WASHINGTON — The wait is finally over: Sports Illustrated has revealed who will be appearing on the cover of the magazine's 2022 swimsuit issue.
In addition to reality star Kim Kardashian and Grammy award-winning singer Ciara, Sports Illustrated will feature 74-year-old model Maye Musk, the mother of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the now oldest-ever model to be featured in the magazine's swimsuit edition. Japanese-Dutch recording artist and model Yumi Nu will also appear on the cover, having made her debut in the magazine in last year's issue.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Kardashian said she "never thought in a million years" that she would be featured on the cover of the issue given her age, 41. Kardashian was photographed by Greg Swales wearing a nude bikini in the Dominican Republic.
"I vividly remember Tyra Banks on the cover and women with curves; I remember thinking that is so cool," Kardashian said. "But, I still didn’t think I would have … I thought you had to be a professional model and a runway model. It was always really young girls. I don’t want to date myself or sound old, but in my 40s? That’s crazy!"
Musk was photographed in Belize by Yu Tsai wearing a Maygel Coronel swimsuit. In an article for Sports Illustrated, her daughter Tosca Musk wrote: "She is an uncontainable force, and she’s the most fearless woman I’ve ever known."
Ciara, 36, who is married to Denver Bronco's quarterback Russell Wilson, took to Barbados in an animal-print one piece. She was photographed by Ben Watts.
At 25, Nu is the youngest cover model this issue and was photographed by James Macari in Montenegro wearing a black cut-out one piece. In an interview with People Magazine, Nu said she wished her younger self could have seen a plus-sized model on the cover of such an important magazine issue for fashion and culture.
"I think my 13 year old self had already been tainted by societal beliefs of what you need to look like to be on a cover," Nu told People. "If she would've saw it before she saw anything else, I think she would have lived a different life with a different head space. That's why this is important now and has always been needed."
The 2022 swimsuit issue hits newsstands on May 19.