10 Years Later, This Gorgeous Samantha Hoopes SI Swimsuit Shoot Still Feels Like Summer

Hoopes shone in the spotlight during her sophomore shoot with SI Swimsuit in Oregon.

Samantha Hoopes was photographed by Yu Tsai in Oregon. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Samantha Hoopes’s 2015 SI Swimsuit feature in Oregon intertwined stunning architecture with luscious greenery to provide a one-of-a-kind photo shoot for the seven-time brand model. Take a look for yourself.

Samantha Hoopes was photographed by Yu Tsai in Oregon. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

“The rolling hills and the vineyards and the lavender farms ... it just makes me feel like I’m in Europe somewhere,” the Pennsylvania native said of the shoot. “It's been so beautiful; it's peaceful.”

Samantha Hoopes was photographed by Yu Tsai in Oregon. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

The distinguished model got her start at SI Swimsuit 11 years ago, following a candid moment at her alma mater.

“I was in college [at] Penn State; it was snowing, it was so cold. I got this Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and Irina [Shayk] graced the cover,” Hoopes recalled. “I looked at her and I said, ‘I really want to be her.’”

Samantha Hoopes was photographed by Yu Tsai in Oregon. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Shayk debuted her first SI Swimsuit cover in 2011. By 2014, Hoopes made her debut with the magazine in St. Lucia.

After her first-ever feature, the model would go on to shoot with SI Swimsuit for six additional years, traveling to gorgeous locations like Oregon (2015), Malta (2016) and Curacao (2017), Nevis (2018), Kangaroo Island (2019) and Scrub Island, BVI (2020).

Samantha Hoopes was photographed by Yu Tsai in Oregon. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

But the path to success in the industry wasn’t always been smooth, recalled the model.

“I have been through so many different challenges, whether it was someone telling me my boobs were too big, I was too fat, I was too skinny, my legs were too muscular,” Hoopes expressed in 2018.

“If you name it, people have said it to me. It takes a really strong person to be in this industry,” she continued.

Samantha Hoopes was photographed by Yu Tsai in Oregon. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

And yet, Hoopes persevered. Alongside growing opportunities in her professional career, the model grew her family. In her 2020 feature in Scrub Island, Hoopes was photographed for her seventh shoot four months after giving birth to her son.

“My first year, I came in—I don’t like to use the word lost—but at 22, you’re still kind of finding yourself, figuring out what you like and don’t like,” Hoopes reflected while on location on Scrub Island. “Seven years later, it’s a big difference. I’m a woman. I have a baby.”

Samantha Hoopes was photographed by Yu Tsai in Oregon. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

The SI Swimsuit team saw it all firsthand while cheering on the model every step of the way.

“I literally feel like I’ve watched her grow up,” said SI Swimsuit editor in chief, MJ Day.“The beauty of being [a] part of this brand is that so many people stay for such a long time. You get to see women evolve from model to mogul to mother. It’s wonderful.”

Today, Hoopes is a mom of two, sharing her son George and daughter Kennedy with husband Salvatore Palella.