Swimsuit

Paulina Porizkova’s SI Swim Shoot in Kenya Serves Ultimate Summer Vibes

The SI Swimsuit model returned to the fold in 2019 and was captured by Yu Tsai.

Ananya Panchal

Paulina Porizkova

Paulina Porizkova was photographed by Yu Tsai in Kenya.

Paulina Porizkova is among the ranks of iconic SI Swimsuit models who have been featuring in the magazine 10 times—along with Irina Shayk, Anne V, and Kate Bock. The 58-year-old, who grew up in Sweden, made her debut with the brand in 1983, when she traveled to Jamaica with Walter Iooss Jr. She landed the cover the following year, after posing for Paolo Curto in Aruba. Over the years, Porizkova stunned in the pages of the magazine in the most exotic locations, including Australia, Bora Bora, St. Barts and Spain. Her most recent shoot was with photographer Yu Tsai in Kenya in 2019, just one year after she participated in a special and powerful in-studio project titled “In Her Own Words” with visual artist Taylor Ballantyne.

“I landed my first SI cover 35 years ago, and the trajectory of my career changed overnight. But these days, you’ll most likely find me behind a desk, or more truthfully, behind the kitchen table, with crap reality TV on in the background as I write. I write fiction and nonfiction, and have been militant about ageism: I’m deeply offended on behalf of all of us women who are rendered socially invisible once we look a certain age. Certainly, today’s 50 is not yesterday’s 50,” she wrote in a personal essay for SI Swimsuit. “In my nightmare [before my shoot] I was upset because I was bypassed because of my age. Now, I realized it was all about just being invited. By hiring me, MJ had cracked open the door to another possibility: the visible mature woman. Or, let’s just say: the hot old lady.”

Below are five stunning photos of Porizkova in Kenya.

Paulina Porizkova
Paulina Porizkova
Paulina Porizkova
Paulina Porizkova
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Ananya Panchal
ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a writer on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit. Before joining SI Swimsuit in 2022, she worked at Bustle, the San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. When she is not writing or doom-scrolling on social media, Panchal can be found playing sudoku, rewatching One Tree Hill or trying new restaurants. She's also a coffee and chocolate (separately) enthusiast. Panchal has a bachelor’s in communications and journalism from Boston University.

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