Tyra Banks Reflects on Being the First Black Woman on the Cover of the SI Swimsuit Issue

The brand legend first graced the cover of the magazine (solo) in 1997 and returned to the front of the magazine when she came out of retirement in 2019.

Tyra Banks was photographed by Laretta Houston in Great Exuma, Bahamas. / Laretta Houston/Sports Illustrated

A legend of the SI Swimsuit brand, Tyra Banks first posed for the magazine in 1993, when she was photographed by Walter Iooss Jr. in the Florida Keys. When she returned to the fold for her sophomore brand feature, Banks landed the cover of the 1996 SI Swimsuit Issue alongside Valeria Mazza, following her photo shoot in South Africa with the same photographer.

Her third SI Swimsuit photo shoot was a monumental one, as Banks became the first Black woman to land a solo cover feature in 1997. That year, she posed for Russell James in Harbour Island, Bahamas. The California native would go on to pose for the annual issue in 1998, 2004 and 2014 before coming out of retirement to once again grace the cover of the magazine in 2019. Banks, by that time a mogul, mother and supermodel, posed for Laretta Houston in Great Exuma, Bahamas.

“You may recognize this swimsuit,” Banks stated of a red-and-pink polka dot number while on set in the Caribbean. “It is because 22 years ago, I was in the Bahamas and I shot the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition and I was the first Black woman on the cover.”

While Banks retired from modeling in 2005, she is a complete mogul with producing, writing and acting credits to her name. She’s starred in movies like Life-Size and is the creator and executive producer of America’s Next Top Model, which premiered in 2003 and went on to run for 24 seasons. In 2021, Banks created SMiZE & DREAM, an ice cream shop that got its start in Los Angeles and currently has a pop-up shop in Washington, D.C.

“Being the first Black woman on the cover, I didn’t dream it because I never thought it was possible,” she continued. “Almost like this, I never thought it’d be possible, I’m 45 years old, I’m covering this magazine again. It is so different shooting now on the beach for Sports Illustrated Swim ... My body is different. My boobies are bigger, my booty is bigger, everything’s a little bigger, so that made it at first I was like, ‘Ooh, I’ve got more stuff to work with’ and at first it was a little bit more difficult, but after the first shot, I was like, ‘I got this.’”

Below are a few of our favorite snapshots from Banks’s 2019 SI Swimsuit Issue cover photo shoot, including the aforementioned red-and-pink polka dot two-piece.

Laretta Houston/Sports Illustrated

Laretta Houston/Sports Illustrated

Laretta Houston/Sports Illustrated

Laretta Houston/Sports Illustrated