How Being an SI Swimsuit Rookie Helped Berkleigh Wright Become ‘Unapologetically’ Herself

The 2024 brand model attributes her latest life changes, in part, to her debut in Belize.

Berkleigh Wright / Jason Sean Weiss/BFA.com

If you asked 2024 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit rookie Berkleigh Wright how she might describe the past year, she would simply call it “pivotal.” Even without expanding on that descriptor, we can confidently venture a guess as far as what she’s referring to. Of course, her SI Swimsuit debut in Belize would be high on the list. But so, too, would be her move from Denver to Los Angeles and her decision to step away from professional cheerleading to pursue modeling full-time.

But, at the end of the day, all of the change started with her SI Swimsuit debut. Last night, at SI Swimsuit and Maybelline’s joint event at Dante Beverly Hills, we had the chance to catch up with the model and hear about her recent life changes. “Becoming a rookie—it helped me come out of my shell and also just like realize my potential and everything else that I wanted to do,” she says on the red carpet. “I was reaching the peak of my cheerleading career, I was ready to take that next step, and that [SI Swimsuit] really helped me realize that I was ready to do that.”

So the Kansas native decided to take “a leap of faith,” and to make a big change. “I moved to Los Angeles, and I feel good,” she tells the team. “I’m working off of momentum and excited to see everything that the future holds.”

Berkleigh Wright was photographed by Derek Kettela in Belize / Derek Kettela/Sports Illustrated

In Denver, she was working as a technical account manager during the day and—for a total of five seasons—a Denver Broncos cheerleader at night. Leaving Colorado meant stepping away from cheer (at least for now) and embracing a new passion: modeling. She attributes the confidence to do that, at least in part, to the people she has met through SI Swimsuit. “[They have] helped me so much with [confidence] because we all lift each other up, and we help each other realize our potentials and our strengths,” she says.

Working with the brand has brought some other important realizations, too. Wright attributes her appreciation for “be[ing] yourself” to the brand. “That is your superpower,” she explains. “My whole life I’ve been trying to fit myself in a box, and you don’t have to fit in a box. You can be whatever the heck you want to be and do it unapologetically. SI helped me realize that.”

There’s no doubt in our minds that Wright is thriving in this latest iteration of her life—the new city, new career ambitions, etc. We can’t wait to see where she goes from here.