S.I. Swimsuit Models

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is published annually by American magazine "Sports Illustrated". The cover photograph features women fashion models wearing swimwear in exotic locales. According to some, the magazine is the arbiter of supermodel succession. First published in 1964, it is credited with making the bikini, invented in 1946, a legitimate piece of apparel. The best selling issue was the 25th Anniversary Issue with Kathy Ireland on the cover in 1989.
The swimsuit issue was invented by Sports Illustrated editor Andre Laguerre to fill the winter months, a typically slow point in the sporting calendar. He asked fashion reporter Jule Campbell to go on a shoot to fill space, including the cover, with a beautiful model. Campbell soon became a powerful figure in modeling and molded the issue into a media phenomenon by featuring "bigger and healthier" California women and printing the names of the models with their photos, beginning a new supermodel era. Since 1997, the swimsuit issue has been a stand-alone edition, separate from the regular weekly magazine.
Through the years, many models have been featured on the cover and within its pages.