Meet Your Cover Model: Lizzo Is Booked, Busy and Blossoming This Summer

Lizzo is SI Swimsuit’s July 2026 digital cover star!

Best known for her self-love anthems and upbeat hits, Lizzo is a true multihyphenate. A singer, songwriter, actor and brand founder, the deluxe edition of her 2019 album Cuz I Love You—featuring the multi-platinum, viral hits “Good As Hell,” “Truth Hurts” and “Juice”—earned her three Grammy Awards in 2020. Then, her 2022 follow-up album Special earned her a fourth Grammy Award for Record of the Year, courtesy of the lead single, “About Damn Time.” And earlier this month, she released her latest album, titled B-----.

Lizzo initially joined SI Swimsuit for the 2026 SI Swimsuit Runway Show at Swim Week in Miami, where the star delighted fans in attendance with live performances of several songs from her aforementioned new album. While in Miami, she also learned she’d be appearing as the magazine’s next digital cover model, posing for a fabulous photo shoot with photographer Robin Harper at a private mansion and on a yacht provided by Residence Yacht Club.

Lizzo was photographed by Robin Harper in Miami. Swimsuit by Yitty Swim. Sarong is custom. Earrings by Ralph Lauren. | Robin Harper/Sports Illustrated

Click here to view Lizzo’s full digital gallery.

Of her digital cover debut, Lizzo tells SI Swimsuit, “I was genuinely excited. I was like, ‘Wow, I kind of manifested this’ because I have Yitty Swim, which I love. Every time I do Yitty Swim, I always feel like it’s Sports Illustrated-level. It was only a matter of time before these worlds collided. I was super excited to do the runway show, and then they were like, ‘You’re on the cover, b----.’ I was like, ‘Hell yeah, bring it on!’”

And the singer-songwriter absolutely brought her signature style and infectious energy to the South Florida set, rocking multiple pieces from her own Yitty line. These included a glittering gold one-piece, a twisted-top two-piece, several string bikinis and more. “Yitty was a part of something that I was super passionate about,” she says, later adding, “I was very proud to be a part of a burgeoning clothing category, which is size-inclusive, shape-inclusive swimwear and activewear.”

“When I was younger, I saw [SI Swimsuit] and never imagined somebody with my body type would be on the cover,” she continues. “It’s just incredible to see how we’ve redefined sexy, redefined confident, redefined what a swimsuit body is, since I was a kid. The whole runway show was so beautiful with all different kinds of bodies being celebrated [including] pregnant bodies. I thought it was just really, really cute and fabulous. So to be on the cover, I do feel like, wow.”

Lizzo was photographed by Robin Harper in Miami. Swimsuit by Oisri. | Robin Harper/Sports Illustrated

Still, the summer’s just starting to heat up for Lizzo! The booked and busy star has plenty more in store for fans in the coming months as she continues to promote her new album while balancing multiple exciting projects.

First, she’s releasing a children’s book this September titled Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B. Flootin, which publishers Simon & Schuster describe as “a heartfelt, toe-tapping anthem to friendship, music, and finding your voice.” She’s also set to star in the upcoming Amazon MGM Studios film Rosetta, where she’ll embody the iconic Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

“I’ve watered the seed, and the seed is out in the garden, and it’s just like, at this point, I’m not gonna sit around and wait for a flower to grow,” Lizzo says of her busy schedule. “I think the best thing about a garden is coming back and seeing how the flowers blossom. So I have a garden with all kinds of things growing ... I get to just sit back, water each one and allow them to blossom.”