You’ll Never Believe Nina Cash’s Last-Minute Swim Search Application Story

The retired university associate dean is a 2024 SI Swimsuit rookie.

Nina Cash.Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images

Nina Cash, a co-winner of the 2023 Swim Search, still can’t believe she made it past the first round of the brand’s open casting call almost a year ago. The ’24 rookie, who is set to appear in the 60th anniversary Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in May, just traveled to Porto and the North, Portugal, to work with photographer Ben Watts. While on location, she reflected on her intense and empowering application journey.

The former university dean, who holds an undergraduate degree in human services; a master’s degree in negotiation, conflict resolution and peace-building; and a doctorate in educational leadership, prides herself on being a planner. She even describes herself as “overprepared” and says being on time often feels like being late.

However, putting on a bikini and auditioning to be an SI Swimsuit model never really crossed her mind until December 2022. The 57-year-old’s Swim Search story is quite a fun one, and she tells it best.

Applying from Australia

Cash and her husband, Aaron, who is from Australia, hadn’t been able to visit his home country for a few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two traveled Down Under for the holidays and decided to go for a walk on the beach one day.

“I didn’t bring a bathing suit because I grew up in a military Catholic Filipino family. If I brought a bathing suit, it would’ve been a one-piece. So I go to the local mall, and because it’s summertime in Australia, it’s December, all the bathing suits [were gone] in my size. The only thing that was available was a two-piece leopard bikini,” she shares, adding that of course she bought the suit. “So we are on the beach, and my husband takes some candid shots, and I do a little video like, ‘Happy New Year from Australia.’ And that night we look at some of the photos and the video and I’m like, ‘Hey, for a 56-year-old broad who just retired … [I look pretty good].’”

The California native adds that she quickly remembered that 2020 Swim Search co-winner Kathy Jacobs applied to the open casting call and was featured in the issue at around her same age. Cash decided to give it a go and scrapped together a raw and unfiltered application in just 45 minutes that clearly resonated with the SI Swimsuit team.

“I think I put my hair in a ponytail,” she recalls. “I threw on a dress and I’m like, ‘Hi, I’m Nina Cash. I’m 56. I just retired. I’m an associate dean.’ I cobbled together those pictures of me on the beach with the water [splashing around]—nothing professional—and submitted it under the wire.”

Swim Search top 24 and top 12

Three months went by, and Cash pretty much forgot about her submission until she got an email one day: She had made it to the Swim Search’s top 24. She celebrated with her husband and prepared for her interview with the SI Swimsuit team.

“All of the ladies and everybody was just so gorgeous and kind,” Cash gushes. “These women were just lovely and accomplished or, you know, trying to reach their dreams.”

While Cash expected that would be the last time she would hear from the brand, she received an update that she had made the top 12.

“Whaaaat,” Cash says of how she reacted to the news—it was a mind-blowing moment she thought would never come to fruition.

Swim Search final seven

Cash said after finding out she was named among the top seven women in the open casting call, she was incredibly excited to walk the catwalk for SI Swimsuit’s runway show at Miami Swim Week.

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“That was a huge pinch-me moment. Huge, huge, huge,” she gushes. “I remember it distinctly—I was in high school in [1983] and Cheryl Tiegs was on the cover of Sports Illustrated [Swimsuit]. And I remember having that moment as a high school student going, ‘Oh, Sports Illustrated, it’d be so cool to even be in the magazine. O.K., guys, news flash: That was 40 years ago because it’s gonna be the 60th anniversary next year.”

SI Swimsuit 2024 rookie

The three words Cash uses to describe the brand and her entire experience so far are “empowerment, individuality [and] encouragement.”

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The former American Bandstand dancer compares being on location in Portugal and getting to pose for the magazine similar to waking up on Christmas morning.

“This whole experience has just been nothing but magical. I’ve said this a gazillion times and I will keep saying it ‘cause it’s truly a way to express how I’m feeling,” she says. “But I [have been feeling] like a child the night before Christmas, and it’s like, now it’s Christmas day today, and I’m opening up all my presents. I’m filled with such happiness and gratitude and excitement. It’s just, it’s been wonderful.”

View five exclusive photos from her 2024 feature here.

Read more about Cash’s rookie photo shoot in Portugal here.

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