Sports Illustrated Cover Features Trans Model for the First Time Ever

Landing the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition was a lifelong dream of model Leyna Bloom, who made history earlier this week as the first transgender woman to do so.

She recalled the moment she saw Tyra Banks (the first Black model to be featured solo) on the cover in 1997 and how profound that moment was. “I was like, ‘When I was looking at that magazine … I was looking into my future. You were giving me the tools I needed to see myself, to know that I could be there, that I could inspire, that one day I could be a part of this,’” she recounted to Page Six Style.

Bloom was one of three models the magazine featured on its swimsuit edition covers this year. She was joined by tennis champ Naomi Osaka and artist Megan Thee Stallion, who also made history as the first rapper on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Bloom opened up further about what this moment meant to her in an Instagram post. “I am so happy, honored, and humbled to share that I’m the 1st trans woman to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated! Thanks so much [editor MJ Day and the Sports Illustrated team] for recognizing the importance of representation; this is all of our responsibility,” wrote Bloom. “I have dreamt a million beautiful dreams, but for girls like me, most dreams are just fanciful hopes in a world that often erases and omits our history and even existence. This moment is so powerful because it allows me to live forever even after my physical form is gone. Not a lot of people get to live in the future, so at this moment, I’m proudly choosing to live forever.”

Bloom went on to dedicate the cover to the “all ballroom femme queens past, present and future,” adding, “This historical moment is important to #girlslikeus because it allows us to live and be seen. Many girls like us don’t have the chance to live our dreams, or to live long at all. I hope my cover empowers those, who are struggling to be seen, feel valued. Let me be a messenger guiding us to a future of respect and appreciation for all women in all forms and from all walks of life.”

“I truly believe everything we do and everyone we meet are put in our path for a purpose. There are no accidents,” she concluded. 

Bloom’s modeling career began when she moved from Chicago to New York and was “discovered” at age 17 while shopping at a store in Soho. From there, she went on to appear in Vogue India, as well as campaigns for H&M and Levi’s, and has walked the runway for Tommy Hilfiger. While Sports Illustrated was a landmark moment in the model's life, as she told Page Six, it's just the beginning. “We just honestly have to keep moving,” she said. “This is not my first time making history, and this is probably not going to be my last. I want to just go out in the world and not limit myself.”

She added that the world is changing, and that's a beautiful thing. “This is the beginning of it. This is what it looks like, and it’s so beautiful.”