CBS Mornings’ Gayle King Turns Heads as the Newest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Model
It’s that time of year again! The annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is here, and this year, there are four cover models.
Three of the models are familiar faces: Kate Upton, Hunter McGrady, and Chrissy Teigen. But there’s also a new model, Gayle King, who is 69 years old. She is here to show that age is just a number.
When Gayle King from CBS Mornings was first asked to be in the 60th anniversary issue, she thought it was a joke.
“It wasn’t something I dreamed about,” King told People. “But it was one of the highlights of all the things I’ve done because I never thought this would be possible.”
Before she accepted the offer, Gayle spoke with some trusted people in her life.
“I consulted my kitchen cabinet, which is my daughter, Kirby, my son, Will, and Oprah,” she said. “Oprah told me, ‘You and I have two very different ideas of fun always,’ but she also said, ‘It seems like something you would really enjoy.’ Kirby and Will encouraged me, saying, ‘Go for it!’”
Once she decided to do the photoshoot, Gayle King set a few ground rules. She made it clear that she wasn’t going to starve herself for the shoot, and she also wanted her photos to be mostly untouched. The only thing she asked to be adjusted was “a few dimples on her thighs.”
“My grandmother told me when I was little, ‘Mother nature wasn’t as kind to you as she was to other girls. Maybe you need to start wearing makeup.’ I just never saw myself that way,” Gayle shared.
She continued, “I know what I look like before I go into hair and makeup, so it’s hard for me to go from that to being on the cover. That’s something I have to process myself.”
But King had nothing to worry about. When she arrived for the photoshoot in Mexico, she said the photographer, Yu Tsai, made her feel like “Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, and Halle Berry all rolled into one.”
“I felt so comfortable and cared for that I didn’t even have time to feel self-conscious,” she added.
“I never in a million years thought I would be standing here in a bathing suit for Sports Illustrated [Swimsuit], but here I am. This shows me that sometimes people can dream, God can dream, and the universe can dream a bigger dream than you can ever think for yourself,” King told Sports Illustrated. “I would have never thought this was possible. This was nowhere on my bucket list. So maybe it was a dream that I didn’t even know I wanted because now that I’m here, I want it bad.”
Gayle looks amazing! It’s wonderful how Sports Illustrated showcases different ages, body types, and races in their issue. We’re not all the same, and everyone deserves to be represented.
