{"id":76576,"date":"2026-05-13T13:53:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T18:53:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kmojfm.com\/wp\/?p=76576"},"modified":"2026-05-13T13:54:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T18:54:03","slug":"the-legacy-behind-tiffany-haddishs-sports-illustrated-swimsuit-cover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kmojfm.com\/wp\/2026\/05\/the-legacy-behind-tiffany-haddishs-sports-illustrated-swimsuit-cover\/","title":{"rendered":"The legacy behind Tiffany Haddish\u2019s Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Tiffany Haddish graces the cover of Sports Illustrated as the first-ever comedian, celebrating the legacy of her swimsuit model grandmother.<\/p>\n

Tiffany Haddish is seeing some of her wildest dreams realized.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, May 12, Sports Illustrated revealed the 46-year-old comedian as the latest cover model for its annual Swimsuit Issue, alongside Hilary Duff, social media star Alix Earle, and Canadian model Nicole Williams English.<\/p>\n

Haddish appears on the cover, photographed along the beaches of Loreto, in a burnt-orange bikini layered over a golden-yellow suit, flashing a cheeky smile with long silky hair and soft, sun-kissed glam. Inside the issue, she leans into bold, retro-inspired swimwear with a subtle nod to 1980s glamour, posing in everything from a black sequined cutout one-piece paired with gold accessories to a vibrant purple Dolce & Gabbana halter suit with a playful chest cutout. Other looks include an aquamarine ruffled swimsuit, a classic red bikini, and a hot-pink satin two-piece, all screaming unapologetic summer fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is gorgeous. I think it is everything that I dreamed of since I was little girl,\u201d Haddish said during an appearance on \u201cToday\u201d on Tuesday moments after seeing it for the first time.<\/p>\n

Haddish \u2014 who said she is also making history as the first comedian to grace the swimsuit issue\u2019s cover \u2014 explained that this milestone is arriving as both something she manifested and as part of the legacy of her late grandmother, Alice Ray, who had been a swimsuit model in the 1950s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking at it right now like, \u2018oh my goodness, that\u2019s me,\u2019\u201d she said of the cover, before adding, \u201cI wish my grandma was alive. I wish my grandma was seeing this, because my grandmother was a model back in the [1950s].\u201d<\/p>\n

The comedian explained her grandmother, who won custody of her and her siblings when the \u201cGirls Trip\u201d star was 15, was among the first Black women to appear on television modeling clothing, and that she used to show Haddish how to pose. Haddish said she developed the desire herself while watching her grandmother, though her grandmother didn\u2019t exactly see modeling in the \u201cNight School\u201d star\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t grow tall enough,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cShe was like, \u2018Yeah, it\u2019s not gonna work out for you. But, you know, there\u2019s other things you could do.\u2019 And so I became a comedian, but I just kept dreaming of it, kept hoping, wishing, and then now I\u2019m doing it \u2026 I know she\u2019s smiling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three years after her death, Haddish opened up during an appearance on \u201cToday with Jenna and Friends\u201d about losing her grandmother in 2022 and how, in particular, her death helped her realize she understood what love is.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt still hurts, but it\u2019s like a good hurt,\u201d she noted. \u201cIt\u2019s a good hurt in my heart. To know that I was capable of loving that much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking more about her cover, Haddish said a lot of hard work went into it, including remaining in the ear of Sports Illustrated, staying consistent in the gym, and finally pushing her management to reach out.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"\n
Tiffany Haddish attends iHeartRadio 102.7 KIIS FM\u2019s Jingle Ball 2025 at Intuit Dome on December 05, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cTo me, it represents hard work, dedication, legacy for my grandmother, for myself,\u201d she said before recalling growing up as a track-and-field star in high school and believing she would one day become an Olympic athlete and land on the cover of the sports publication that way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat didn\u2019t pan out. Became a comedian, and I was like, \u2018Oh, is my dream dead?\u2019 But I still believed in it. And here I am today, first comedian ever to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: TheGrio<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tiffany Haddish graces the cover of Sports Illustrated as the first-ever comedian, celebrating the legacy of her swimsuit model grandmother. Tiffany Haddish is seeing some of her wildest dreams realized. On Tuesday, May 12, Sports Illustrated revealed the 46-year-old comedian as the latest cover model for its annual Swimsuit Issue, alongside Hilary Duff, social media star Alix Earle, and Canadian model Nicole Williams English. Haddish appears on the cover, photographed along the beaches of Loreto, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[50,371],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-feed-content","category-thegrio","infinite-scroll-item","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"auto feed","author_link":"https:\/\/kmojfm.com\/wp\/author\/autofeed\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmojfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmojfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmojfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmojfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmojfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76576"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kmojfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76600,"href":"https:\/\/kmojfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76576\/revisions\/76600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmojfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmojfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmojfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}