Every Celebrity Mom in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
What began in the 1960s as an appeal to the male gaze has transformed into something much more uplifting, empowering, and women-focused in the six decades since. The annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue (and the publication as a whole) is no longer about simply providing men with pretty women to look at — it’s about celebrating women of all walks of life, and the idea that they can pursue and achieve anything they desire while looking phenomenal, mothers included.
Sharina Gutierrez, a 2024 rookie, tells SheKnows exclusively when launching her Mama Mantra Mind Full Dining Sets that she loved being surrounded by such an empowered and supportive group of women.
“[SI has] given me as a community to lean on,” she says. “And what I’ve realized is it’s a sisterhood.”
The 2024 rookies were announced earlier this year, and the cover stars will be announced in May. Last year, the cover stars were Martha Stewart, Megan Fox, Kim Petras, and Brooks Nader — among 24 additional models making appearances across the issue’s pages. Sports Illustrated Swimsuit editor-in-chief M.J. Day explained at the time, “There is no theme — rather, there is a vision, a sentiment, a hope that women can live in a world where they feel no limitations, internally or externally.” She added, “But the absence of a theme is not to say that [these women] don’t share certain common traits. They’re constantly evolving.”
Stewart, for her part, blew up any idea that women can’t look or feel good once they reach a certain age with her jaw-droppingly gorgeous cover photos. The 81-year-old lifestyle maven told the magazine, “When I heard that I was going to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, I thought, ‘Oh, that’s pretty good, I’m going to be the oldest person I think ever on a cover of Sports Illustrated.’ And I don’t think about age very much, but I thought that this is kind of historic,” she shared. Historic, badass, completely amazing — yes indeed.
And Stewart isn’t the only SI model making history. Nicole Williams English was one of 28 models for the 2023 issue, and she just happened to be 7 months pregnant at the time of her photoshoot — making her only the second woman to shoot for SI while carrying a child, after Katrina Scott made history as the first to do so in 2022.
Williams English told the magazine, “The fact that I’m actually a rookie and shooting while pregnant, it’s just really cool to know that my baby girl is going through this with me and that one day she’s gonna look back and see all these photos and know that she was shooting for SI with mama.”
To see which celebrity mamas have graced the illustrious pages of Sports Illustrated Swimwear, scroll on.
More from SheKnows
Best of SheKnows
Sharina Gutierrez
Model Sharina Gutierrez is a determined mother of three. After 10 years of waiting to get a call from Sports Illustrated, she decided to take things into her own hands, submitting a personal video where she told the editors all about her journey as a model, a businesswoman, and a mom.
It was with that video — in which she didn’t show her body at all — that she became a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue rookie.
That, and her commitment to mantras and manifesting the accomplishment. Gutierrez tells SheKnows exclusively that mantras are a huge part of her and her family’s routine, calling them the “cheat codes to life.”
“‘[We would say], ‘Thank you God and the universe for letting mom be the next Sports Illustrated rookie,’” she tells us. “And it wasn’t even announced yet. And every day we were doing this together as a team.”
“…It’s so important to teach our children at a young age that what they say to themselves is what they attract in life,” she continues. “I wish that I would have learned that growing up.”
And so she wants to help other families do just that. Gutierrez launched Mama Mantra, an online destination for families to learn about incorporating mantras into their lives, to find ways to form meaningful connections with one another, and shop mantra-driven products that act as the “perfect reset button.”
“Just because you became a mother, that shouldn’t be the reason why you should stop reaching for those stars,” she says. “Empower yourself with these mantras and affirmations every day. And basically be your best cheerleader, because there’s no one in the world that can be a greater cheerleader for you than yourself and your child.”
Chrissy Teigen
In 2024, Chrissy Teigen was photographed for her ninth SI Swimsuit Issue appearance. She has been on the cover of the 50th-anniversary edition and now the 60th-anniversary edition too. In between the two milestone issues, the TV personality welcomed four kids — Luna, Miles, Esti, and Wren — with husband John Legend.
“It feels like I’ve lived 800 different lifetimes since the first shoot we did, and I love that all the pictures and everything we’ve done throughout the years [are] like chapters in a book,” Teigen said after her 2024 shoot.
Hunter McGrady
Hunter McGrady has graced the pages of SI Swimsuit many times and, about eight months after welcoming a baby girl in March 2023, she posed for the 2024 cover.
“I was just like, ‘I want my daughter to see this one day. I want the next generation to see this. I want our generation to see this,'” the mom of two told People. “… [Your body is] very different when you have kids. I have tons more stretch marks and things are a lot softer and there’s a lot more cellulite, but that’s okay.”
Gayle King
Emmy Award-winning journalist Gayle King made her SI Swimsuit Issue debut as a cover star in 2024.
“I would have never thought this was possible,” the mom of two and grandma to one granddaughter told the outle. “This was nowhere on my bucket list. So I’m thinking maybe it was a dream that I didn’t even know I wanted because now that I’m here, I want it bad.”
