‘Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’ Issue Covers Through the Years

Credit: Sports Illustrated

'Sports Illustrated Swimsuit' Issue Covers Through the Years

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue is arguably the most iconic magazine franchise cover of all time — not to mention the sexiest! The first SI Swimsuit issue was in 1964 — that’s right, more than 50 years ago — and featured German-born model Babette March in a white bandeau top and boyshort bottoms. Landing the cover of the issue has been known to launch models’ careers or send them to the next stratosphere. Tyra Banks, Christie Brinkley, Paulina Porizkova (who was just 18 for her first cover), Elle MacPherson, Kathy Ireland, Heidi Klum, Rebecca Romijn, Bar Refaeli, Irina Shayk, Kate Upton, Chrissy Teigen and Ashley Graham have all shown off their amazing bodies with cut abs, lean legs and toned arms on the cover. Even singer Beyoncé appeared in a sandy 2007 shoot. And it can be a body-positive honor to bare all on a tropical beach set. As Upton said when she returned to the cover in 2017, six years after her debut, "I was very excited… to be back in the issue. Especially when this year's theme is about every woman of every age and every body type being accepted. It was inspiring to be asked to be a part of that issue.” The star continued, “Those are the campaigns I want to do and the career I want to have — to inspire women to love themselves. That’s a balance of working hard and eating healthy but also enjoying life and having cheat days and for the emphasis not to be on the ideal perfect body." Looking through the decades of covers, it’s also fun to see how swim fashion has changed. Among the styles Sports Illustrated has photographed: string bikinis, one-piece cutout suits, string bikinis, sarongs, sweaters (yup, check out Cheryl Tiegs in 1970!), sarongs, high-cut legs, plunging tops, topless looks, tankinis, floppy beach hats, monokinis, crop top t-shirts, crocheted looks, necklaces as tops, parkas, nearly bottomless pics and even just paint! Scroll through to see every Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover that has ever existed!

Credit: Sports Illustrated

'Sports Illustrated Swimsuit' Issue Covers Through the Years

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue is arguably the most iconic magazine franchise cover of all time — not to mention the sexiest! The first SI Swimsuit issue was in 1964 — that’s right, more than 50 years ago — and featured German-born model Babette March in a white bandeau top and boyshort bottoms. Landing the cover of the issue has been known to launch models’ careers or send them to the next stratosphere. Tyra Banks, Christie Brinkley, Paulina Porizkova (who was just 18 for her first cover), Elle MacPherson, Kathy Ireland, Heidi Klum, Rebecca Romijn, Bar Refaeli, Irina Shayk, Kate Upton, Chrissy Teigen and Ashley Graham have all shown off their amazing bodies with cut abs, lean legs and toned arms on the cover. Even singer Beyoncé appeared in a sandy 2007 shoot. And it can be a body-positive honor to bare all on a tropical beach set. As Upton said when she returned to the cover in 2017, six years after her debut, "I was very excited… to be back in the issue. Especially when this year's theme is about every woman of every age and every body type being accepted. It was inspiring to be asked to be a part of that issue.” The star continued, “Those are the campaigns I want to do and the career I want to have — to inspire women to love themselves. That’s a balance of working hard and eating healthy but also enjoying life and having cheat days and for the emphasis not to be on the ideal perfect body." Looking through the decades of covers, it’s also fun to see how swim fashion has changed. Among the styles Sports Illustrated has photographed: string bikinis, one-piece cutout suits, string bikinis, sarongs, sweaters (yup, check out Cheryl Tiegs in 1970!), sarongs, high-cut legs, plunging tops, topless looks, tankinis, floppy beach hats, monokinis, crop top t-shirts, crocheted looks, necklaces as tops, parkas, nearly bottomless pics and even just paint! Scroll through to see every Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover that has ever existed!

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2020

Iconic! The magazine featured not one but three women on the cover, including Jasmine Sanders, Olivia Culpo and Kate Bock. For the first time ever, it's selling four different collectible covers, including this breathtaking group shot and one for each supermodel.

Credit: Laretta Houston/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

2019

Tyra Banks is back again! The beauty, who was the first black woman to appear on the cover in 1996 and the first woman of color to appear solo on the cover in 1997, returned to the iconic mag for the third time at the age of 45.

Credit: Ben Watts/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

2018

Just one year after being part of Sports Illustrated’s “rookie” class of 2017, model Danielle Herrington became the third black woman to appear on the Swimsuit issue’s cover.

