An Inside Look at Katie and Denise Austin as They Prepared for the Miami Swim Week Runway

The SI Swimsuit model says that strutting with her fitness icon mom was a real ‘full circle moment.’

Katie Austin and Denise Austin walk the runway for the SI Swimsuit Runway Show.John Parra/Getty Images

Denise Austin is a proud mom. Her daughter, Katie Austin, has followed in her fitness influencer footsteps and last July the two walked hand in hand down the runway at the SI Swimsuit show at Miami Swim Week.

“I’m so proud to be here with Katie. It’s an honor to be able to walk the runway in a bikini with my daughter, who’s in the magazine, and I’m so proud of her,” the fitness icon said of the SI Swimsuit model. “And this is a very great mom moment, a proud mom moment for me because it’s a special time that we could spend together and experience something that I’ve never done before at 65 and I’m doing it.”

In 2021, Katie was discovered through the SI Swim Search program, an open casting call, and was named the co-winner with Christen Harper. Austin and Harper returned in the 2022 SI Swimsuit Issue and the BFFs were named co-Rookies of the Year last October. 

You can view the 2022 photo shoot for Katie Austin in Montenegro here.

“This year Sports Illustrated Swimsuit wanted to highlight the people that really inspire the models,” Katie added, noting that her mom is her inspiration for everything. “She is an icon of the fitness industry. I’m also in the fitness industry. I’m following in her footsteps, so to walk down the runway with my best friend, my mentor, my mom, my inspiration, my biggest supporter, honestly is going to be a real full circle moment. I feel like it hasn’t hit me though yet that you’re like walking, like we’re going to practice it and I’m going to be like ‘Oh my god.’”

Denise turned to her daughter and said, “Can we hold hands? I need support.” Katie responded enthusiastically: “Yes, we are going to hold hands.”

Katie has more than 1.5 million followers across TikTok and Instagram and often posts workout videos and fun recipes to her social media platforms as well as on her blog. The two recently launched a magazine, Denise & Katie Austin’s Fit in the Kitchen, where they share tips and tricks for clean eating and maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle.

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