Melissa HaroMelissa 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.
Jessica GomesGomes 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.
Irina SheikSheik 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.
Cheryl TiegsCheryl 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.
Oluchi OnweagbaOnweagba hails from Nigeria. She got her big break in the MNet Face of Africa modeling competition, which she won.
Raica OliveiraRaica is a Brazilian model who was discovered by the same modeling scout that discovered Gisele. That guy has a hell of a job.
Aline NakashimaAnother Brazilian, but with a diverse background. Her father is Japanese and her mother is Brazilian, but of Portugese descent.
Fernanda MottaMotta is like the Brazilian Tyra Banks, hosting their version of Next Top Model.
Carla CampbellCampbell is from Jamaica, and earned the honor in 2006 of being the first ever model from the Caribbean to appear in the swimsuit edition.
Daniella SarahybaSarahyba 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 mother.
Frankie RayderFrankie Rayder was born “Heidi”, but she seems to have some interesting ideas about names. Her daughter is named “Sunny Bebop”.
Alicia HallHall was the winner of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search, a short lived NBC reality show that aired in 2005.
Bridget HallBridget is one of IMG’s biggest stars, and appeared in the SI swimsuit edition from 2002-2006.
Angela LindvallLindvall 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.
Yamila Diaz-RahiDiaz-Rahi is an Argentinian model of Lebanese and Spanish descent. She was on the 2002 SI swimsuit edition cover.
May AndersenAnderson 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.
Juliana MartinsMartins has been dubbed the “Brazilian Cindy Crawford” since she was 13 years old.
Noemie LenoirLenoir is a French model and actress, appearing in such movies as Rush Hour 3 and After the Sunset.
Selita EbanksSelita 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.
Julie HendersonJulie Henderson was discovered in Houston, Texas at the age of 13. She’s appeared in the past two SI swimsuit editions.
Kylie BaxKylie is a Kiwi, having grown up on a horse farm in New Zealand.
Isabeli FontanaYet 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.
Cindy CrawfordCrawford is one of the original supermodels, and one of the famous models of all time.
Valeria MazzaAn Argentine model, Mazza’s big break was appearing on the 1996 SI swimsuit edition cover with Tyra Banks.
Rachel HunterAnother 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.
Stephanie SeymourSeymour is a published author, writing the book >em>Stephanie Seymour’s Beauty Secrets for Dummies in 1998. A real page turner I hear.
Daniela PestovaPestova is a three time cover model for the SI swimsuit issue, gracing the cover in 1995, 2000 and 2006.
Kathy IrelandIreland 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.
Paulina PorizkovaPorizkova 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.
Elle MacphersonMacpherson 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.
Chandra NorthNorth was a big model back in the early 90’s, appearing in quite a few SI swimsuit issues.
Petra NemcovaNemcova 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.
Jessica Van Der SteenJessica Van Der Steen is currently a Victoria’s Secret model, but she appeared in the SI swimsuit edition in 2004 and 2005.
Beyonce KnowlesBeyonce 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.
Elsa BenitezA Mexican model, Benitez appeared on the cover of the 2001 SI swimsuit issue.
Brooklyn DeckerDecker hails from Kettering, Ohio, and is engaged to tennis player Andy Roddick.
Ana Beatriz BarrosBarros has appeared seven times in the swimsuit issue, making appearances in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.
Molly SimsSims 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.
Michelle BehennahBehenna was born in Singapore, but raised in England. She won a modeling contest held by a shampoo company when she was 14 years old.
Anna KournikovaOne 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.
Veronika VarekovaVarekova has made eight appearances in SI’s swimsuit issue including a cover in 2004
Rebecca RomijnRomijn 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.
Niki TaylorOne of the original Supermodels, Taylor was on the cover of the 1998 SI swimsuit issue..
Naomi CampbellAnother original Supermodel, Campbell has kind of lost her mind in recent years, but that’s ok. We still love her.
Kim AlexisAlexis 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.
Christie BrinkleyBilly 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.
Marisa MillerDiscovered 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.
Bar RafaeliThe 2009 cover girl, and easily one of the hottest women in the world.
Heidi KlumHost of Project Runway and easily one of the most famous models in the world, Klum always stood out when appearing in SI’s annual.
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!
