Tyra Banks was the first Black model on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She appeared on the cover in 1996, becoming the publication’s first African-American cover model.
Banks had already made history in other parts of fashion. Born in 1973 in Inglewood, California, she became one of the few Black models to achieve international supermodel status and signed a major CoverGirl contract in 1993. She was also the first African-American woman on the cover of GQ and, in 1997, became the first African-American model chosen for the Victoria’s Secret catalog.
The wording can cause a small historical confusion: Banks’s 1996 appearance was the first Black cover appearance, while her 1997 return is often described as the first African-American solo cover of a dedicated special issue. Those descriptions refer to different cover distinctions, not different people.
Banks later returned to the magazine in 2019, 22 years after her first cover, and also became widely known as the host and creator of America’s Next Top Model.