History-Making SI Swim Cover Girl Ashley Graham Was Mesmerizing in Fiji

The supermodel posed for three consecutive issues, starting with the cover in 2016.

Ananya Panchal | Aug 5, 2024

Ashley Graham was photographed by Yu Tsai in Fiji. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Ashley Graham made history with SI Swimsuit in 2016, sending waves through the fashion and modeling industries and adding another legacy-worthy job onto the Nebraska native’s resumé. When the 36-year-old made her debut with the brand in Turks and Caicos, she landed on the cover as a rookie, becoming the franchise’s first plus-sized model to do so. She returned to the fold the following two years, traveling to Fiji with Yu Tsai and Nevis with Josie Clough.

“This cover will go down in the history books ... For so long I never thought that I could get covers. For so long I thought that I was so big and so thick that people like Sports Illustrated Swimsuit wouldn’t look at me—and for so long I had people telling me that that wouldn’t happen. I had managers telling me that wouldn’t happen. It was proof yesterday that no matter what your dreams and goals and desires are to be whatever in the industry you’re in, you can do it,” she gushed to Elle in 2016. “Don’t let your image, don’t let your size, hold you back. If I had let my hips or my jiggly thighs hold me back or the fact that I’ve got these big heavy breasts, then I would not be where I am today.”

Graham has become an inspiration and a trailblazer for tons of young women looking to break into modeling and entertainment. She continues to use her platform to advocate for change, inclusivity and diversity and is constantly sharing her best kept secrets and advice for how to navigate modeling.

Today, the mom of three, who shares her sons Isaac, Roman and Malachi with husband Justin Ervin, is also an entrepreneur, investor and author. The Revlon beauty ambassador serves as cohost of Roku’s reality series Side Hustlers, where female founders compete to build multimillion-dollar companies and earn an investment from Graham and cohost Emma Grede.

Below are six phenomenal photos from Graham’s 2017 sophomore SI Swimsuit photo shoot with Yu Tsai in Fiji.

Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Published Aug 5, 2024

ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a writer on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit. Before joining SI Swimsuit in 2022, she worked at Bustle, the San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. When she is not writing or doom-scrolling on social media, Panchal can be found playing sudoku, rewatching One Tree Hill or trying new restaurants. She's also a coffee and chocolate (separately) enthusiast. Panchal has a bachelor’s in communications and journalism from Boston University.