These Pics From Tyra Banks’s SI Swim Cover Shoot in the Bahamas Serve as Ultimate Travel Inspo

The supermodel and brand legend came out of retirement to grace the front of the 2019 issue.

Ananya Panchal | Jan 4, 2024

Tyra Banks was photographed by Laretta Houston in the Bahamas.

Laretta Houston/Sports Illustrated

We’re throwing it back to one of the most iconic cover photoshoots in recent years. Remember when Tyra Banks came out of retirement and practically broke the internet with her appearance in the 2019 issue? The supermodel and actress was photographed by Laretta Houston in the Bahamas, and she rocked the most stunning itty-bitty yellow Andi Bagus bikini for the front of the magazine. The moment was talked about all over the world, and we still think about it to this day.

The Life Size star and America’s Next Top Model host made her debut with the magazine in 1993, when she was photographed by Walter Iooss Jr. in the Florida Keys. She returned to the brand three years later and landed her first cover alongside Valeria Mazza in South Africa.

In ’97, Banks became the first Black model to land an SI Swimsuit solo cover when she was captured by Russell James in Harbour Island, Bahamas. The 49-year-old returned again in ’98 and traveled to Vabbinfaru in the Maldives with Robert Erdmann. Banks was featured in two in-studio photoshoots in ’04 and ’14, as well.

“I’m really really proud. It’s kind of surreal. I was about 25 pounds, 30 pounds heavier than the cover 22 years ago, and so the secret is, when you gain a little, the swimsuit goes smaller,” Banks joked about her latest cover. “People think it’s the opposite. Dental floss it, the bigger you are. This is the rule. I’m in a new phase. I have a new body. I think I was like ‘let me just celebrate what I am now and just be real.”

Below are six incredible snaps of Banks in the Bahamas.

Tyra Banks — Laretta Houston/Sports Illustrated

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Published Jan 4, 2024

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.