Swimsuit

5 Colorful Bikini Photos of Haley Kalil in Kenya

The model traveled to the East African country for her 2019 SI Swimsuit Issue rookie feature.

Cara O’Bleness

Haley Kalil

Haley Kalil was photographed by Yu Tsai in Kenya.

When she participated in the first Swim Search open casting call in 2018, Haley Kalil came out a co-winner. She returned to the fold for her rookie magazine feature in ’19, when she traveled to Kenya for a stunning and colorful photo shoot. The four-time brand star also ventured to Scrub Island, British Virgin Islands and Hollywood, Fla., with the brand. 

With no professional modeling experience before her SI Swimsuit debut, the 31-year-old Minnesota native submitted herself to the open casting call—and quickly sailed through to the finals.

“All they did was make me feel incredible and amazing, and I just couldn’t believe that these powerful women were taking the time out of their day to make me feel like even though I wasn’t a model, they wanted to know about me and hear from me,” Kalil said of her work with the magazine. “I’m so grateful to Sports Illustrated Swimsuit for bringing me into the modeling industry. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.”

Today, Kalil, who has a bachelor of science degree in medical biology and psychology and a minor in chemistry, is a content creator.

“I went from being somebody that had no modeling experience, I had never had a modeling agency, I was turned down by every modeling agency I ever contacted [to being in the magazine] ... and so Sports Illustrated Swimsuit has truly opened up so many doors for me,” Kalil stated of the life-changing experience. “It’s all about embracing beauty in every different shape, size, color, and it’s that diversity that makes Sports Illustrated Swimsuit so beautiful, and that’s what the industry is now embracing.”

Below are a few of our favorite snapshots of Kalil in Kenya.

Haley Kalil
Haley Kalil
Haley Kalil
Haley Kalil
Haley Kalil
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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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