Swimsuit

Danielle Herrington’s 8 Best SI Swim Cover Issue Photos in the Bahamas

With her 2018 feature, she became the third Black woman to land the cover in the magazine’s history.

Cara O’Bleness

Danielle Herrington

Danielle Herrington was photographed by Ben Watts in Harbour Island, Bahamas. 

When Danielle Herrington posed for the SI Swimsuit Issue in 2017, she had no idea that her first professional modeling job would lead her to the cover of the publication the following year. Her rookie feature in Fiji, which was photographed by Yu Tsai, was followed up by a stunning spread in Harbour Island, Bahamas, captured by Ben Watts, which earned her the coveted cover spot in ’18.

Not only that, but the SI Swimsuit team broke the exciting news to Herrington in the best way possible—by having the message conveyed by one of the model’s personal heroes, legendary brand star Tyra Banks.

“I had no idea,” Herrington later told Elle of the life-changing moment. “They basically told me, because I did a virtual reality shoot with Sports Illustrated, [that] they wanted to do a video of me seeing it for the first time and get my reaction. When we walked into the studio, Tyra was there, and they acted like she was doing a fake shoot. [Tyra’s] like, ‘Well, since you guys are here, I have this special project I’ve been working on; it’s really important to me. But Danielle, you can’t tell anyone.’ She goes and gets this big poster… Then she looks at me, and she got really serious and she said, ‘I have one photo in my hand.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my god,’ my heart sank. When she turned it around, it was me on the cover of Sports Illustrated. I was crying so much. Honestly, I wasn’t really looking at my cover; I was looking at Tyra. Like, oh my god, is Tyra Banks in my face right now, presenting me with this cover? I couldn’t believe it.”

After her cover in 2018, the 30-year-old returned to the fold each year through ’22, traveling to Costa Rica, Wyoming and Hollywood, Fla., with the brand. Below are a few of our favorite snaps from her cover girl moment.

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Cara O’Bleness
CARA O’BLENESS

Cara O’Bleness is a writer and editor on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit. Prior to joining SI Swimsuit in 2022, she 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, O’Bleness 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.

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