Jasmine Sanders Is the Queen of Colorful Bikinis in Belize

The five-time SI Swimsuit star traveled to Central America for the 2022 SI Swimsuit Issue.

Cara O’Bleness | Jan 4, 2024

Jasmine Sanders was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize.

Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Jasmine Sanders first posed for the SI Swimsuit Issue in 2019, and her feature in Costa Rica with James Macari was so breathtaking that she earned Rookie of the Year honors. The following year, she landed the cover of the annual magazine after traveling to Bali with visual artist Yu Tsai.

She’s returned to the fold each year since, and her work with SI Swimsuit has landed her in Tampa, Fla., Belize and Puerto Rico. Sanders, who was born in Germany and is known to her Instagram followers as “Golden Barbie,” is also a fashion influencer and has collaborated with notable brands like Puma, Victoria’s Secret and Tommy Hilfiger.

The 32-year-old has been in the industry since the age of 13, and two years before her SI Swimsuit debut, Sanders told British Vogue that she’s experienced plenty of positive change throughout that time.

“I feel like the industry is just a lot more open now,” she told the publication at the time. “I started modeling when I was very young and at that point it was nice being the new mixed race girl coming into the industry but it was a lot of ‘pull your hair straight’ and ‘don’t show too much personality.’ Now people are much more interested in getting to know a model’s lifestyle and what we represent as people ... I love being able to wear my hair curly, I never thought I was going to be able to do that. It’s fun being able to just be yourself.”

Below are just a few of our favorite pics from Sanders’s 2022 SI Swimsuit feature in Belize, captured by Yu Tsai.

Jasmine Sanders — Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

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Published Jan 4, 2024

CARA O’BLENESS

Cara is a trending news writer/editor for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. A passionate writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience in print and online media, she loves storytelling and believes that words have the power to change the world. Prior to joining the team, Cara 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, Cara 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.