10 Things You Didn’t Know About SI Swimsuit Rookie Penny Lane

The English model, who makes her mark as a 2024 SI Swimsuit rookie, shares some fun facts about herself.

Penny Lane.Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

English model Penny Lane is confident about who she is and what she likes, and she’s a total bombshell in front of the camera. But there’s so much more to the Cheshire-born Los Angeles resident, who will make her SI Swimsuit rookie appearance in this year’s 60th-anniversary edition. 

The Swim Search finalist applied to the open casting call last year and was named a 2023 co-winner alongside six other trailblazing women. She says her work with the SI Swim franchise has been 10 “years in the making,” and it’s something she dreamed about as a child.

Today, the 29-year-old is a certified holistic health coach and is passionate about using her platform for good—whether that’s inspiring young women to love themselves or destigmatizing mental health issues.

Lane is good vibes all around, and these fun facts about her will give you some insight into her sweet and vibrant personality.

She eats a croissant a day

“I’ve done a croissant tour of New York. [The best is] Aux Merveilleux de Fred in the West Village,” she says. “If you like them authentic, crusty, buttery, a bit gnarly, it’s the one. And they’re fresh.”

She’s also an actress

Lane made her big-screen debut in 2017’s Justice League and loves watching and starring in action movies. She also teases that she can’t mention who her dream costar is because she’s currently working on an upcoming film with them!

She cofounded a company called Pleasure Padel Club

The brand creates retro-inspired padel athleisure and will be sold soon on pleasurepadelclub.com. Lane loves playing any sort of racket sports, but especially padel (similar to squash where the ball bounces off a glass wall or metallic mesh surrounding the court) and tennis. She is slowly warming up to pickleball as well. 

Drake follows her on Instagram

The two worked together for the rapper’s “Falling Back” music video in 2022, where Lane played a bride.

She has lived in 64 cities over the past nine years

Lane has lived in Cheshire, London, Istanbul, New York City and Los Angeles, to name just a few of the places she’s called home. She goes wherever the wind (and modeling opportunities) will take her, without hesitation.

She loves Indian food

Don’t we all? Clearly Lane can handle some spice in her life. She also enjoys a good hearty burger.

She gets told she looks like Blake Lively

And even sometimes Amanda Seyfried, though she doesn’t really see it.

She thinks she would be a Hufflepuff

The Harry Potter fan’s loyalties lie with Gryffindor, but she can’t deny the sorting hat would place her with Hufflepuff.

Her full name is Penelope Elizabeth Lane

Not many people know this because her parents have always called her Penny.

She loves ’90s rock and grunge music

Nirvana, Pearl Jam, you name it. But don’t tell Drake!

Read more about Penny Lane’s 2024 SI Swimsuit photoshoot here.