Swimsuit

8 of WWE Star Ronda Rousey’s Best SI Swim Photos in Florida

The athlete and actress posed for the publication two years in a row, including the 2016 cover.

Cara O’Bleness

Ronda Rousey was photographed by Walter Iooss Jr. in Capitva, Fla.

Professional wrestler Ronda Rousey has graced the pages of the SI Swimsuit Issue on two different occasions: first in 2015, when she posed for Walter Iooss Jr. in Captiva, Fla., and again the following year when she landed the magazine’s cover. That year, the now-36-year-old traveled to Petit Saint Vincent, where she worked with visual artist Frederic Pinet and makeup artist Joanne Gair for a unique bodypaint feature.

During the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the WWE star became the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in judo when she took home a bronze medal. Rousey has also worked as an actress and model, landing the covers of publications like SELF, Maxim and ESPN the Magazine.

As for her favorite photos captured during her SI Swim debut in Florida, Rousey was able to pinpoint one look in particular.

“The one in the Lilu Dallas swimsuit with the shadows going across it,” she previously told SI Swimsuit. “I thought it was really cool to have the swimsuit in straight line bands and a shadow going across with the same width band. That was all (SI photographer) Walter Iooss Jr. and how amazing his eye is from a photographer’s point of view. That was just pretty and a real cool shot.”

Below are eight of our favorite photos from the athlete’s first-ever SI Swimsuit photoshoot, including the aforementioned snap.

MTY5MjQzOTg5OTk0OTA3MDk5
MTY5MjQzOTg5OTk1NjI3OTk1
MTY5MjQzOTg5OTk3NTk0MDc1
MTY5MjQzOTg5OTk2ODA3NjQz
MTY5MjQzOTg5OTk3OTg3Mjkx
MTY5MjQzOTg5OTk4MDUyODI3
MTY5MjQzOTg5OTk4MTE4MzYz
MTY5MjQzOTg5OTk4NzA4MTg3

Make sure to follow SI Swimsuit on YouTube!

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.