6 Breathtaking Photos of Birthday Girl Camille Kostek’s SI Swimsuit Debut in Belize

The SI Swimsuit legend made quite the impression when co-winning the inaugural open casting call.

Camille Kostek was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize. Swimsuit by TeenyB Bikini Couture. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

It’s time to celebrate because today marks Camille Kostek’s 33rd birthday. The SI Swimsuit model, who was discovered by the magazine through the first-ever Swim Search, which she co-won in 2018, has become a mainstay around here. She followed up her debut photo shoot by landing the cover in 2019 with a gorgeous feature in Kangaroo Island, Australia with photographer Josie Clough and has posed for the magazine for seven consecutive years—including the special “Legends” feature for the 60th anniversary.

Posing alongside 26 other SI Swimsuit icons, Kostek was recognized in 2024 for her impact on the magazine in the last near-decade. We are so excited to wish her a happy birthday, and are doing so by reminiscing on her very first shoot which changed everything. Posing for Yu Tsai’s lens in beautiful Belize, the Connecticut native took our breath away in colorful bikinis and two-pieces, as well as a gorgeous shot, seen below, while topless during golden hour.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane and celebrate Kostek today with six of our favorite photos from her debut SI Swimsuit shoot.

Camille Kostek was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Camille Kostek was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize. Swimsuit by FELLA. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Camille Kostek was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Camille Kostek was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize. Swimsuit by TeenyB Bikini Couture. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Camille Kostek was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize. Swimsuit by Ola Vida. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Camille Kostek was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize. Swimsuit by INDAH CLOTHING. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

For Kostek, the opportunity to appear in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit couldn’t have come at a better time. In a recent interview on the Livin’ Large w/ Mark Dohner podcast, the TV host shared that she experienced rejection from modeling agencies, recalling that she would come home and tell her boyfriend, retired NFL player Rob Gronkowski, “‘Alright, so I have to lose an inch and a quarter off my thighs in three weeks,’ or ‘I have to drop 15 pounds in three weeks if I want this job or want to get signed.’”

Deciding she didn’t want to conform to unfair body standards that didn’t make sense for her, she eventually saw a call for the SI Swimsuit contest and the rest is history.

“I just remember being in such a beautiful space mentally because of how much SI Swimsuit and the team had built me up,” Kostek recalled of the Swim Search process. “Of being like, ‘We love you as you are. Your body is amazing like this,’ because when you go around these agencies in this industry, they’re teling you the opposite. So it was just so nice to kind of get the reassurance of like, ‘You’re awesome as you are.’”

“I confidently know that had I not been accepted through the Swim Search process, I know I wouldn’t have as many [opportunities] had I not kind of had that approval and that big ‘yes’ from the team,” she added.

We couldn’t be happier that Kostek entered the magazine’s first-ever open casting call.