Tyra Banks has landed another cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, more than 20 years after she made history as the first black woman to appear on the cover alone in 1997. Her latest cover comes more than a decade after she retired from modeling in 2005.
Banks reflected on her first solo cover in a video shared to the Instagram page for the issue.
“Being the first black woman on the cover, I didn’t dream it, because I never thought it was possible, almost like this. I never thought it’d be possible. I’m 45 years old on the cover of this magazine again. My body’s different. Booty is bigger, everything’s a little bigger. At first I was like, ‘Ooh, I’ve got more stuff to work with’. At first, it was a little bit more difficult, but after the first shot, I was like, I got this.”
Banks also did a profile for the New York Times and shared why she left modeling over a decade ago.
“When I was 32 years old, I retired from the business. I didn’t want to age out. I walked out with a three-year contract on the table, but I wanted to say goodbye before the industry said goodbye to me. Leave before they leave you. My mother used to tell me that.”
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Editor, MJ Day was thrilled to have Banks return to the magazine. She gushed that she “is the epitome of what we hope for all the women who are a part of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. What she has achieved so far in her career is extraordinary. She has parlayed a modeling career into phenomenal success that spans multiple industries and resonates with people on a global scale. She has refused to be singularly defined and is constantly working to inspire everyone within her reach.”