Kate Upton
Kate Upton has been on the cover of this famed issue not one, not two, but three times.
But, per People, the supermodel would tell you motherhood is her greatest accomplishment. “She melts my heart,” Upton said of her daughter Genevieve “Vivi” who she shares with baseball player Justin Verlander. “I’m so obsessed with her.”
Brittany Mahomes
Brittany Mahomes nearly broke the internet in Feb. 2024 with the stunning photos that dubbed her an SI Swimsuit rookie just days before her husband Patrick Mahomes played in the Super Bowl. The co-owner of the Kansas City Current shares two kids — Sterling and Bronze — with the NFL quarterback.
Brittany told SI that motherhood is the “best thing that’s ever happened to her.”
Nina Cash
Model Nina Cash was also named a rookie in 2024 at age 57. The mom of three and grandma started going gray in her mid-20s when she was pregnant with her daughter Harrison. Though the former university dean dyed her hair for many years, she stopped in 2019 and has since embraced her mantras of “Gone gray and still slay” and “Slay the gray.” Well, she certainly slayed in her beautiful photoshoot.
Katrina Scott
Katrina Scott made history in 2022 when she became the first visibly pregnant person to appear in an issue of Sports Illustrated. It was a really profound moment for the fitness personality, who told the magazine, “It’s so crazy because I feel like I’ve been on my fertility journey while being part of the Sports Illustrated family.”
She explained, “They have been there for me through all the ups and downs. When I first had a miscarriage, the whole team at SI sent the most beautiful arrangement and checked in on me. Then when I walked the runway [for SI], I was doing my IVF treatments. And then I was asked to be back in the publication, but pregnant. This is really an SI Swimsuit baby!”
Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart became the oldest model to grace the pages of SI in 2023 at 81 years old — and she looks stunning as ever thanks to her extensive prep for the shoot, which she casually chalks up as nothing more than “good living.” Stewart is not only a mother but also a grandmother, making her cover appearance that much more iconic.
Megan Fox
Megan Fox also appeared as a cover model for SI’s 2023 Swimsuit edition, and the mom of three looks sexy as ever in a variety of skin-baring pieces. The actress actually opened up about motherhood during an interview with Kourtney Kardashian for her SI cover, and she explained why she no longer shares anything about her kids on social media.
“I’m really proud of my kids,” Fox began. “One is like a concert pianist, an amazing artist. And I would love for people to see that. But the first time I shared anything of them, it became this huge news story, because Noah and Bodhi both had long hair. And for whatever reason — even though it was 2018 — it was such a big deal,” she recalled.
“There was a discussion about if I was trying to feminize them or shape their sexuality. And it was such an unnerving, upsetting feeling because I was just posting a gorgeous picture of my beautiful, free, happy children,” Fox said.
Melissa Wood-Tepperberg
A mogul in the health and wellness space — and a mom of two — Melissa Wood-Tepperberg appeared among the group of SI Swimsuit models in 2023.
Padma Lakshmi
As of 2023, Padma Lakshmi can add Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model to her impressive resume — which includes being a mom of one.
Nicole Williams English
Following in Katrina Scott’s footsteps, Nicole Williams English appeared as a Sports Illustrated model while pregnant for the magazine’s 2023 edition. In fact, the appearance marks her debut with the prestigious publication — at seven months pregnant, no less.
Williams English told SI, “The fact that I’m actually a rookie and shooting while pregnant, it’s just really cool to know that my baby girl is going through this with me and that one day she’s gonna look back and see all these photos and know that she was shooting for SI with mama.” As of the 2023 release, she and Scott are the only women to have shot for the magazine while pregnant.
Maye Musk
Prior to Martha Stewart’s appearance, Maye Musk made history as the oldest SI Swimsuit cover model in 2022 at 74 years old. Musk has three children, including the controversial business tycoon Elon Musk.
Ciara
Ciara joined Musk as one of four Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover models in 2022. The mom of three welcomed her third child in 2020 with NFL husband Russell Wilson.
Kim Kardashian
Joining Ciara and Musk as one of 2022’s cover stars, mom of four Kim Kardashian made her first appearance as a SI Swimsuit model. Kardashian told Sports Illustrated she “never thought in a million years” she’d be shooting a cover for the magazine, especially in her 40s — but her age makes it all the more iconic.
Tyra Banks
Three years after welcoming her son via surrogate in 2016, Tyra Banks appeared on the cover of SI Swimsuit for the third time in 2019. The supermodel made history with her 1996 appearance alongside Valeria Mazza as the first Black model to have appeared on the magazine’s cover. A year later, Banks starred as SI’s cover model again — solo this time — making her the first Black model to do so.
Elle Macpherson
After gracing the cover in 1986, ’87, ’88, and ’94, Elle Macpherson returned as a SI Swimsuit model in 2006 following the arrival of her two sons. To date, the supermodel is credited with the most appearances on the magazine’s cover by any one model.
Pin It!
Solve the daily Crossword
