US – Television personality and entrepreneur Martha Stewart has become American magazine Sports Illustrated’s oldest cover model, posing for its annual swimsuit edition at the age of 81.
She surpasses fashion model Maye Musk, who was aged 74 when she appeared on the magazine’s cover in 2022.
Stewart began modelling aged 15 and also worked as a Wall Street stockbroker. She later started a catering business, which grew into a lifestyle media company.
Stewart is one of four women gracing the cover of the magazine’s swimsuit issue, which this year aims to celebrate powerful women who ‘live in a world where they feel no limitations, internally or externally’. The magazine’s other covers feature actor Megan Fox, model Brooks Nader and musician Kim Petras.
On the confidence it took to pose for the publication, Stewart told The New York Times: 'When the offer came, I thought, ‘I can do this. I don’t have to give in to convention’.’
Sports Illustrated is following a trend we highlighted in our She Is Mother report, which explores how talented women over 60 – especially in the entertainment industry – are being seen and celebrated by consumers of all ages.
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