Model Lauren Chan gave a flirty wink as she played in the clear turquoise waters while shooting the cover of the 2025 Sports Illustrated swimwear issue. The moment was captured and shared on TikTok, with the fashionista stunning in a white bikini and white starfish choker.
It was the size-inclusion icon’s third time in the storied magazine. In a Tuesday, May 13 Instagram Story, she looked like she was having the time of her life in a white string bikini and weighted necklace. Over the video she wrote, “she doesn’t know it yet but she’s shooting the cover.”
Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated
In a video published to the SI Swimsuit TikTok on Tuesday, May 13, a team from the magazine surprised Chan — who was relaxing in a bathrobe when they rang her doorbell — at home.
“My heart’s beating so fast,” Chan said as they told her the big news and gave her an early edition of her cover. “I don’t know what to do!”
The coveted print edition will be available to the public on Saturday, May 17.
@si.swimsuit From editor to entrepreneur, model to storyteller— @lcchan brings her signature style and perspective back to #SISwimsuit for the 2025 Issue, hitting stands this May. ✨ @Bermuda #CambridgeBeaches #GoToBermuda #LaurenChan #Revealed #SISwim25 #Bermuda #2025Issue #FYP #ForYou ♬ original sound - SI SWIMSUIT 👙
Renowned photographer Ben Watts shot Chan’s cover in Bermuda, where she so confidently walked through the water in her white bikini and gave a fateful, playful wink. The other covers went to gymnasts Livvy Dunne and Jordan Chiles, and Hollywood super-star Salma Hayek. Chan.
By Wednesday morning May 14, Chan’s Instagram Stories were filled with posts congratulating her as the first queer model to have a solo cover.
“I was genuinely surprised,” Chan told SI of nabbing the cover, in an article published on Tuesday, May 13. “Something that’s so special about being part of SI Swimsuit is that it allows you to live in the spirit of hope and possibility…I’ve always had a little bit of hope, but to have it actually happen is ... I’m speechless.”
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