The 50 Hottest SI Swimsuit Models Of All Time

The 50 Hottest SI Swimsuit Models Of All Time

The lone good thing to happen in February drops today: the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. We’ve been fans of the SI Swimsuit edition for many, many years, which got us thinking about who the hottest SI swimsuit models of all time might be. After lots of research we had one of our greatest lists of all time (challenged probably only by The 50 Hottest Victoria’s Secret Models of All Time). We hope you enjoy!

50. Melissa Haro

Melissa Haro appeared in both the 2008 and 2009 swimsuit issues. She’s been modeling since the age of 13, and made it to the final three in the first season of Project Runway.

49. Jessica Gomes

Gomes has an interesting heritage. She’s Australian but of Singaporean, Chinese, and Portuguese heritage. She’s making her second appearance this year in the swimsuit issue.


48. Irina Sheik

Sheik is a Russian model (full name: Irina Shaykhlislamova). She appeared in the 2007 and 2008 swimsuit editions, and she’s also a worldwide face for Guess Jeans.

47. Cheryl Tiegs

Cheryl Tiegs is a three time SI Swimsuit cover model (’70, ’75, and ’83), and she’s best known for her long running association with the SI swimsuit edition.


46. Oluchi Onweagba

Onweagba hails from Nigeria. She got her big break in the MNet Face of Africa modeling competition, which she won.


45. Raica Oliveira

Raica is a Brazilian model who was discovered by the same modeling scout that discovered Gisele. That guy has a hell of a job.

44. Aline Nakashima

Another Brazilian, but with a diverse background. Her father is Japanese and her mother is Brazilian, but of Portugese descent.


43. Fernanda Motta

Motta is like the Brazilian Tyra Banks, hosting their version of Next Top Model.

42. Carla Campbell

Campbell is from Jamaica, and earned the honor in 2006 of being the first ever model from the Caribbean to appear in the swimsuit edition.

41. Daniella Sarahyba

Sarahyba has been gracing magazine covers since she was 3 days old – when she appeared on the cover of Brazilian parenting magazine Pais & Filhos with her model moth.


40. Frankie Rayder

Frankie Rayder was born “Heidi”, but she seems to have some interesting ideas about names. Her daughter is named “Sunny Bebop”.


39. Alicia Hall

Hall was the winner of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search, a short lived NBC reality show that aired in 2005.


38. Bridget Hall

Bridget is one of IMG’s biggest stars, and appeared in the SI swimsuit edition from 2002-2006.

37. Angela Lindvall

Lindvall is hot, but she also sounds like a great person. She’s very interested in the environment and sustainability and is the founder and president of the Collage Foundation, an organization promoting sustainability and environmentally conscious choices among young people.


36. Yamila Diaz-Rahi

Diaz-Rahi is an Argentinian model of Lebanese and Spanish descent. She was on the 2002 SI swimsuit edition cover.


35. May Andersen

Anderson is the face of Danish tourism for their “Who doesn’t like a Dane?” campaign. This is despite recently being arrested for flipping out on an airplane. But that’s ok with us, she might have fallen on some hard times of late, but back in the day Anderson was hot enough to easily make our list.

34. Juliana Martins

Martins has been dubbed the “Brazilian Cindy Crawford” since she was 13 years old.

33. Noemie Lenoir

Lenoir is a French model and actress, appearing in such movies as Rush Hour 3 and After the Sunset.

32. Selita Ebanks

Selita Ebanks grew up in the Cayman Islands. She’s not just hot either, she was intelligent enough to get accepted to Columbia University, but never attended as her modeling career took off before she enrolled.

31. Julie Henderson

Julie Henderson was discovered in Houston, Texas at the age of 13. She’s appeared in the past two SI swimsuit editions.

30. Kylie Bax

 Kylie is a Kiwi, having grown up on a horse farm in New Zealand.


29. Isabeli Fontana

Yet another Brazilian, Fontana moved from Brazil to Milan, Italy to become a model when she was only 13 years old. She generated some controversy when she posed for a Victoria’s Secret campaign when she was only 16 years old, seemingly reversing a policy Victoria’s Secret had of only signing models who were 21 and older.


28. Cindy Crawford

Crawford is one of the original supermodels, and one of the famous models of all time.


27. Valeria Mazza

An Argentine model, Mazza’s big break was appearing on the 1996 SI swimsuit edition cover with Tyra Banks.

