Chrissy Teigen on Why It’s Different Stripping Down on an SI Swimsuit Set

The model was named Rookie of the Year in 2010 and was last featured in the magazine in ’17.

Chrissy Teigen was photographed by James Macari in Sumba Island.James Macari/Sports Illustrated

After being photographed by Walter Iooss Jr. in the Maldives, Chrissy Teigen was named SI Swimsuit’s Rookie of the Year in 2010. Since then, she has been featured in a total of eight magazine issues. 

While Teigen has traveled to the Philippines, Cook Islands, the Bahamas, Indonesia and more, one thing all of her photo shoots with the franchise have had in common is the level of comfort she’s felt in front of the lens.

“It’s not hard being naked in front of this group of people, because everyone is so, first of all, warm and welcoming about like a curvy body and a beautiful silhouette, so that’s different,” Teigen admitted on the set of her sophomore photo shoot with the brand in the Philippines. “They appreciate it when you have that arch and when there’s some feminine qualities and when you have boobs so it’s different. Everyone’s really reassuring of the female, feminine body here so it’s really nice.”

In addition to her work as a model, Teigen is a lifestyle entrepreneur and a mom. Her brand, Cravings by Chrissy Teigen, offers recipes, cookware and a trio of best-selling cookbooks. She and her husband, R&B star John Legend, are parents to three children. They welcomed their youngest child, a daughter named Esti, at the beginning of this year, and are also mom and dad to daughter Luna and son Miles.

Teigen, one of the magazine’s three 50th anniversary cover stars, famously returned to SI Swimsuit mere months after giving birth to Luna for the 2017 issue. She posed for photographer James Macari in Sumba Island, Indonesia.

“This is my first body shoot since Luna,” Teigen said at the time. “… I think there’s just something about this crew and something about MJ [Day, SI Swimsuit editor in chief] that makes you feel so beautiful and so special.”

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