Martha Stewart has become Sports Illustrated’s oldest ever cover model, posing for the magazine’s annual swimsuit issue at the age of 81.
The TV personality and chef is one of four cover models for this year’s issue, which aims to celebrate powerful women who “live in a world where they feel no limitations, internally or externally”. The other models were actor Megan Fox, model Brooks Nader and musician Kim Petras.
“When I heard 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 the cover of Sports Illustrated,” Stewart said in an interview about the cover.
“And I don’t think much about age, but I thought this is kind of historic and I better look really good.”
Photographed in the Dominican Republic by Ruven Afanador, Stewart was asked what Snoop Dogg, a friend and frequent collaborator, would think of her cover. She laughed and said, “Snoop is just going to think it’s amazing.”
Stewart’s cover shoot means she is now the oldest woman to ever pose for Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue, surpassing Elon Musk’s mother, model Maye Muskwho posed in 2022 when she was 74.
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“My motto has always been: ‘when you’ve changed, you’re done,’ so I thought, why not be ready for this opportunity of a lifetime?” Stewart wrote on Instagram. “I hope this cover inspires you to challenge yourself to try new things, no matter what stage of life you are at.”
Stewart, considered that “OG of influencers” of Sports Illustrated, rose to fame in the 1980s when she began writing cookbooks and appearing on television following her success as a chef. Since then, Stewart has written 99 books, hosted several cooking shows, launched her own lifestyle magazine and released her own lines of clothing, cooking and home products.
“Never in her life has she let her circumstances dictate her results,” Sports Illustrated Swimsuit editor-in-chief, MJ Day, said of Stewart. “She has changed with the times – always one step ahead, it seems – to build a vast business empire.”
Petras is only the second trans woman to appear on Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit cover, following model Leyna Bloom, who in 2021 also became the first trans person of color to ever appear in Sports Illustrated.
“No matter what your gender or sexuality or any of that is, it’s about what you make of life,” Petras said in a video about her cover shoot. “It’s about what’s inside you.”
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