Actress Michelle Vawer Posed With a Wombat and Koala During Her SI Swim Photoshoot in Australia

The 2012 SI Swimsuit model is also an actress.

Michelle Vawer was photographed by Walter Iooss Jr. in Australia.Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated

One-time SI Swimsuit model and actress Michelle Vawer is best known for her role in the 2009 film, Into the Blue 2: The Reef. She made her debut with the magazine in 2012, when she was photographed by Walter Iooss Jr. in Sydney/Cairns, Australia. 

“I think I was nervous leading up to it because you find out so long before and then it happens and it’s quick. And I got to shoot with [photographer] Walter Iooss, who’s sort of like legendary,” she recalled. “And we got to go to Australia so it was kind of like I was nervous but [the SI Swimsuit team is] so cool and chill. The whole shoot was just so much fun. You just sort of feel in your element, I guess.”

Vawer, who grew up on the beaches of Hawai’i, has lived all over the country. She moved to New York City at the age of 19 to pursue modeling and signed with IMG Models. After her SI Swimsuit feature, she decided to go back to school and studied design and architecture in California, where she met Ariel Taymor. The model and chef got married in 2021 and moved to Mexico where the 33-year-old lives today and works as an immersive installation designer. The couple are parents to baby Cypress, whom they welcomed in June.

She is super active on Instagram, constantly sharing content of her family, stunning modeling campaign snapshots and tons of fun, summery beachside content all year long. Vawer also made television appearances in Lethal Weapon and Good Bones in ’16.

Below are four of our favorite photos from her 2012 SI Swimsuit photoshoot with Walter Iooss Jr. in Australia.

Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated

Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated

Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated

Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated

Now through Nov. 1, 100% of SI Swimsuit’s portion of proceeds from cover prints purchased here will be donated to the Maui Strong Fund, which is helping to support the people and places of Maui affected by the recent wildfires.

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