--- description: Robyn Lawley, size 12, will appear in Sports Illustrated in a bikini from her own line. title: Meet the First Plus-Size Model in 'Sports Illustrated' Swimsuit Edition History image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt041e90bc54092c38/69877dc755a8596932a85a68/robyn-lawley-rookie-reveal_hi-res.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Meet the First Plus-Size Model in _Sports Illustrated_ Swimsuit Edition History by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 6:13 PM CUTPublished: Feb 5, 2015 5:20 PM CUT  Robyn Lawley Robyn LawleyJames Macari—Sports Illustrated by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 6:13 PM CUTPublished: Feb 5, 2015 5:20 PM CUT Model Robyn Lawley was awake early Thursday morning, eagerly anticipating a career-defining moment: “I’m so excited, I’m dying — I’m dying!” That’s because _Sports Illustrated_ was announcing Lawley’s appearance in the magazine’s highly anticipated swimsuit edition. And while Lawley’s bikini-clad figure seems like a [natural fit](http://www.si.com/swim-daily/2015/02/05/sports-illustrated-swimsuit-2015-rookie-reveal-robyn-lawley "undefined"), her inclusion is historic. As a U.S. size 12, she’s the curviest model to ever appear in the edition, and she’s doing it while wearing a [bikini from her own swimwear line.](http://robynlawley.com.au/swim/ "undefined") (Although the bikini in the above photo is by [Montce Swim](http://montce.com/ "undefined").) While a U.S. size 12 would typically qualify as plus-size in the fashion industry — even though the average American woman is a [size 14](http://www.cleveland.com/style/index.ssf/2010/08/size%5F14%5Fis%5Faverage%5Famerican%5Fwo.html "undefined") — Lawley doesn’t like to focus on labels. “I don’t know if I consider myself as a plus-size model or not,” Lawley, who is represented by Wilhelmina Models, says. “I just consider myself a model because I’m trying to help women in general accept their bodies. ” ### See Every Cover of The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition  1964 Sports Illustrated  1965 Sports Illustrated  1966 Sports Illustrated  1967 Sports Illustrated  1968 Sports Illustrated  1969 Sports Illustrated  1970 Sports Illustrated  1971 Sports Illustrated  1972 Sports Illustrated  1973 Sports Illustrated  1974 Sports Illustrated  1975 Sports Illustrated  1976 Sports Illustrated  1977 Sports Illustrated  1978 Sports Illustrated  1979 Sports Illustrated  1980 Sports Illustrated  1981 Sports Illustrated  1982 Sports Illustrated  1983 Sports Illustrated  1984 Sports Illustrated  1985 Sports Illustrated  1986 Sports Illustrated  1987 Sports Illustrated  1988 Sports Illustrated  1989 Sports Illustrated  1990 Sports Illustrated  1991 Sports Illustrated  1992 Sports Illustrated  1993 Sports Illustrated  1994 Sports Illustrated  1995 Sports Illustrated  1996 Sports Illustrated  1997 Sports Illustrated  1998 Sports Illustrated  1999 Sports Illustrated  2000 Sports Illustrated  2001 Sports Illustrated  2002 Sports Illustrated  2003 Sports Illustrated  2004 Sports Illustrated  2005 Sports Illustrated  2006 Sports Illustrated  2007 Sports Illustrated  2008 Sports Illustrated  2009 Sports Illustrated  2010 Sports Illustrated  2011 Sports Illustrated  2012 Sports Illustrated  2013 Sports Illustrated  2014 Sports Illustrated  \*\*\*NORTH AMERICA usage only, ending February 28, 2015; credit: Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated; caption must include the words "on sale now." NO INTERNATIONAL USE.\*\*\* Winter 2015 Sports Illustrated Cover: Swimsuit: 2015 Issue: Portrait of Hannah Davis during photo shoot at Blackberry Farm. Swimsuit by Cynababy Swimwear. Walland, TN 8/5/2014 CREDIT: Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated SetNumber: X158481 TK1 Sports Illustrated MJ Day, assistant managing editor of _Sports Illustrated_ (which, like TIME, is owned by Time, Inc.)