Camille Kostek Was in Awe During SI Swimsuit Legends Photo Shoot: ‘These Women Are Extraordinary’

The brand regular returned to the brand set for the seventh time this year.

Camille Kostek was photographed by Yu Tsai in Hollywood, Fla. Dress by RHEA COSTA. Shoes by Black Suede Studio. Jewelry by Ettika. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Camille Kostek is a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit legend through and through. Aside from the fact that we declared her so in the 60th anniversary issue this year, her career in the modeling industry and beyond is a testament to that status.

Every model who graces the pages of the annual magazine brings something to the table—a history of impressive modeling gigs, perhaps, but more than that, too. So, when combing through the brand’s models and gathering a group to call “Legends,” such qualifications were top of mind. Kostek passed the screening with flying colors.

She has graced the pages of the magazine every year since her debut in 2018, when she co-won the year’s Swim Search—the brand’s first open casting call. Her brand track record alone would be enough to earn her the title of SI Swimsuit Legend. But she wouldn’t have the track record that she does without having proven herself back in 2018 (and in the years following).

But she did. At the time of her debut, she was three years into her retirement from professional cheerleading, had a track record in television and radio show hosting and was a successful model, too. And, in the years since, she has added impressive philanthropic accomplishments to her name, including campaigns for mental health charities among other things.

All of that is to say, Kostek was a shoo-in for the 60th anniversary Legends photo shoot in Hollywood, Fla. For the 32-year-old, though, the announcement was far from a given—it was a title that “means more to me than I think a lot of people would understand,” she told the team on set.

She had always looked up to the brand Legends, who “instilled confidence in [her]” from a young age, she said. “These women are extraordinary. They are so passionate, caring and nurturing. They’re everything that you would imagine a great woman would be. I almost feel like I’ve been inducted into the SI Swimsuit Hall of Fame. Being on the cover, I didn’t think it could get better than that—and it did. Sometimes I stop and reflect about the journey that it took to get here and I had dreamt of a day like this coming. The best part is that life is so unpredictable, which is scary, but then it’s like these euphoric moments that make it so worthwhile to not know what’s around the corner. Living out these dreams has been incredible and beyond.”

As you can imagine, we were thrilled to welcome her back for the 2024 issue—and cement her in brand history.

Camille Kostek was photographed by Yu Tsai in Hollywood, Fla. Dress by RHEA COSTA. Shoes by Black Suede Studio. Jewelry by Ettika. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated