We immediately picture attractive people posing on a beach for a living when we hear the term Swimsuit models. However, in our fashion industry, many models don’t only work as swimwear models. Many of them are actors, teachers, athletes, and Instagram sensations, with flawless bodies and sizes, which they flaunt in swimwear. Here we have listed the hottest sports illustrated swimsuit models of all time.
These top models astonish the world with their attractive beauty. We have recently ranked the hottest gymnast of all time. Besides, we have also ranked the hottest tennis players and the hottest female golfers as well. But yes, this saga will remain incomplete without mentioning these super-hot Sports Illustrated swimsuit models. So, check this out!
10. Elle Macpherson
Model, entrepreneur, TV host, and actress Eleanor Nancy Macpherson was born on 29 March 1964. She is known as “The Body” by Time magazine because she appeared five times on Sports Illustrated swimsuit model covers starting in the 1980s. She also won the title of one of the sexiest SI models.
Elle Macpherson is the founder, primary model, and creative director for a variety of business endeavors, including Elle Macpherson Intimates, a lingerie collection, and The Body, a skincare collection.
9. Tyra Banks
A TV personality, model, businesswoman, producer, actress, and writer, Tyra Lynne Banks, was born on 4 December, 1973. She is also known as BanX. She became a model at the age of 15 after growing up in Inglewood, California.
Her appearances on the cover of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models cover Issue, in which she appeared three times, made her the first black woman to be featured in either publication. During her time as a Victoria’s Secret Angel, she received numerous awards and honors.
8. Heidi Klum
German-American supermodel Heidi Klum is another multi-timer on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover. Her first solo cover in 1998 gained international recognition thanks to her signing as a Victoria’s Secret Angel in 1997 – it didn’t get better than that in the Nineties!
7. Megan Thee Stallion
Megan Thee Stallion holds the record as the first female rapper to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.
“I think they are on the forefront when it comes to diversity and inclusion because they do not fear change, they lean into it,” Megan says. “They see the world and have it reflect on the cover and pages inside. That is why they have been so successful.”
6. Ashley Graham
Ashley Graham became the first plus-size model in Sports Illustrated in 2016, sparking a lot of controversies. The now 34-year-old model posed in an indigo bikini with orange strings flaunting her voluptuous body. SI Swimsuit alum Cheryl Tiegs came under fire for criticizing her cover, saying that her waist was too wide to be featured as an SI model. Graham has since become an advocate for body positivity, featured in music videos, judged on America’s Next Top Model, and book author.
5. Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter
We can’t talk about 001 without mentioning 002, and that’s why Beyoncé’s 2007 cover makes this list. The now 40-year-old multi-award-winning pop star has permanently carved a place for herself in the entertainment world. She’s the definition of a triple threat, and even back then, it was apparent she would go places.
4. Christie Brinkley
1979, 1980, and 1981, model Christie Brinkley appeared in three consecutive Sports Illustrated covers – an unprecedented feat, and even now! The retired supermodel has become a business mogul and New York Best-Selling Author.
3. Kathy Ireland
Kathy Ireland is Sports Illustrated royalty because she’s appeared in the magazine 13 times more than any other person! Not only that, but Ireland’s 25th-anniversary issue of 1989 is the highest-selling SI Magazine of all time! It featured the model in a wet look sitting on a rock with water droplets sliding off her body and her brown-black hair sleeked back from moisture.
She wore a bright yellow bikini consisting of a sleeveless top and matching bottoms without any jewelry pieces. In 1994, the model joined Elle MacPherson and Rachel Hunter in a triple cover issue becoming the first pregnant model on the cover (with Hunter).
2. Bar Refaeli
In 2009, Bar Refaeli made her first appearance on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue before covering six more issues. Her first cover showed her wearing a two-toned bikini with a triangle top that flaunted her full cleavage and her toned abs leading to her bare pelvis through the tugged-down bottoms. The Israeli model also had a small postcard picture on the side where she posed topless.
1. Irina Shayk
Still talking about firsts, Russian Model Irina Shayk became the first from her country to grace the coveted Sports Illustrated Cover in 2011. This cover launched her into international stardom, making her one of the top models in the industry. The now 36-year-old is a one-time cover star but ten-time SI Swimsuit model. She wore a two-toned pink and yellow bikini while kneeling on the beach in Hawaii.