Credit: Yu Tsai/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

2017

Baring all. Kate Upton landed the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue for the third time in 2017. She was named Rookie of the Year in 2011.

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2017

Kate Upton shines on one of three covers in white bikini bottoms and an embellished jacket for Sports Illustrated's 2017 swimsuit edition. 

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2017

Kate Upton goes nearly naked on one of three covers for Sports Illustrated's 2017 swimsuit edition. 

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2016

Ashley Graham made history as the first plus-size model to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit special. 

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2016

Fighter Ronda Rousey was a total knockout in a painted-on suit — literally — for the 2016 issue.

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2016

Hailey Clauson rounded out the trio of cover girls for the 2016 edition, posing in nothing but a teeny bikini bottom and a multi-strand necklace.

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2015

Hannah Davis graced the cover in a teeny string bikini, with the bottoms pulled down teasingly. The pose was so steamy, some critics deemed it "pornographic," but the model just brushed off the haters. "The fact is, you can't see anything!" she told Rolling Stone.

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2014

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the annual issue, three models (in neon bottoms and no tops) shared the cover: Lily Aldridge, Chrissy Teigen and Nina Agdal.

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2013

For the "polar bare" cover theme, Upton shot her second Sports Illustrated cover in Antarctica. Naturally she donned her bikini bottoms with an unzipped winter coat.

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2012

Bodacious bombshell Upton kept things simple for her first SI cover, wearing a barely there black and red ombre two-piece and a mischievous smile.

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2011

Irina Shayk flaunted her assets (and perfect beach hair!) while rocking a raspberry and lemon suit for the 2011 cover, shot in Maui.

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2010

Labeled "a perfect '10" on the cover (#puns), Brooklyn Decker sizzled in a bright yellow bikini, though she opted to sling the top over one of her shoulders.

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2009

Before Davis nearly flashed Us in 2015, Bar Refaeli (Leonardo DiCaprio was her arm candy at the time) played the ol' shimmy-down-your-bikini-bottoms game in front of a bright blue sea on Canouan Island.

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2008

Snapped on the island of St. John, Marisa Miller's idea of a bikini top was an aquamarine statement necklace on 2008's cover. 

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2007

The queen! Between "Crazy in Love" and "Single Ladies," Beyonce took some time out to pose for the 2007 cover in a sherbet-hued swimsuit.

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2006

The 2006 issue featured an "All-Star SI Cover Model Beach Party," with eight of the greats — Veronica Varekova, Elle Macpherson, Rebecca Romijn, Rachel Hunter, Daniela Pestova, Elsa Benitz, Carolyn Murphy and Yamila Diaz-Rahi — posing together in white bikini bottoms and nothing else.

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2005

For her cover, Carolyn Murphy modeled a cheery-red bikini (with undone straps, natch) in the Bahamas.

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2004

For her SI cover, Czech model Veronika Vařeková bit her finger and posed topless.

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2003

Petra Němcová playfully held the untied strings of her crochet bikini bottom.

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2002

Flaunting her assets! Argintina-born Yamila Diaz-Rahi put her cleavage on display in a push-up style suit, accessorizing with statement beads and a metallic bangle.

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2001

Mexico native Elsa Benítez embodied the cover line "Goddesses of the Mediterranean" with her bronzed skin and string bikini (and her beachy waves, of course).

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2000

Necklaces as tops? Par for the course for swimsuit issue cover stars. Czech-born Daniela Peštová kept a modest cover with the multi-strand, beaded green piece, paired with metallic bottoms in the 3D edition (that came with glasses included).

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1999

Armed and ready! Rebecca Romijn put her killer abs front and center in a chainmail-inspired silver suit that was playfully sheer. 

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1998

Who says the cover star needs to be bikini-clad? Heidi Klum rocked a black and white crochet one-piece suit for her 1998 gig, and her only SI swimsuit cover.

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1997

Hey, Tyra! Banks covered Sports Illustrated solo for the second year in a row in a teeny tiny polkadot bikini. 

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1996

Cat's out of the bag! Tyra Banks, as the first African American model to grace the cover, and Valeria Mazza were twice as nice in matching leopard-print two-pieces.

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1995

Daniela Peštová took to Bermuda to show off her rock hard abs in a striped metallic T-shirt and matching shiny string bikini bottoms.

