Josephine Skriver is the 2020 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Rookie of the Year

Fans vote first-year model into the 2021 issue

Margot Zamet | Aug 5, 2020

The people have spoken: Josephine Skriver is the 2020 SI Swimsuit Rookie of the Year. Skriver made her SI Swim debut on the stunning beaches of Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic back in February, where she worked with photographer Kate Powers. Skriver lives by the mantra “Modeling is not who you are; it’s what you do” and she has shown she follows this principle in all walks of her life, making us proud to have her as a major part of the SI Swimsuit family.

“While many know Josephine as an iconic model who has worked with some of the biggest brands, her endeavors reach far beyond just that,” says SI Swimsuit editor-in-chief MJ Day. “Aside from being a remarkable model, she is a well-known advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, a humanitarian, and a role model who shows up for the SI Swimsuit brand in an incredibly meaningful way. In her first year alone, she hosted our first-ever Super Bowl Sirius radio show, acted as our official Super Bowl correspondent and used her platform to join in our mission of changing the cultural conversation around beauty. Josephine exemplifies what it means to be an SI Swimsuit model and we couldn’t be happier to name her our 2020 Rookie of the Year!”

The 27-year-old Danish model was born and raised in Copenhagen. She made her modeling debut in 2011, walking the runways of Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci, Calvin Klien, Prada and more. Skriver has appeared in Vanity Fair, Vogue, Elle, W and Allure. She walked her first Victoria’s Secret fashion show in 2013 and became an officially contracted angel for the brand in 2016.

Skriver is a force on Instagram with over 6.2 million followers. You can find her there sharing behind-the-scenes images from photo shoots, providing lots of travel content (pre-COVID-19), cheering on the Las Vegas Raiders (her favorite football team), and advocating for social justice. She’s also garnered a massive and growing community following her fitness Instagram JoJa, which she shares with model friend Jasmine Tookes.

Previous Rookie of the Year winners include Chrissy Teigen (2010), Kate Upton (2011), Nina Agdal (2012), Kate Bock (2013), Sara Sampaio (2014), Kelly Rohrbach (2015), Barbara Palvin (2016), Bianca Balti (2017), Alexis Ren (2018) and Jasmine Sanders (2019).

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by TROPIC OF C.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Charmosa Swimwear by N Hall.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by alt swim.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Sommer Swim.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Hunza G.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Sports Illustrated Swim.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Charmosa Swimwear by N Hall.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by alt swim.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by HAUS OF PINK LEMONAID.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by ITZALI SWIM.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Sauipe Swim.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Charmosa Swimwear by N Hall.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Hunza G.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Blue Life.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by ITZALI SWIM.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by HAUS OF PINK LEMONAID.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by TROPIC OF C.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by alt swim.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Sports Illustrated Swim.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by HAUS OF PINK LEMONAID.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Sommer Swim.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Sports Illustrated Swim.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Blue Life.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Sommer Swim.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by alt swim.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Sports Illustrated Swim.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Sommer Swim.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Blue Life.

Josephine Skriver was photographed by Kate Powers in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Sommer Swim.

Published Aug 5, 2020

MARGOT ZAMET

Margot Zamet is the Fashion Editor at SI Swimsuit covering all things style and beauty. Margot joined the “swim team” as an intern while attending school at the Fashion Institute of Technology and has been with the brand ever since. She spends much of her year traveling with SI on photoshoots for styling. Her downtime is equal parts R&R on the beach and enjoying overpriced martinis with her friends.