Magazine

Kate Upton Covers Sports Illustrated Swimsuit For Third Time

By Donovan | February 15, 2017 0 Comments

American model and actress Kate Upton covers Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, becoming only the fourth woman to do so three times.

She was first featured in the swimsuit issue of the magazine in 2011, Upton‘s first cover was in 2012 and her second was in 2013. Her three covers for the 2017 issue features diverse looks. She wears nothing but necklaces and a waist chain in one cover, a metallic cover-up in another and a skimpy one piece in the last.

This shoot was photographed by photographer Yu Tsai.

“We didn’t start off with the idea of three covers, regardless of who was on the cover,” explained SI Swimsuit editor MJ Day. “But when Kate was actually shooting, we were trying so many different looks on her and each photo was coming back just as great as the next.”

“It’s a full circle moment for us,” MJ continued. “We started Kate in her career, and you know, we watched her grow and become not only this worldwide, superstar phenomenon; she changed the direction of the modeling industry. Kate Upton was really this trailblazer that led the way for the Ashley Grahams of the world and everything you’re seeing happen that’s different in fashion right now.”

“I was very excited when MJ asked me to be back in the issue,” Kate said about her return. “Especially when this year’s theme is about every woman of every age and every body type being accepted. It was inspiring to be asked to be a part of that issue.”

“For me, it was MJ’s passion for having it be this theme and this issue and that’s why I wanted to be a part of this magazine again,” Kate added. “Those are the campaigns I want to do and the career I want to have — to inspire women to love themselves. That’s a balance of working hard and eating healthy but also enjoying life and having cheat days and for the emphasis not to be on the ideal perfect body. It makes me proud to be asked back.”