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1994

Three's company! Kathy Ireland and Rachel Hunter (who were both pregnant at the time) posed with four-time cover star Elle Macpherson in matching black bikinis for the 1994 swimsuit issue.  

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1993

Vendela Kirsebom modeled an extreme cutout monokini in a metallic hue and statement earrings for her shoot in the Florida Keys.

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1992

Kathy Ireland — who was featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue for 13 consecutive years starting with 1984 — worked her assets in a pink two-piece on Lanzarote, one of Spain's Canary Islands.

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1991

Ashley Montana jetted to Caicos to pose in this surprisingly modest — yet still sexy — white one-piece, accessorized with a matching over-sized hat.

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1990

Beauty and the beach! Judit Masco slipped into a yellow tankini for her stroll in the sand in the Grenadines. 

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1989

Ireland graced the 25th anniversary issue in a sunshine-hued two-piece while taking a dip in Mexico's Pacific coastline.

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1988

Elle Macpherson stood in Thailand's Phang Nga Bay while clad in a gunmetal swimsuit, which, thanks to the model's daring pose, boasted a deep V-neckline.

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1987

This teeny green swimsuit (with some vintage rhinestone goodness!) barely covered Macpherson's breasts during the 1987 shoot, snapped in the Dominican Republic.

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1986

In 1986, Macpherson looked effortlessly glam, basking in the Bora Bora sunshine while holding onto her blue one-piece's barely there straps.

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1985

For her second cover — her first was the year before — Paulina Porizkova worked a teeny teal bikini on an exotic sandy beach near Australia's Shark Bay.

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1984

At just 18, Porizkova became the first woman from Central Europe to score the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and she didn't disappoint! The Czech-born beauty posed in a plunging pink swimsuit in Aruba.

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1983

Cheryl Tiegs modeled a white, lace-accented one-piece while posing next to a waterfall in Jamaica.

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1982

Carol Alt posed pretty in a coral swimsuit while standing in front of the Kenya coast.

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1981

An SI favorite, Christie Brinkley donned a purple bandeau bikini with faux-distressed accents for her Floridian shoot.

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1980

Brinkley hit the British Virgin Islands in a white triangle-top two-piece with a barely there string bottom, made even more sizzling by the addition of a cutout.

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1979

Working it in the Seychelles, Brinkley slipped into a strategically embellished lace one-piece.

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1978

Maria Joao modeled a plunging red swimsuit with tie accents on the shores of Bahia, Brazil.

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1977

Lena Kansbod rocked a striped halter suit while laughing it up (with a slightly uncooperative beach chair) in Maui.

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1976

Swedish twins Yvette and Yvonne Sylvander took a dip in Baja, Mexico, in complementary rainbow ombre swimsuits.

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1975

Cheryl Tiegs rocked a green and yellow bikini to show off Cancún, which at the time was hailed as "Mexico's splashy new resort."

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1974

Ann Simonton posed wearing a blue halter suit and a smile while in front of an unidentified, but glistening shoreline.

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1973

Long before she authored Ageless Beauty: A Woman’s Guide to Lifelong Beauty and Well-Being, Dayle Haddon appeared on the cover, shot in the Bahamas.

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1972

Ahoy! Sheila Roscoe, who had only modeled for one year before landing the SI shoot, perched on a boat in Marina del Rey. 

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1971

Tannia Rubiano strolled along the beaches of the Dominican Republic in a red sarong. 

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1970

Aloha! More than three decades before being inducted into the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue’s Hall of Fame, Cheryl Tiegs made her first of three appearances on the cover. 

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1969

Bienvenido a Puerto Rico! Jamee Becker, clad in a color blocked bikini top and coordinating skirt, layered rope necklaces and bracelets on her upper arms. 

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1968

French model Turia Mau headed to French Polynesia for the issue that featured the cover line, “The South Pacific: New Vacation Frontier.”

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1967

The issue headed inland to Arizona for the year’s cover starring model and actress Marilyn Tindall.

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1966

Although she was known to be a good sport on shoots (even trekking into swamps and jumping out of planes!), Sunny Bippus had an easier job for this cover: relaxing on the Bahamian beaches. 

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1965

All-American beauty! Sue Peterson modeled a belted monokini in the Baja California-set cover. 

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1964

For the inaugural issue (shot in Cozumel), Sports Illustrated tapped one of the highest paid models of the time, German-born Babette March.