Kate Love’s Surprise Pick for Her Favorite SI Swim Photo Shoot Over the Years

The brand legend returned to the fold for the 60th anniversary issue in 2024.

Kate Love was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

A legend of the SI Swimsuit brand, Kate Love first posed for the annual issue in 2013, when her photo shoot in Chile earned her Rookie of the Year honors. She’s been featured in 11 different years of the magazine since, including a 2020 cover feature in Bali.

And while Love recently told us that her cover girl moment was a major milestone and a “favorite forever,” there’s another brand feature that really stands out to her.

“Belize [in 2022 is another favorite] because I was kind of like the most settled in myself and I got to really be involved in the creative side of it and have input in our style,” Love told us on the red carpet at the magazine’s 60th anniversary launch event in New York City on May 16. “It just really came together in a way I loved.”

Kate Love was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize. Swimsuit by Kate Bock x bond-eye. Scarf by Eliza Christoph. Sunglasses by TOM FORD. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

That year, the 36-year-old mom of one was photographed by Yu Tsai, and the styling on location embraced the natural abundance of Central America through florals, structural pieces and bold jewelry.

For the 60th anniversary issue, Love reunited with Yu Tsai in Hollywood, Fla., where she took part in a legendary photo shoot alongside fellow brand icons like Tyra Banks, Maye Musk and Martha Stewart.

“Being part of a legend shoot is just so special and unreal and being grouped with all these women that I admire and aspire to be like in all sorts of different ways is just really special,” Love added of this year’s feature.