Tyra Banks Reveals Who She Wants to See on the Cover of SI Swimsuit

The brand legend shared her manifestations for a future issue at the red carpet celebration for the 60th anniversary magazine.
Tyra Banks was photographed by Yu Tsai in Hollywood, Fla.
Tyra Banks was photographed by Yu Tsai in Hollywood, Fla. / Yu Tsai/ Sports Illustrated

It’s no secret that supermodel Tyra Banks is an absolute legend. The 50-year-old producer and entrepreneur is also an icon of the SI Swimsuit brand, having made her debut in 1993. Three years later, Banks landed the cover of the magazine alongside Valeria Mazza, and in ’97, she became the first Black woman to land a solo cover of the SI Swimsuit Issue.

For the 60th anniversary magazine this year, the America’s Next Top Model creator took part in a photo shoot with 26 fellow brand icons that resulted in a triptych of covers. We caught up with Banks on the red carpet during the 2024 SI Swimsuit Issue launch party in New York City on May 16, and playfully asked Banks who she’d like to see on a future cover of the magazine.

“O.K., I’m gonna be real crazy right now. Kamala Harris, what’s good girl? SI cover, yo,” she stated, before adding with a laugh, “Not really, you don’t have to do that.”

Jokes aside, Banks was thrilled to reunite with fellow brand icons for the group photo shoot at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., earlier this spring, which was captured by Yu Tsai. 

“On set, it was insane,” she said of the experience. “It was like, what is happening? I almost felt like I was dreaming a little bit. It’s probably [within the] top five days of my career, just being around all that [energy], like future legends, icons, legendary amazingness. [SI Swimsuit to] me means life-changing. It changed my life and I knew that when I heard those words, ‘You’re on the cover,’ a long time ago, I knew that my life was going to change and it literally changed overnight.”


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Cara O’Bleness
CARA O’BLENESS

Cara O’Bleness is a writer and editor on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit. Prior to joining SI Swimsuit in 2022, she worked as a writer and editor across a number of content verticals, including food, lifestyle, health and wellness, and small business and entrepreneurship. In her free time, O’Bleness loves reading, spending time with her family and making her way through Michigan’s many microbreweries. She is a graduate of Michigan State University’s School of Journalism.