Throwback Thursday, '79: Celebrating Barbara Carrera

Rebecca Shore | Sep 2, 2014

Walter Iooss Jr./Sports lllustrated

BACK WHEN the SI Swimsuit Issue was still in its moody adolescence, it was but a flimsy, once-a-year component of the weekly, receiving no more billing than, say, Part 5 of a six-part special on how to improve your ski form. Fewer pages meant fewer models made the cut and editors really had to deliver when it came to casting. So it makes sense that Nicaraguan beauty Barbara Carrera was one of the four ladies picked for the job of posing for the 1979 issue. Still the only SI Swimsuit model to continue on to Bond Girl-dom, the Latina's voluptuousness and air of elegance was perfect for future film roles as a femme fatale. Today she channels her creativity into painting.

On Monday, Ms. Carrera turned 70, so we celebrate the woman and her contribution to the SI legacy with her images, shot by Walter Iooss Jr. in Brazil.