--- description: Plus-size model Ashley Graham will grace one of three "Sports Illustrated" Swimsuit covers in a historic move the magazine announced title: Plus-Size Ashley Graham Will Appear on 'Sports Illustrated' Swimsuit Cover image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e959c9543d51246/69887da08e06016d444649bc/ashley-graham-sports-illustrated.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Plus-Size Model Ashley Graham Appears on _Sports Illustrated_ Swimsuit Cover  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 14, 2016 4:00 PM CUT  Model Ashley Graham attends the Forbes 30 Under 30 cocktail reception at Forbes Building on Jan. 28, 2016 in New York City. Model Ashley Graham attends the Forbes 30 Under 30 cocktail reception at Forbes Building on Jan. 28, 2016 in New York City.Noam Galai-WireImage  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 14, 2016 4:00 PM CUT Plus-size model [Ashley Graham](http://time.com/4029937/plus-size-new-york-fashion-week/ "undefined") will appear on [one of three _Sports Illustrated_ Swimsuit covers](http://www.si.com/swim-daily/2016/02/11/si-swimsuit-2016-cover-models-ronda-rousey-ashley-graham-hailey-clauson "undefined"), the magazine announced late Saturday. The 28-year-old body positive activist from Nebraska will be featured on this year’s swimsuit issue, along with MMA fighter Ronda Rousey and model Hailey Clauson. The magazine said it’s the first time in 52 years that it is putting out three different _Sports Illustrated_ Swimsuit covers. Graham is the first size-16 model to appear on the cover, [according to _People_](http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2016/02/13/ashley-graham-sports-illustrated-cover-2016/ "undefined"). “I thought Sports Illustrated was taking a risk by putting a girl my size in the pages,” she told the magazine. “But putting me on the cover? They aren’t just breaking barriers. They are the standard now. This is beyond epic.” **Read More:** [Meet the Curvy Model Whose Unretouched Photos Are Taking the Internet by Storm](http://time.com/4196604/barbie-ferreira-model-aerie/ "undefined") Graham said she dedicates her cover to women who “never felt that they were beautiful enough” or skinny enough. “Now we’re being represented,” she said. The _Sports Illustrated_ issue hits stands Monday. (_Sports Illustrated_ and TIME are both owned by Time Inc.) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4224375/ashley-graham-sports-illustrated-swimsuit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4224375/ashley-graham-sports-illustrated-swimsuit/"},"headline":"Plus-Size Model Ashley Graham Appears on Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover","datePublished":"2016-02-14T16:00:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:13:24.328Z","description":"Plus-size model Ashley Graham will grace one of three \"Sports Illustrated\" Swimsuit covers in a historic move the magazine announced","url":"https://time.com/4224375/ashley-graham-sports-illustrated-swimsuit/","keywords":["celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e959c9543d51246/69887da08e06016d444649bc/ashley-graham-sports-illustrated.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e959c9543d51246/69887da08e06016d444649bc/ashley-graham-sports-illustrated.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Forbes 30 Under 30 Cocktail Reception","caption":"Model Ashley Graham attends the Forbes 30 Under 30 cocktail reception at Forbes Building on Jan. 28, 2016 in New York City.","creditText":"Noam Galai-WireImage","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":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4224375/ashley-graham-sports-illustrated-swimsuit/","name":"Plus-Size Model Ashley Graham Appears on Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover"}}]}] ```