Salma Hayek almost 'backed out' of sexy Sports Illustrated Swimsuit shoot
'If somebody had told me I was gonna be in it at 58, I would have sent them to the madhouse'
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Salma Hayek is all smiles now as one of the four cover stars featured this year in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. But she admits to getting cold feet just before stripping down for her photo shoot.
“I said yes and then when it was time to do it, I tried to back out,” Hayek told the Today show. this week after she was unveiled as one of the faces fronting 2025’s SI Swimsuit. “I said, ‘No,’ because the bathing suits never fit me, how am I gonna do this? There’s nothing my size — I always suffer.'”
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Hayek, 58, is one of four personalities on the the collectible covers alongside Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles, influencer and former artistic gymnast Olivia Dunne, and Canadian model, activist and entrepreneur Lauren Chan.
“I remember when I was young, a long, long time ago, I was always excited to see the Swimsuit Issue of Sports Illustrated, and (thinking) ‘Who’s going to be in it?'” Hayek told SI while in her native Mexico for her photo op. “Of course, I didn’t look like a model, so it never crossed my mind that one day I would be in it.”
The Eternals star said that if someone had told her she would be one of the faces featured by the outlet at her age, she would have “sent them to the madhouse.”
“If somebody had told me I was gonna be in it at 58, I would have sent them to the madhouse, but the world has changed, and that’s exciting,” she said.
The Oscar-nominated star also praised the publication for helping women over 50 “feel sexy.”
“I could retire, but I don’t want to miss out on this time. I fought for it, you know, and I’ve been part of it,” she told SI. “I think it’s really remarkable that a magazine like Sports Illustrated says that it’s OK, maybe even cool, to be past 50 and still be able to feel not just sexy, but for me, to be free and not be self-conscious of your body like you have to hide.”
Hayek echoed this sentiment during her appearance on the Today show.
“I still can’t believe it,” she said. “I remember when I was young and hot, I used to look at this magazine. I wanted to see who was the new gorgeous model, the new girl of the moment. And it never crossed my mind that I could be on that cover because they didn’t look like me. My body’s not necessarily the model type and I never thought that was a possibility. And for it to happen when I’m 58? It’s really shocking.”
MJ Day, the editor in chief of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, called Hayek a “force of nature.”
“As an actor, director, producer, and champion for women, Salma is a beacon for Latinx communities, a tireless advocate and a person whose passion for art, life and humanity has few rivals … She has a creative fire that lights up everything she touches,” Day wrote.
In a separate statement, Day praised this year’s other models.
“Every single woman included this year brings with her a unique and powerful reason for being featured in the issue. Whether it’s about what she represents, the impact she’s making, or the change she’s driving in her own life and the world around her, these women show up with passion and purpose.”
SI Swimsuit has embraced featuring older models in recent years. In May 2023, Martha Stewart became the oldest cover star to grace the SI Swimsuit Issue at the age of 81.
Last year, Stewart returned alongside septuagenarians Maye Musk and Christie Brinkley for the SI Swimsuit 60th Anniversary Legends shoot.
Meanwhile, Hayek might be making her SI debut, but she’s no stranger to sharing bikini photos with her fans.
To mark her 58th birthday last September, Hayek shared a series of bathing suit pics to her Instagram.
“Birthday bikini dump, happy 58th birthday to me!” she captioned the slideshow. “P.s none of these are throwbacks.”
The month prior, she posted two Instagram pics from Ibiza in which she posed in a bikini on a boat.
“Yellow bikini + White hair = perfect combination,” she wrote in the caption.
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