Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Models Then & Now

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May 18, 2020 12:45PM EDT

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Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Models Then & Now

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Models Then & Now — So many stunning models have graced the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition over the years! The magazine first started featuring the issue back in the mid 1960s. Since then, it has only grown in popularity to the point where 2019 cover models were announced on ‘Good Morning America!’ One of the two models was Tyra Banks, who made history in 1997 as the first black woman to do a solo cover for the magazine’s issue.

A number of famous models either got their star or rose to wider acclaim from posing-up on the cover. Models like Christie Brinkley and Elle Macpherson have been on the cover more than once and models like Chrissy Teigen and Ashley Graham have been given the coveted spot in the last decade, catapulting them to super-stardom. Some models, like Christie, have even seen their children in the magazine. Sailor Brinkley Cook has appeared in the mag, but not yet on the cover. To see more models then and now who have appeared on the cover of the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated, check out the rest of the gallery!

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Christie Brinkley

Christie Brinkley — Christie Brinkley appeared on three covers of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She was the cover model for 1979, 1980, and 1981! She continues to model, and has passed down the gene to her daughter, Sailor Brinkley Cook!

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Paulina Porizkova

Paulina Porizkova — Paulina Porizkova appeared on the 1984 and 1985 covers of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition. She continues to model, showing off her fit figure even in her Instagram posts!

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Tyra Banks

Tyra Banks — Tyra Banks appeared on the 1996, 1997, and 2019 covers of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition. Although her 1996 cover was shared with Valeria Mazza, Tyra became the first women of color to be the first black woman on the cover.

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Chrissy Teigen

Chrissy Teigen — Chrissy Teigen appeared on the 2014 cover of Sports Illustrated along with Nina Agdal, Lily Aldridge and Kate Upton on the flipside cover. Chrissy is now the proud mother-of-two with husband John Legend.

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Rebecca Romijn

Rebecca Romijn — Rebecca Romijn appeared on the 1999 and 2006 covers of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition. She is an actress and has two kids with husband Jerry O’Connell

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Kate Upton

Kate Upton — Kate Upton appeared on the 2012, 2013, and 2017 covers of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition. She continues to model and is the proud mom to a daughter born in 2018.

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Elle Macpherson

Elle Macpherson — Elle Macpherson appeared on three consecutive covers of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition. She appeared on the cover from 1986-1988 and on two more covers in 1994 and 2006.

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Ashley Graham

Ashley Graham — Ashley Graham appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition in 2016. She welcomed her first child, a son, in 2020.

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Lily Aldridge

Lily Aldridge — Lily Aldridge appeared on the 2014 cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition along with Nina Agdal, Chrissy Teigen and Kate Upton on the flipside of the cover. She has continued to model.

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Irina Shayk

Irina Shayk — Irina Shayk appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue in 2011. She has since gone on to continue modeling and shares a daughter with actor and director Bradley Cooper.

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Brooklyn Decker

Brooklyn Decker — Brooklyn Decker appeared on the 2010 cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue. Since then, she has continued to model and even gotten into acting with appearances in ‘Grace & Frankie,’ ‘Ugly Betty,’ and ‘New Girl.’

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Bar Refaeli

Bar Refaeli — Bar Refaeli appeared on the 2009 cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue. In 2013, Forbes named her the highest paid model in Israel.

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Heidi Klum

Heidi Klum — Heidi Klum appeared on the cover of Sport’s Illustrated’s swimsuit issue in 1998. Since then, she’s gone from acting to hosting series like ‘Project Runway,’ and appearing as a judge on ‘America’s Got Talent!’

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Elsa Benítez

Elsa Benítez — Elsa Benítez appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue in 2001. She has since grown in international fame.

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Petra Nemcova

Petra Nemcova — Petra Nemcova appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in 2003. She has since modeled for Elle, Shape, Cosmopolitan, and many more!

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Hailey Clauson

Hailey Clauson — Hailey Clauson appeared on the cover of the 2016 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, sharing covers with Ashley Graham and Ronda Rousey. She’s had so much success in her career as a sought-after model!

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