How Kate Upton Inspired Penny Lane to Chase Her SI Swimsuit Dreams

The 2024 rookie names the three-time brand cover model as a major source of inspiration.

Model and actress Penny Lane is fulfilling a longtime dream with her rookie feature in the 2024 SI Swimsuit Issue. One of seven co-winners of last year’s Swim Search open casting call, the 29-year-old recently traveled to Porto and the North, Portugal, for her photoshoot with Ben Watts. 

While her journey to the pages of the annual issue has been in the works for years, Lane tells us that one legendary SI Swimsuit model in particular inspired her to never give up on chasing her dreams: the iconic Kate Upton.

Kate Upton was photographed by Derek Kettela in Antarctica. 

Derek Kettela/Sports Illustrated

“I vividly recall the moment when I saw Kate Upton gracing the [2013] cover in Antarctica, captured by Derek Kettela, and I was captivated by the radiant energy that image etched into my memory,” Lane recalls. “I told my mum that one day, I wanted to be a part of that. At that time, it seemed bonkers, considering I was English and had never set foot in America.”

The Cheshire, England, native, who now resides in Los Angeles, auditioned to be in the magazine back in 2018, during the brand’s first open casting call. She says back then, she had lost sight of why SI Swimsuit was so influential to her in the first place.

“Those pages represented healthy, beautiful, feminine and strong women,” she says of the publication. “Unfortunately, influenced by the fashion industry, I was convinced being a size 0 was what [that] meant, I had veered off that path ... Looking at those images now, I feel sadness for that version of myself—lonely, suffering in silence.”

Penny Lane was photographed by Ben Watts in Portugal. Top by COSTAIIA. Bottoms by Navy Ray.

Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

Five years later, with a renewed sense of self, it was Lane’s moment to shine. She describes living a “lifetime” in between that version of herself and the woman she is presently.

“I had compromised my health for an unsustainable weight, not realizing the toll on both my body and mind. Proudly, I can say I pulled myself out of that place, nurturing my body, mind and soul to become the woman I was meant to be,” she shares. “My body transformed, and so did I. In 2023, I landed the the shoot of my dreams!”

Read more about Penny Lane’s 2024 SI Swimsuit photoshoot here.