26. Rachel Hunter

Another New Zealander, Hunter began modeling at the age of 17, and got her break appearing in SI in 1989. She later appeared on the “Dream Team” multi-model 1994 SI swimsuit edition cover.

25. Stephanie Seymour

Seymour is a published author, writing the book Stephanie Seymour’s Beauty Secrets for Dummies in 1998. 


24. Daniela Pestova

Pestova is a three time cover model for the SI swimsuit issue, gracing the cover in 1995, 2000 and 2006.


23. Kathy Ireland

Ireland appeared in the SI swimsuit issue an astounding twelve times before her final appearance in 1996. For a lot of years in the 80′s Ireland was basically synonymous with the SI swimsuit issue.

 
22. Paulina Porizkova

Porizkova had a crazy childhood, with her parents fleeing the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia and leaving her with her grandmother, thinking they could get her later. Czech authorities wouldn’t allow this however, causing a huge uproar that finally allowed Porizkova to be reunited with her family a crazy seven years later. She then became a model at the age of fifteen, and appeared on SI’s swimsuit issue cover in 1984 and ’85.


21. Elle Macpherson

Macpherson has made the cover of the SI swimsuit issue on six different occasions, five times in the 80′s and 90′s, and once in the 2000′s.




20. Chandra North

North was a big model back in the early 90′s, appearing in quite a few SI swimsuit issues.


19. Petra Nemcova

Nemcova is a Czech model who discovered at the age of 16 during a national talent search. She has appeared on the cover of the swimsuit edition once, in 2003, but has also appeared in the 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006 editions.


18. Jessica Van Der Steen

Jessica Van Der Steen is currently a Victoria’s Secret model, but she appeared in the SI swimsuit edition in 2004 and 2005.

17. Beyonce Knowles

Beyonce has the distinction of being the first non-model, non-athlete to pose for the cover of the SI swimsuit issue, being featured on the cover of the 2007 edition.

16. Elsa Benitez

A Mexican model, Benitez appeared on the cover of the 2001 SI swimsuit issue.

15. Brooklyn Decker

Decker hails from Kettering, Ohio, and is engaged to tennis player Andy Roddick.

14. Ana Beatriz Barros

Barros has appeared seven times in the swimsuit issue, making appearances in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.

13. Molly Sims

Sims appeared in the Sports Illustrated “Swimsuit Issue” in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2006. In the 2006 issue she wore a bikini fashioned from over $30 million worth of diamonds.

12. Michelle Behennah

Behenna was born in Singapore, but raised in England. She won a modeling contest held by a shampoo company when she was 14 years old.


11. Anna Kournikova

One of the hottest female athletes of all time, it’s really a tragedy that Kournikova isn’t still in the spotlight a lot today. The internet misses her.


10. Veronika Varekova

Varekova has made eight appearances in SI’s swimsuit issue including a cover in 2004

9. Rebecca Romijn

Romijn has made the leap from model to actress as well as anyone, as evidenced by her role as Mystique in the X-men franchise, as well as her work on Ugly Betty.

8. Niki Taylor

 One of the original Supermodels, Taylor was on the cover of the 1998 SI swimsuit issue..


7. Naomi Campbell

Another original Supermodel, Campbell has kind of lost her mind in recent years, but that’s ok. We still love her.

6. Kim Alexis

Alexis was a huge model in the 80′s, and later became a health nut, running marathons and hosting health shows on Lifetime and the Health Network.

5. Christie Brinkley

Billy Joel’s ex-wife. Oh, also appeared on three SI swimsuit issue covers in the late 70′s and early 80′s, and was also the face of Covergirl for a really long time.

4. Marisa Miller

Discovered at the age of 16 in a San Francisco cafe by two Italian modeling agents, Miller has appeared in every issue of the SI swimsuit edition since 2002.


3. Bar Rafaeli

The 2009 cover girl, and easily one of the hottest women in the world.


2. Heidi Klum

Host of Project Runway and easily one of the most famous models in the world, Klum always stood out when appearing in SI’s annual.


1. Tyra Banks

Tyra Banks has transitioned from modeling to building a massive empire and positioning herself as the heir apparent to Oprah Winfrey. She was the first African-American to grace the cover of the SI swimsuit issue, and that cover might just be the most iconic in the history of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. That’s good enough for us when it comes to our top spot, although the number one slot certainly could have gone to any number of the women that made up this list!