Swimsuit

8 Photos of Legendary SI Swim Model Samantha Hoopes in Scrub Island

The icon just walked the Miami Swim Week runway at the W South Beach on Friday.

Cara O’Bleness

Samantha Hoopes

Samantha Hoopes was photographed by Josie Clough on Scrub Island, British Virgin Islands.

Samantha Hoopes has been featured in seven SI Swimsuit Issues over the years, starting with her debut in 2014, when she participated in a unique body paint feature with photographer Walter Iooss Jr. and artist Joanne Gair in St. Lucia. The 32-year-old model’s most recent feature with the brand was in ’20, when she traveled to Scrub Island, British Virgin Islands, alongside visual artist Josie Clough.

Hoopes, a proud mom of two, made a surprise appearance on the Miami Swim Week runway on Friday. She and fellow brand legends Carol Alt, Roshumba Williams, Vendela Kirsebom and Elsa Benitez closed out the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show at the W South Beach. She wore a custom statement-making crop top with a black monokini and a sparkly yellow bikini.

“My first year, I came in—I don’t like to use the word lost—but at 22, you’re still kind of finding yourself, figuring out what you like and don’t like,” Hoopes told SI Swimsuit while on location three years ago of her personal growth with the brand. “Seven years later, it’s a big difference. I’m a woman. I have a baby.”

In honor of Hoopes’s return to the SI Swimsuit runway on Friday, below you’ll find eight of our favorite photos from her 2020 feature in Scrub Island.

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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.