At 69, Gayle King Covers ‘Sports Illustrated’ Swimsuit Issue in Daring 1-Piece
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Gayle King is the latest Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover star.
The 69-year-old is elated by the opportunity to shine.
“I think it’s important to celebrate women of all ages, all colors, all sizes,” she said.
Gayle King is the latest Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover star—just as her record-breaking predecessor Martha Stewart predicted. The 69-year-old journalist was elated to join a lineup of legendary models featured in the magazine’s 60th anniversary edition. When she learned she was chosen for the cover, she was completely blown away.
On Tuesday, King’s CBS Mornings co-anchors surprised her with the news, live, on-air. “Ahhh! I’m on the cover!” she screamed upon seeing the magazine. “They told me I was just going to be on the inside! It’s not a dummy cover? This is going to be on the newsstands? Oh my God! Oh my God!”
In her interview that accompanied the shoot, King made sure to drive home an important message: “I think it’s important to celebrate women of all ages, all colors, all sizes,” she said. “So the fact that they’re saying, ‘Yes, you deserve to be celebrated just for being yourself.’ That’s what touches me the most about being included.”
This milestone makes King glad she never followed the crowd when it came to aging. “Many women thought it was time to wind down [after turning 40],” she said. “I’m not even kind of thinking about winding down.”
In the photos, King modeled a variety of stunning suits by EVARAE, including a green halter one-piece (similar to this one), a plunging mustard gold suit (like this), a black mesh form-fitting cover-up, and more. Fans can’t get enough. “You look beautiful Gayle!! Congratulations to you!! 😍,” one person commented on Instagram. “Thank you Gail for inspiring us all! 🔥” another added. “It’s about not winding down! 😊🔆,” someone else wrote.
King also shared behind-the-scenes clips from her shoot that displayed how confident she felt in front of the camera. “I wanted tasteful cleavage, and they delivered on all of that,” King told People. She also told the outlet that she didn’t go to extremes to prepare, and instead, stuck to her regular cardio and strength training workouts.
“The day before, I did have a cheeseburger,” she shared. “It’s one of my favorite things. I did think that I would reduce my eating, but I didn’t even do that.” In fact, she was encouraged not to change any lifestyle habits before shooting. “I said, ‘Really? I don’t have to starve myself?’” King recalled. “‘And [editor-in-chief MJ Day] said, ‘Please, we want you to do exactly what you’re doing.’ I said, ‘Well, is cottage cheese good on thighs?’ She goes, ‘Yes, Gayle. Actually, it is,’ because I was very worried about that.”
King was unstoppable during the shoot, and she attributes most of that to photographer Yu Tsai. “He made me feel like I was Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Halle Berry all rolled into one,” she said. “I felt so comfortable and cared for that I didn’t even have time to feel self-conscious.”
She continued: “We all know that beauty comes from within, but I also know people see you first with their eyes. I think looking good and feeling good matters. But I also think when you feel good, you look good. I don’t have hang-ups about my age. I really don’t.”
It’s truly a full-circle moment. This time last year, when King emailed Stewart to congratulate her on her 2023 cover, Stewart manifested it for her. “[King] wrote, ‘Congratulations, this is really great,’” Stewart told Variety at the time. “I wrote back to her, ‘Next year is your year.’ She wrote back, ‘I would have never even considered that it would happen, but now?’”
Anything is possible!
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