Martha Stewart becomes the oldest ever Sports Illustrated cover star at 81: ‘Kind of historic’

Martha Stewart has made her Sports Illustrated debut. Photo / AP

Celebrity chef Martha Stewart has become the oldest star to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit magazine.

Stewart, 81, revealed her cover of the 2023 swimsuit issue on the US Today morning show today, as reported by Page Six Style.

The cover shows the celebrated chef wearing a white one-piece swimsuit from Monday with an orange Torso Creations cover-up, as well as a fresh-faced makeup look and blowout hairstyle.

Stewart admitted that she was “sort of shaking” as she showed it off but declared, “I like that picture.”

She said it was “odd” to pose in swimwear “in front of all those people,” but added that she thought it “turned out okay.”

Celebrity chef Martha Stewart appears on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit issue. Photo / Sports Illustrated

Photographer Ruven Afanador took photos of the cookbook author in the Dominican Republic. Stewart donned 10 outfits for the shoot, including an Isa Boulder lace-up maillot and a red one-piece by Norma Kamali.

EXCLUSIVE: @MarthaStewart is one of the Sports Illustrated @SInow’s 2023 swimsuit cover models! pic.twitter.com/sXP05DsmJA

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 15, 2023

She told the outlet, “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’.”

Stewart added,” I don’t think about age very much, but I thought that this is kind of historic.”

The beloved chef 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.”

Stewart knows a thing or two about taking a selfie, even releasing merch last year featuring some of her most iconic photos. In February, she shared some of her selfie secrets with Page Six Style.

“Work your best angles and project the jaw to look up towards the camera,” she advised.

“Also, make sure you are optimising lighting.”