Maye Musk, Kim Kardashian Among Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s Cover Stars
Elon Musk may be deep in his deal to buy Twitter (or not, given his tweet Friday), but that’s not the reason why the billionaire didn’t know until Monday — like the rest of the world — that his mother, Maye Musk, is one of the new cover faces of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.
“I haven’t told my children,” the 74-year-old model told WWD last week. “Tosca knew I went for the shoot but she doesn’t know what it was about because I wasn’t allowed to tell anybody and the only reason she knew [about the shoot] was because she was standing next to me [when I got the call]. But Kimbal and Elon, I haven’t told them because I wasn’t allowed to. They’re going to get a surprise. Their friends are going to be blown away.”
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Indeed, the embargo was so strict that most of the models didn’t know who else would be on the cover until Monday, but now the secret is out: Musk, who was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize, is one of four cover models this year, joining Kim Kardashian, Ciara and Yumi Nu.
When Musk first got the offer to be a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit “rookie,” she joked that she was confused, but soon felt very comfortable during the shoot and hopes that her appearance will help other women feel more confident.
“I think, for me and for every woman in the world, that if they see a 74-year-old model on the cover, I think it’s just going to make them feel great about themselves walking on the beach and then I’m hoping that when someone says, ‘Oh, you don’t look so great,’ you can just ignore them or leave them or not worry about it because men don’t look that great on the beach, I’ll tell you that,” she said. “But we don’t insult them, we don’t say, ‘look at you.’ We are much too kind. So I just think you should mix with people who make you feel good in your swimsuits.”
As for Kardashian, photographed by Greg Swales in the Dominican Republic in a Skims bikini paired with matching gloves, editor in chief MJ Day perhaps surprisingly revealed this was the first time they approached the reality star, entrepreneur and budding lawyer for a magazine shoot, feeling that she embodied the theme of evolution — like all of this year’s cover faces.
“For us, this year and every year really is about evolution and the desire to evolve as a person and as a brand and become more than just whatever label was initially attached to you,” she said. “At 74, Maye continues to work every day to inspire those around her. Ciara has seen enormous success as a performer while simultaneously focusing on her passion for philanthropy and service. In her first year of being in the spotlight, Yumi is coming into who she is and taking on the responsibility of what she stands for. And, of course, Kim, no stranger to the world’s judgment, continues to live proudly, authentically and unapologetically through the noise.”
For her part, Nu added: “We always have ways we can grow as a society and the media, but I think that Sports Illustrated has helped us get to this point where we have an Asian curve model on the cover. We’re making history in that sense and to be a part of that is just an honor and also very healing for me because I would never have guessed this would’ve been my life.”
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