Ashley Graham’s 2016 SI Swimsuit Issue Cover Was a Major Step for Body Diversity

The Nebraska native earned the cover of that year’s magazine and went on to pose for the brand three years in a row.

Ashley Graham was photographed by James Macari in Turks &Caicos. / James Macari/Sports Illustrated

The year was 2015, and Ashley Graham had a week to prepare for her SI Swimsuit photo shoot in Turks and Caicos. As the model wrote in her book, A New Model: What Confidence, Beauty and Power Really Look Like, she did everything from cutting sugar to getting a spray tan in order to prepare for stepping on set.

But, as it turned out, the SI Swimsuit team cast Graham for exactly who she was—and being herself landed the Nebraska native on the cover of the 2016 magazine as a rookie. A size 14 at the time, Graham has been outspoken about how she was often told that she’d never make it as an editorial model. Her SI Swimsuit cover, which marked the first time a plus-sized model was featured on the issue’s front page, was a major turning point—not only for Graham’s career, but for the industry as a whole.

Ashley Graham was photographed by James Macari in Turks & Caicos. Swimsuit by Trunkettes. / James Macari/Sports Illustrated

“... I'm proving everybody who ever told me that wrong,” Graham stated in 2016. “I think that’s just a statement for all the women out there who have felt ugly, who have felt fat, who have felt like they haven’t been represented. I’m representing them right now. It’s a huge encouragement to myself knowing that I’ve overcome so many different things and that these women can overcome it as well,” she stated. “I think that this is yet another huge stepping stone for, for women, my size to just be accepted as a normal average woman.”

The 38-year-old mom of three, who has since landed covers for publications like Vogue, Maxim, Harper’s Bazaar, WSJ and many others, returned to the SI Swimsuit Issue the following two years, when she traveled to Fiji and Nevis.

Graham recently participated in the “2026 is the new 2016” social media trend, which prompted many of her 21.1 million Instagram followers to reflect fondly upon her SI Swimsuit cover from a decade ago. In the very first image of her Jan. 15 Instagram carousel, Graham posed with a copy of the 2016 issue as she pursed her lips next to the magazine.

Ashley Graham was photographed by James Macari in Turks & Caicos. Swimsuit by BECCA By Rebecca Virtue. / James Macari/Sports Illustrated

“The waves you made in 2016 made space for a movement towards better representation 🔥❤️seriously incredible,” one fan wrote in the comments section of Graham’s post.

“The moment when everything changed 🥹❤️,” someone else added.

“You on the cover of sports illustrated in 2016 was so groundbreaking,” another person stated.

“A plus size woman on the cover of SI swim suit was unheard of !! What a legend 🐐,” one more follower stated.

Ashley Graham was photographed by James Macari in Turks & Caicos. Swimsuit by Bruna Malcuelli. / James Macari/Sports Illustrated

Check out Graham’s complete gallery from Turks and Caicos here.

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