Martha Stewart has made history as the oldest woman to ever appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit edition.
At the age of 81, Martha Stewart is a household name due to her decades of success as a cookbook author, television host, home goods designer, and has become the go-to person for advice on anything home related.
According to SI Swimsuit Edition editor-in-chief, MJ Day, Martha Stewart was an obvious choice to grace the magazine’s cover. “Never in her life has she let her circumstances dictate her outcome. She’s changed with the times—always one step ahead, it seems—to build a wide-reaching business empire.”
In a post made to Martha’s social media pages, her team shared that Sports Illustrated reached out to the star in November about doing the photo shoot in January.
“Martha was approached by @si_swimsuit in November 2022, which gave her roughly three months to prepare for the end-of-January shoot—an experience she walked into with confidence,” the post read. “‘Trying new things is very good. Being fearless is very good. Don’t be afraid of anything.'”
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Martha traveled to the Dominican Republic in late January for the historic photo shoot. A behind-the-scenes clip posted by SI shows Martha looking glamorous as she strikes a pose in a series of classy one-piece swimsuits. She also shares with viewers her motivation behind saying “yes” to the opportunity.
“Usually I’m motivated by pay. But, this time I was motivated by showing people that a woman my age and still look good, feel good, be good,” Stewart said. “My motto has always been: ‘When you’re through changing, you’re through,’ so I thought, why not be up for this opportunity of a lifetime?”
Martha Stewart’s appearance in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition isn’t her first modeling gig. In fact, the hospitality tycoon started modeling at age 15 when she appeared in a television ad for Unilever. She went on to appear in numerous tv commercials and magazines, even helping pay her way through college with modeling jobs. Among the brands she modeled for was Chanel.
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See more from Martha Stewart’s swimsuit photo shoot below.