Tyra Banks Returns to Modeling to Grace Cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

Supermodel-turned-mogul Tyra Banks has graced the cover of Sports Illustrated’s annual Swimsuit Issue, 23 years after she became the first black woman to headline the issue. “My first one was 23 years ago, how crazy is that,” Banks said on Good Morning America. “I’m like damn—I’m 45 dog!” Banks came out of modeling retirement for the issue that first launched her modeling career. For the 2019 cover, she posed in a yellow string bikini on the island of Great Exuma, Bahamas, in a photo taken by photographer Laretta Houston. Her iconic 1997 cover, smizing in a red polka-dot bikini, was also recreated during the Bahamas shoot. “We couldn’t find the exact one in the archives... so we recreated that bikini,” she said. “I recreated it (the shoot)—25 pounds heavier.” The 2019 cover was also shared by two other women. Along with Banks’ cover, there are also magazines featuring USA National Women’s Soccer star and Olympic gold medalist Alex Morgan, and one with the winner of the SI Swimsuit Model Search, Camille Koste.