Sports Illustrated Makes History With Its 2016 Cover Models: Ashley Graham, Hailey Clauson, and Ronda Rousey
What a time to be alive! It’s 2016 and Sports Illustrated is making history — in more ways that one. For the magazine’s annual swimsuit edition, the publication has blessed readers with not just one significant cover, but three for the first time ever, featuring beautiful shots of Ashley Graham, Hailey Clauson, and Ronda Rousey.
“The three covers of Hailey, Ronda and Ashley celebrate the new SI Swimsuit,” MJ Day, assistant managing editor said of the women and the magazine’s decision to choose them. “All three women are beautiful, sexy and strong. Beauty is not cookie cutter. Beauty is not ‘one size fits all.’ Beauty is all around us and that became especially obvious to me while shooting and editing this year’s issue."
Photo: James Macari, Courtesy of Sports Illustrated
The decision to choose Graham, who had an epic 2015 as one of the most prominent plus-size faces in the modeling industry and as a body-positive advocate, to grace the front page is especially powerful. She was selected as a Rookie for 2016 (which was celebrated when her inclusion was announced last week) and is the first curvy woman to be bestowed the cover honor. She also appears in an ad for swimsuitsforall in addition to her spread. “It’s official - I’m a @si_swimsuit model!!” the 28-year-old wrote on Instagram. “This is a dream come true. Thank you to everyone who stood up for curves- our voices were heard and together we can help me win Rookie of the Year.”
Photo: Frederic Pinet, Courtesy of Sports Illustrated
As for Rousey, she’s not the first celebrity to get selected for the cover (remember Beyoncé’s cover in 2007 — of course you do, it’s unforgettable!), but she’s definitely the first athlete. It’s actually hard to believe that Sports Illustrated hasn’t selected a female sports superstar in the past, but Rousey, MMA fighter, was certainly a perfect choice to break ground. (For 2017, consider the entire women’s World Cup soccer team, Serena Williams, Skylar Diggns, etc.). As the magazine put it, she’s a cultural phenomenon and “the perfect combination of beauty, brains, brawn and humility. She possesses a spirit bigger than the space around her, and it is both infectious and inspiring. She’s a Phoenix, as fiery and beautiful as any mythical creature ever depicted.” Rousey also breaks the mold by not wearing an actual swimsuit. Instead she appears to be covered in intricately applied body paint.
Photo: James Macari, Courtesy of Sports Illustrated
And of course, the magazine, which is famous for catapulting little-known models to celebrity status in seconds (think Kate Upton, Hannah Davis, Chrissy Teigen, Brooklyn Decker, the list goes on and on), chose a woman who’s the “definition of a modern bombshell” to appear on a cover as well: Hailey Clauson. The 20-year-old American model is your typical California girl, showing off her beach blonde waves and crisp tan on the cover in just a skimpy bathing suit bottom.
As for the rest of the women in the magazine, you’ll just have to buy the 2016 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue when it hits newsstands on Monday, Feb. 15. Until then, there’s plenty to ogle over.
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