Swimsuit

12 Sizzling Photos From Kate Upton’s Cover Shoot in Antarctica

The model graced the SI Swimsuit cover three times over six years.

Cara O’Bleness

Kate Upton Legends: Swimsuit 2014

When she made her SI Swimsuit Issue debut in 2011, Kate Upton was the hands-down winner for Rookie of the Year, having been featured in two shoots for that edition. She went on to grace the SI Swimsuit Issue cover in both ’12 (when she was photographed in Australia by Walter Iooss Jr.) and ’13 (when Derek Kettela snapped her photos in Antarctica).

The following year, Upton defied gravity when she “floated in space” for a photo shoot at Cape Canaveral with photographer James Macari. Check out eight of our favorite photos from her 2014 feature here.

Upton also participated in the 50th anniversary Legends feature in 2014. At the time, she said, “Sports Illustrated, for me, was a dream of mine, and when I was able to even get into the magazine, it was a really special moment. But now that I have two covers with them, it means even more.”

The now 30-year-old returned for her third SI Swimsuit Issue cover in 2017. The model’s most recent SI Swimsuit Issue feature was in ’18 when she was photographed by Yu Tsai in Aruba.

Upton is married to Mets pitcher Justin Verlander. The two tied the knot in November 2017 and welcomed their daughter, Genevieve, a year later.

Below are 12 of our favorite images from Upton’s ‘13 cover shoot in Antarctica—which just so happens to be fellow SI Swimsuit model Camille Kostek’s favorite SI Swimsuit Issue cover of all time. 

Kate Upton
Kate Upton
Kate Upton
Kate Upton
Kate Upton
Kate Upton
Kate Upton
Kate Upton
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Kate Upton
Kate Upton
Published
Cara O’Bleness
CARA O’BLENESS

Cara O’Bleness is a writer and editor on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit. Prior to joining SI Swimsuit in 2022, she worked as a writer and editor across a number of content verticals, including food, lifestyle, health and wellness, and small business and entrepreneurship. In her free time, O’Bleness loves reading, spending time with her family and making her way through Michigan’s many microbreweries. She is a graduate of Michigan State University’s School of Journalism.

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