Martha Stewart has become the oldest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover star in history, admitting the experience felt ‘odd’ but that she reckons it ‘turned out okay’.
Stewart, 81, unveiled her historic cover on the Today show, modelling a white Monday Swimwear one-piece, which retails at $192, teamed with a striking orange cover-up from Torso Creations.
The snaps were taken in the Dominican Republic by photographer Ruven Afanador, who she said was ‘so much fun to work with’.
“I like that picture,” she said as she stood beside a blown-up version on a screen in the studio.
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The American businesswomen and TV personality – who rose to fame with various lifestyle ventures – admitted the shoot had been a little odd to experience, but that she felt happy with the end result.
“I’m sort of shaking, because it’s odd to go to an island and then get changed into nine different bathing suits in one day – in front of all those people!” she said, adding: “And it turned out okay!”
In her interview with Sports Illustrated, Stewart said she doesn’t tend to focus on age too much, but that her turn as the oldest cover star did feel ‘historic’.
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She said: “When I heard that I was going to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, I thought, ‘Oh, that’s pretty good, I’m going to be the oldest person I think ever on a cover of Sports Illustrated.’
“And I don’t think about age very much, but I thought that this is kind of historic.”
The founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia had travelled to the Dominican Republic for her photoshoot as she posed on location at the stunning Casa de campo Resort and Villas.
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Stewart – who worked as a model as a teenager before going on to set up her lifestyle empire and has recently been labelled something of a sex symbol – said she felt motivated to feature in the issue to show that women can look great at any age.
She continued: “Age is not the determining factor in terms of friendship or in terms of success, but what people do, how people think, how people act, that’s what’s important and not your age.”
MJ Day, Sports Illustrated Editor in Chief, added: “Never in her life has [Martha] let her circumstances dictate her outcome.
“She’s changed with the times - always one step ahead, it seems - to build a wide-reaching business empire.”
Jess Hardiman