Model and TV personality Tyra Banks, who entered history as the first black woman to appear on the Sports Illustrated cover alone in 1997, again flaunts her curves on the fresh issue cover of the iconic magazine.
This is for everybody that has been told that they are not good enough because of their body, their age, their everything. #BanX is here to tell you that you ARE friggin’ fierce no matter what anybody says!
— Tyra Banks (@tyrabanks) May 8, 2019
Drop mic now!@SI_Swimsuit 2019 pic.twitter.com/bgUqGunhAe
Banks suspended her modelling retirement specifically for her 2019 appearance, with the eye-popping photoshoot carried out by celebrity photographer Laretta Houston in Great Exuma, Bahamas. The final pick for the cover features the curly-haired beauty standing in an alluring pose in a bright yellow bikini with her trademark smouldering “smize” on her face.
Banks was notably the first to have famously used the word in the meaning of “a smile with your eyes” when she presented her wildly popular show ANTM, where a number of candidates vied for the title of America’s Next Top Model.
The recent photoshoot marks the 45-year-old celebrity’s third SI Swimsuit cover, with her career having been launched when she starred on the 1996 magazine cover together with model Valeria Mazza, with her showing off her best angles solo just a year later. Now, however, she is somewhat different, having progressed in all possible ways, SI Swimsuit Editor MJ Day believes:
“Since Tyra’s first cover in 1996, she’s transformed herself into nothing less than a mogul, a cultural force and a supernova of inspiration and empowerment”, she stated, adding emotionally:
“She’s kind of the Swimsuit Issue ethos come to life, everything we know this franchise can be”.
Banks, who during the 2019 cover Bahamas photoshoot even recreated her iconic polka dot bikini moment, is one of three modelling stars to appear on the cover alone.
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The other two are Alex Morgan, USA National Women’s Soccer team star and Olympic gold medallist, and Camille Kostek, 2018 SI Swimsuit Model Search winner and 2019 SI Swimsuit Rookie.
