Olivia Culpo strips down for her first appearance in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. The 25-year-old actress, model, and beauty queen takes part in the glossy's "In Her Own Words" shoot, wearing nothing but phrases like "woman," "love transforms," and "imperfect" painted on her body. Other stars like Paulina Porizkova, Robyn Lawley, gymnast Aly Raisman, and Christie Brinkley's daughter, Sailor Brinkley Cook, also model in the photoshoot.
The project, shot and produced by a team of all women, is meant to be a form of empowerment and expression—a surprising but refreshing turn for a publication known for its juicy swimsuit spreads.
Taylor Ballantyne/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
Culpo, who won Miss Universe in 2012, is one of the finalists for SI's Rookie of the Year, along with fellow models Ebonee Davis and Hunter McGrady. Instagram star Alexis Ren ultimately earned the title, following big names like Chrissy Teigen, Kate Upton, Sara Sampaio, Bianca Balti, Barbara Palvin, and Nina Agdal, who've won in the past.
Lately, we've been seeing Culpo pose in flawless outfit pics or PDA shots with her Patriots boyfriend, Danny Amendola, on Instagram, but modeling for Sports Illustrated is on a whole new level.
"I've been dying to do this my entire career. I felt like I was going to cry," Culpo told SI of landing the gig. Her parents joined in on the celebration too. "I knew they would freak," she said.
Oddly enough, landing a slot in the SI pages wasn't too different from winning Miss Universe. She had her loved ones close then, too. "My immediate reaction was how grateful I was to had my family there," she told the magazine. "It's a weird first reaction but I looked down and saw my family, my friends and family, I was so so grateful to have them there."
The 2018 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue is on sale now.
Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There is a 75 percent chance she's listening to Lorde right now.
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