Martha Stewart Lands Cover Of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue At 81; Oldest Woman Ever To Do So

Tom Tapp
·2 min read
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Martha Stewart has graced the covers of many magazines, including her own Martha Stewart Living, through the years, but now she’s broken new ground by becoming the oldest woman ever to be featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Previously, that distinction belonged to Maye Musk, who was 74 at the time. Stewart is 81.

“I like that picture,” Stewart told Savannah Gutherie and Hoda Kotb as she introduced the cover on Today. She then admitted, “It’s odd to go to an island and get changed into nine different bathing suits in one day in front of all those people…and it turned out ok!”

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Martha Stewart on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
Martha Stewart on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

Stewart began working as model at 15, doing print and TV ads and working with brands such as Chanel and Unilever. But even for an experienced model, she said, “to be on the cover at my age was a challenge.”

Asked by the New York Times about the confidence it took to pose for such a sexy publication Stewart replied, “It doesn’t have as much to do with blatant sex as with a self-assurance that started when I was a child. So, when the offer came, I thought, ‘I can do this. I don’t have to give in to convention.’ How else would I, as an 81-year-old, have talked myself into feeling good about getting into a bathing suit?”

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