Model-Actress Brooklyn Decker Talks the Significance of Her SI Swimsuit Issue Cover

The 2006 Rookie of the Year landed the magazine’s cover four years later.

Brooklyn Decker was photographed byWalter Iooss Jr. in the Maldives.Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated

Brooklyn Decker made her debut in the SI Swimsuit Issue in 2006, and the model returned to the publication for a total of nine magazine features within an eight-year span. 

Not only was Decker named Rookie of the Year after her initial photo shoot, she also went on to land the cover of the magazine in 2010, after posing for photographer Walter Iooss Jr. in the Maldives. The same year, Decker was cast in the Hollywood film Just Go With It opposite Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston.

Decker is truly a symbol of the SI Swimsuit franchise. In fact, she returned for the brand’s 50th anniversary Legends feature in ’14. 

Now focused on acting and raising a family, the 35-year-old and her husband, former world No. 1 tennis player Andy Roddick, share two children: a son, Hank, and daughter, Stevie. In addition to starring in Hollywood blockbusters like Battleship, Decker was also featured on the Netflix’s original series Grace and Frankie, which ran for seven seasons.

Years ago, Decker reflected on her SI Swimsuit Issue cover and the incredible opportunities it afforded her career. She shared that while being in the magazine in years past was great, landing the cover was next level.

“To be on the cover, even if someone doesn’t buy it, they’re gonna see your name, so even if they choose not to buy it... it’s just that instant face recognition,” the model stated.

Decker went on to say that not many of her clients outside of SI Swimsuit offered a platform for models such as herself to be recognized as more than just a pretty face.

“Sports Illustrated is one of the few clients that really puts a face with the name of the girls,” she shared. “They put profiles with the girls, they get you on camera, and it’s just they really want their readers to know who the models are. They want people to identify with them.”

The brand’s founding editor, Jule Campbell, spearheaded the term “supermodel” in an effort to include models’ names on the pages of the magazine—something that had previously been unheard of and helped give models like Decker an identity and a platform on which to build their careers.

Check out the full gallery from Decker’s 2010 cover photo shoot in the Maldives here.

Make sure to follow SI Swimsuit on YouTube!