Honestly, it’s wild to think about how much a magazine about sports changed the way people look at summer. Back in 1964, it was just a way to fill the "slow" winter months in the sports calendar. Andre Laguerre, the editor at the time, basically needed something to put in the magazine because there wasn't much going on in February. He asked fashion reporter Jule Campbell to go find a beautiful girl and put her on a beach. That was it. That first cover featured Babette March in a white bikini in Cozumel, Mexico. It was simple. It was almost accidental. But that one decision birthed the legacy of sports illustrated swimsuit covers by year, a tradition that has outlived most of the actual sports magazines from that era.
The evolution isn't just about fashion. It's about culture. You can look at the covers from the 70s and see the shift into "supermodel" territory, or the 90s when the models became bigger celebrities than the athletes themselves. It’s a timeline of what society found beautiful, controversial, or "bold" at any given moment.
The Early Years: 1964 to 1979
For the first decade, the covers were pretty tame by today's standards. They were mostly about the travel and the vibe. Cheryl Tiegs changed the game in the 70s. If you grew up then, or even if you're just a student of pop culture, you know the 1978 pink mesh suit. It was a scandal. It was also a massive hit. Tiegs was the first real "face" of the franchise, appearing on multiple covers and proving that the public didn't just want to see a pretty girl; they wanted to know who she was.
Christie Brinkley followed right after, pulling off a "three-peat" from 1979 to 1981. This was the era of the "California Girl" aesthetic—blonde, tanned, and athletic. It fit the SI brand perfectly because, at its core, it was still a sports magazine. These women looked like they could actually swim or play volleyball. They weren't just posing; they were living.
The Supermodel Explosion of the 80s and 90s
By the time the 1980s rolled around, the Swimsuit Issue was a certified juggernaut. It started making more money than the rest of the year’s issues combined. Elle Macpherson earned the nickname "The Body" because she was on the cover five times. Think about that. Five times. 1986, 1987, 1988, 1994, and 2006. It’s a record that still stands.
Then the 90s hit, and things got flashy. This was the decade of Kathy Ireland and Tyra Banks. In 1997, Tyra Banks became the first Black woman to grace the cover alone. It was a massive cultural moment that people still talk about today. It broke the "blonde beach girl" mold that had dominated sports illustrated swimsuit covers by year for decades.
The 90s also gave us the 1996 "25th Anniversary" cover, which was a huge deal. It featured icons like Tiegs, Brinkley, and Macpherson all together. It felt like a victory lap. At this point, being on the cover of SI was basically the equivalent of winning an Oscar for a model. It meant you had arrived.
💡 You might also like: Is Steven Weber Leaving Chicago Med? What Really Happened With Dean Archer
When the Athletes Took Over
In the early 2000s, the editors realized something: people liked the models, but they loved the athletes. We started seeing women like Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Danica Patrick in the pages, but the real shift happened when athletes started taking the cover spot.
Ronda Rousey in 2016 was a pivot point. She shared a cover with Ashley Graham and Hailey Clauson. That year was significant because SI released three separate covers to celebrate different body types. Rousey wasn't a traditional runway model; she was a fighter. Her presence on the cover signaled that "beauty" was being redefined to include strength and muscle.
Breaking the Mold: The Inclusion Era
The last ten years of sports illustrated swimsuit covers by year have been a whirlwind of "firsts." If you haven't looked at an issue lately, you might be surprised by how different it looks compared to the Elle Macpherson days.
- 2016: Ashley Graham becomes the first plus-size model on the cover. People lost their minds. Some loved it, some hated it, but everyone talked about it.
- 2019: Tyra Banks came out of retirement at age 45 to show that age is just a number.
- 2020: Valentina Sampaio became the first transgender model featured in the issue.
- 2021: Leyna Bloom became the first transgender woman of color on the cover.
- 2022: Maye Musk (Elon's mom) appeared on the cover at 74 years old.
