But Hannah, then 24, defended the cover shot and called the controversy overblown.
"There's controversy every year, so I think it's kind of just silly that they're making it out to be the big thing; I mean it's the swimsuit issue," she said.
"There are far more scandalous pictures in the magazine if you open it up. It's a girl in a bikini, and I think it's empowering.
"I've been hearing it's degrading. I think the people who are saying that aren't feminists, because I think when you're a woman and you look at that picture and if you overanalyze it as anything more than just a full picture, it's just silly to me."
Hannah is now married to baseball icon Derek Jeter.
Ashley Graham
When Ashley became SI Swimsuit's first plus-size model in 2016, it was applauded by many in the fashion industry.
The high-profile move secured the model a seat on the judging panel of America’s Next Top Model and took her career to a new level.
“I thought Sports Illustrated was taking a risk by putting a girl my size in the pages," Ashley told People.
“But putting me on the cover? They aren’t just breaking barriers; they are the standard now. This is beyond epic.”
Three-times cover model Cheryl Tiegs was not a fan, though.
“I don’t like that we’re talking about full-figured women because it’s glamorising them, because your waist should be smaller than 35 inches," Tiegs said controversially.
“Her face is beautiful but I don’t think it’s healthy in the long run.”
Martha Stewart
The entrepreneur and best-selling author made history last year by becoming the oldest cover model in the publication’s history aged 81.
The veteran TV personality was one of four cover models for the 2023 SI Swimsuit issue.
"Actually this was a rather large challenge. I had to make sure I was ready to pose in a bathing suit," Martha told the New York Times.
"It took a bit of vanity but also a bit of confidence. I thought, 'If I’m feeling good enough physically and mentally to do such a thing, I’m up for it'."
Martha did Pilates three times a week for two months to prepare for the shoot and also went to a tanning booth for the first time in her life.
"I had to wear nine different bathing suits. All these people were prodding me and talking about 'the girls'," she added.
"I have never called my breasts 'the girls' in my life. I hate stuff like that.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"The whole time, these people were nudging, 'Poke this out, push that in.' I had to put up with that for eight hours."
First Take host Stephen A. Smith sent Martha a flirty message after her cover shoot, saying: "Ladies, none of y'all are beyond your prime. All y'all got it going on."