Martha Stewart, 81, becomes oldest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue cover model in history

Octogenarian celebrity chef Martha Stewart has donned a swimsuit to become the oldest ever model on the cover of a famous US magazine.

Martha Stewart, 81, becomes oldest Sports Illustrated swimsuit Issue cover model in history. Picture: Steven Simione/Getty Images

A US celebrity chef has become the oldest cover star in the history of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit magazine, gracing the front of the publication aged 81.

Martha Stewart unveiled her shot on the front ofSports Illustrated 2023 swimsuit issue on the US Today breakfast show on Monday morning, reports the New York Post’s Page Six Style section.

For the cover, Stewart modelled a plunging white Monday swimwear one-piece along with a billowing orange cover-up by Torso Creations on the front of the iconic glossy.

Celebrity chef Martha Stewart is the new cover star of the Sports Illustrated Swimwear issue. (Photo by KENA BETANCUR / AFP)

The US household name showed off a bouncy blowout and dewy makeup look for her shoot, looking decades younger than her actual age.

“I like that picture,” Stewart said with a laugh on Today, admitting she was “sort of shaking.”

Of her experience, she says it was “odd” to be photographed in swimwear “in front of all those people,” but it “turned out OK”.

The cookbook author was photographed by Ruven Afanador in the Dominican Republic for the shoot, sporting 10 elegant swimsuits including a sassy red Norma Kamali one-piece and a lace-up maillot by Isa Boulder.

As for her groundbreaking photos, Stewart seemed to be taking her major moment in stride.

“When I heard that I was going to be on the cover of Sports IllustratedSwimsuit, I thought, ‘Oh, that’s pretty good, I’m going to be the oldest person I think ever on a cover of Sports Illustrated,’” she told the magazine, adding, “And I don’t think about age very much, but I thought that this is kind of historic”.

The celebrity chef continued: “Age is not the determining factor in terms of friendship or in terms of success, but what people do, how people think, how people act, that’s what’s important and not your age”.

EXCLUSIVE: @MarthaStewart is one of the Sports Illustrated @SInow’s 2023 swimsuit cover models! pic.twitter.com/sXP05DsmJA

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 15, 2023

Martha Stewart is continuing to make her mark -- this time on the cover of the 2023 SI Swimsuit issue! See her like never before here https://t.co/BcQZcV7R6j

— Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (@SI_Swimsuit) May 15, 2023

Stewart has become famous for her sultry selfies, and even released merchandise last year printed with some of her iconic snapshots.

She even revealed her secrets to taking perfect selfies with Page Six Style in February.

“Work your best angles and project the jaw to look up towards the camera.

“Also, make sure you are optimising lighting.”

It looks like her tips have paid off big time.

This story appeared in the New York Post and is reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Martha Stewart, 81, becomes oldest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue cover model in history