The magazine stopped trying to be a "pin-up" calendar for teenage boys and started trying to be a reflection of real women. Or at least, their version of it. It’s been a controversial shift. Some long-time subscribers complained that it wasn't "aspirational" anymore, while a whole new generation started buying it because they finally saw themselves represented.
The Logistics: How a Cover Happens
It's not just a girl on a beach. It’s a military operation.
MJ Day, the current editor-in-chief, has spoken about the months of planning that go into a single shoot. They scout locations a year in advance. They have to deal with weather, lighting, and "paparazzi" trying to leak the photos before the launch. In the old days, they’d go to one location and shoot everyone. Now, they might go to five different countries.
📖 Related: Is Heroes and Villains Legit? What You Need to Know Before Buying
The gear is also a huge part of the story. The "suits" aren't always suits. Sometimes it's body paint. In 1999, the body paint feature became so popular it became a regular staple. It takes about 12 to 15 hours to paint a "suit" onto a model. They can't sit down. They can't lean against anything. It’s grueling.
Tracking the Trends: A Quick Look at the Decades
| Era | Key Vibe | Notable Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | Travel & Innocence | Babette March |
| 1970s | The All-American Girl | Cheryl Tiegs |
| 1980s | Athleticism & "The Body" | Elle Macpherson |
| 1990s | The Supermodel Era | Tyra Banks |
| 2000s | Celebrity & Crossover | Beyoncé |
| 2010s | Empowerment & Diversity | Ashley Graham |
| 2020s | Breaking Barriers | Martha Stewart |
The Martha Stewart Moment
In 2023, Martha Stewart became the oldest woman to ever grace the cover at age 81. It was a massive viral moment. It proved that the sports illustrated swimsuit covers by year aren't just about youth anymore; they’re about relevance. Martha is a billionaire, a lifestyle mogul, and a cultural icon. Putting her in a swimsuit wasn't about sex appeal in the traditional sense; it was about the power of a brand. It showed that the "SI Girl" has grown up. She’s not just a 19-year-old on a beach in Brazil anymore. She’s a woman with a career and a legacy.
Why Does It Still Matter?
In the age of Instagram and OnlyFans, you’d think a print magazine featuring women in swimsuits would be dead. Honestly, most magazines are dead. But SI Swimsuit survives because it’s a brand, not just a collection of photos.
It’s about the "launch." Every year, when the covers are revealed, it dominates the news cycle. It’s a conversation starter. Whether you think it’s a relic of a sexist past or a platform for female empowerment, you’re talking about it. That’s the secret sauce.
Actionable Insights for Collectors and Fans
If you’re looking to dive deeper into the history of these covers or start a collection, here is what you actually need to know:
Focus on the "Key" Issues. Not every year is worth money. If you're collecting, look for the 1964 debut, the 1978 Cheryl Tiegs mesh suit, the 1997 Tyra Banks solo cover, and the 2016 Ashley Graham issue. These are the cultural "high water marks."
👉 See also: Jack Blocker American Idol Journey: What Most People Get Wrong
Check the Condition. Because these were magazines intended to be read (and often left in bathrooms or on coffee tables), finding "mint" copies is harder than you think. Look for copies with the original mailing "polybag" if possible.
Understand the Shift to Digital. The print run is much smaller now than it was in 1995. This actually makes modern physical copies rarer in some ways. While everyone has a digital copy, fewer people have the physical mag from 2024 or 2025.
Look Beyond the Cover. The "rookie" class of each year is often more interesting than the cover model. Many women who didn't make the cover went on to become massive stars (like Chrissy Teigen or Kate Upton in her early years).
The legacy of these covers is a weird, complicated, beautiful, and sometimes frustrating part of American media history. It’s changed from a simple swimsuit shoot to a massive cultural litmus test. Looking back at them year by year is basically like looking at a time capsule of how we’ve changed as a society.
To track the specific lineage of every single model, the best resource remains the official Sports Illustrated vault, which catalogs the photographers and locations alongside the models. If you’re researching a specific year, pay attention to the location—the move from exotic "unknown" beaches to high-fashion studios tells you everything you need to know about the budget and the direction of the magazine at that time.