Swimsuit

The 6 Best Photos From Ronda Rousey’s Bodypaint SI Swim Feature

The Olympian posed for the issue two years in a row, and landed the cover in 2016.

Cara O’Bleness

Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey was photographed by Frederic Pinet in Petit St. Vincent.

While Ronda Rousey is known for her success in the UFC ring, she also has two back-to-back SI Swimsuit features to her name. The Olympian, who took home a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Summer Olympics, made her brand debut in 2015, when she traveled to Captiva, Fla., with photographer Walter Iooss Jr.

The athlete returned to the fold the following year, and her incredible bodypaint feature with makeup artist Joanne Gair and visual artist Frederic Pinet in Petit St. Vincent earned her one of three covers that year. Ashley Graham, who became the first plus-size woman to land on the front of the iconic issue, and Hailey Clauson also covered the 2016 SI Swimsuit Issue. 

“The three covers, what I think was really progressive about it, was that the three of us have completely different body types,” Rousey told Elle at the time. “The SI Swimsuit Issue really sets the social standard for what people expect the perfect woman’s body to look like, and a lot of those bodies usually look the same. This is the first issue where we really have women of all different body types in their healthiest form really being celebrated in that way. I really think that this magazine is a big step in the ‘healthy is the new skinny’ movement.”

Next year, Rousey will release her eagerly anticipated book, Our Fight: A Memoir, which chronicles her last 10 years as an athlete and mom. In the meantime, below are a few of our favorite snaps from her iconic bodypaint feature.

Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey

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Published
Cara O’Bleness

CARA O’BLENESS

Cara is a trending news writer/editor for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. A passionate writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience in print and online media, she loves storytelling and believes that words have the power to change the world. Prior to joining the team, Cara 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, Cara 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.