_,_ says Lawley had been on her radar for years and is being highlighted as a model rather than as a “plus size” model. “She sort of embodies the classic SI girl — she’s interesting, she’s beautiful, she has an incredible body, and I felt that she would make a great addition to the issue,” Day says. “It was simple as that.” This ethos is in line with the recent [movement](http://time.com/3667580/mattel-barbie-earnings-plus-size-body-image/ "undefined") to integrate models of varying body types into commercial and high fashion campaigns. But even though Lawley has graced the cover of _Vogue Italia_ and _Cosmopolitan Australia_, and shot ads for Ralph Lauren, Chantelle and Barneys, she didn’t think the swimsuit edition was a real possibility. (Although she did appear in a viral campaign last year in which plus-size swimwear line SwimsuitsForAll [re-imagined SI swimsuit spreads with plus-size models.](http://www.refinery29.com/swimsuits-for-all "undefined") SwimsuitsForAll will have an ad in the new _SI_ issue [featuring size 16 Ashley Graham.](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/02/04/curvesinbikinis-ashley-graham-sports-illustrated/22892239/ "undefined")) “I never thought that this would happen to me, so this is a milestone,” says Lawley. “When I started my career 10 years ago, I had to painfully go to castings and people would look at you and say, ‘What the hell are you doing here?’… I want to be there for the regular girls who are my size.” Lawley’s Facebook announcement that she (along with hundreds of other models) applied to be one of the 24 swimsuit models in the issue made [made waves in social media](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/13/robyn-lawley-sports-illustrated%5Fn%5F5315312.html "undefined"), with many supporting the idea of a more representative body type appearing in the issue. “To be totally honest, I am a size 12,” Day says. “I’m not saying I see myself in \[Lawley\] because my body doesn’t look as good as hers, but I knew that when I found the right person who could represent that, she would be in the issue.” Former plus-size model Crystal Renn appeared in the 2012 issue [when she was a smaller size](http://www.plus-model-mag.com/2012/02/former-plus-size-model-crystal-renn-in-sports-illustrated/ "undefined"). When Lawley met with Day last year for a casting — wearing a bikini from her line — the model says, “I was told to stay healthy and exactly as I am.” And it turns out that Lawley, now nine months pregnant, did the Jackson Hole shoot during her first trimester. “Now they know why I was sleeping so much of the time!” _Read next:_ [_See the LIFE Version of the Swimsuit Issue_](http://time.com/3696282/swimsuit-issue-the-life-edition/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ### Swimsuit Issue: The LIFE Edition  California, 1970. Co Rentmeester—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  California, 1970. Co Rentmeester—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  California, 1970. Co Rentmeester—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  California, 1970. Co Rentmeester—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  California, 1970. Co Rentmeester—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  California, 1970. Co Rentmeester—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  California, 1970. Co Rentmeester—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  California, 1970. Co Rentmeester—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  California, 1970. Co Rentmeester—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  California, 1970. Co Rentmeester—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3697015/sports-illustrated-swimsuit-edition-plus-size-model-robyn-lawley/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3697015/sports-illustrated-swimsuit-edition-plus-size-model-robyn-lawley/"},"headline":"Meet the First Plus-Size Model in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition History","datePublished":"2015-02-05T17:20:23.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T18:13:33.000Z","description":"Robyn Lawley, size 12, will appear in Sports Illustrated in a bikini from her own line.","url":"https://time.com/3697015/sports-illustrated-swimsuit-edition-plus-size-model-robyn-lawley/","keywords":["Living","Newsfeed","Body Image","Sports Illustrated"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt041e90bc54092c38/69877dc755a8596932a85a68/robyn-lawley-rookie-reveal_hi-res.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt041e90bc54092c38/69877dc755a8596932a85a68/robyn-lawley-rookie-reveal_hi-res.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Robyn Lawley","caption":"Robyn Lawley, Sports Illustrated","creditText":"James Macari—Sports Illustrated","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3697015/sports-illustrated-swimsuit-edition-plus-size-model-robyn-lawley/","name":"Meet the First Plus-Size Model in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition History"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How To Date a Swimsuit Model","description":"Chocolates? 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