Halima Aden, 20, was born in a refugee camp in Kenya and moved to the U.S. at 7 years old. She was homecoming queen in high school in St. Cloud and was a semifinalist at the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, an experience that gave her confidence.
Now, she's officially in the famed Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, wearing a hijab and a burkini.
(See all the photos here)“I never really felt represented because I never could flip through a magazine and see a girl who was wearing a hijab.” #ShatteringPerceptions pic.twitter.com/EtNfpszcmy
— Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (@SI_Swimsuit)
April 29, 2019 I was scared," Aden said. "Like 'oh my god,' what if I get boos or no clapping."
Another Minnesotan is in this year's issue. Lindsey Vonn, the recently retired downhill skier, makes her third appearance in the magazine. Vonn is from Burnsville.
We'll miss her on the slopes, but we LOVE Lindsey Vonn on the beach! pic.twitter.com/gogqfJfz3F
— Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (@SI_Swimsuit)
May 9, 2019 In recent years, Sports Illustrated has tried to reflect a more diverse group of models in the pages of the swimsuit issue. MJ Day, SI's Swimsuit editor, promised this issue would have "a wide range of age and race and levels of modesty that really is a first for us" during an appearance on "Good Morning America."
There have been features of plus-sized models, female athletes, some that are moms like 54 year old Paulina Porizkova who first appeared in SI back in the 1984 issue. They've also broken a gender wall by using more female photographers after using almost exclusively men for years.
This year also features 45 year old Tyra Banks, who graces one of three print-edition covers, returns. Banks became the first African-American model to be on the cover back in 1997.
"Being the first black woman on the cover, I didn't dream it, because I never thought it was possible, almost like this," Banks told USA Today. "I never thought it'd be possible – I'm 45-years-old on the cover of this magazine again."
In 2015, Ashley Graham became the first plus-sized model to be featured, and in 2016 became the first to be featured on the cover. But for Sports Illustrated, embracing a cultural difference like Halima Aden's is an entirely different step for the magazine.
The swimsuit issue is known for not being shy about showing skin, with supermodels gracing the pages going back to it's launch in 1964. Now, Aden is showing up covered almost completely from head to toe in a magazine that also features bikinis that are made of string, and sometimes less.
"It's not my culture to do pageantry, it's very much an American culture. But that's always been my messaging. Don't be afraid to do be the first", said Aden.
Beauty has no boundaries!❤️ @Kinglimaa https://t.co/Bze72cg8fo pic.twitter.com/bXrh0faOYZ
— Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (@SI_Swimsuit)
May 8, 2019 The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue has long been a career changing opportunity for models, launching the careers of several stars of the industry. Since 2014, as the magazine has become more inclusive, those opportunities have been coming to models like Halima Aden, who can barely contain her excitement.
"This is literally a dream come true. I can't even tell you how this feels", Halima Aden said in a video posted by SI.
