It’s that season once more! Time for the yearly Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, featuring four cover models once more.
While Kate Upton, Hunter McGrady, and Chrissy Teigen are three seasoned models, one is a recent addition who, at 69, used her picture shoot to demonstrate that age is just a number.
Gayle King of CBS Mornings felt she was “being punked” when she was first asked to participate in Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue, marking the magazine’s 60th anniversary.
“I never thought this would be possible, so it was one of the highlights of everything I’ve done,” King said to People, “but it wasn’t something I dreamed about.”
She conferred with a few reliable individuals in her life before accepting.
“Kirby, my daughter, Will, my son, and Oprah make up my kitchen cabinet,” the woman remarked. “Oprah said, ‘You and I have two very different ideas of fun always,’ but she added, ‘But it seems like something you would really enjoy.'” Will and Kirby said, “Go for it.” Take it on.
She established some guidelines as soon as she made the decision to proceed with the photo session. She didn’t want her images altered beyond adding “a few dimples on her thighs,” and she wasn’t going to starve herself.
“When I was younger, my grandma told me that you were not treated as kindly by mother nature as other young ladies were. Perhaps you should start applying makeup. I had never thought of myself in this way.
“It’s hard for me to go from that to [the cover] because I know what I look like before I go into hair and makeup,” she continued. I have to think about that on my own.
King needed not to be concerned.
She claimed that photographer Yu Tsai made her feel like “Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, and Halle Berry all rolled into one” when she arrived at the photo shoot in Mexico.
“I didn’t even have time to feel self-conscious because I felt so at ease and taken care of.”
“This tells me that sometimes people can dream, God can dream, the universe can dream a bigger dream than you can ever think for yourself,” King said to Sports Illustrated. “I never in a million years thought I would be standing here in a bathing suit for Sports Illustrated [Swimsuit],” King said. “I never would have imagined that this could happen. I had no intention of doing this. Now that I’m here, I want it badly, so I’m thinking maybe it was a dream that I wasn’t even aware I desired.
Gayle looks gorgeous! I think it’s fantastic that Sports Illustrated includes people of various ages, shapes, and races in their publication. Since no two people are alike, everyone should have representation.
