WASHINGTON — Martha Stewart has written nearly 100 lifestyle books and can now add another impressive milestone to her resume: Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover model.
The 81-year-old Stewart is joined by actress Megan Fox, Grammy Award winner Kim Petras and five-time SI Swimsuit model Brooks Nader as the cover models for the 2023 edition.
The mother and grandmother is also making history as the oldest-ever model to be featured in the magazine's swimsuit edition. Stewart broke the record set just last year by 74-year-old model Maye Musk, the mother of Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk.
Stewart told Sports Illustrated that she was motivated to participate in the swimsuit edition to show that women can look good and feel great at any age.
“Age is not the determining factor in terms of friendship or in terms of success, but what people do, how people think, how people act, that’s what’s important and not your age,” she told the outlet.
Stewart told NBC's "Today" she relied on diet and exercise to get ready for "the challenge" of being on the cover at her age.
"I didn't starve myself, but I didn't eat any bread or pasta for a couple months," Stewart said. "I went to Pilates every other day and that was great; I'm still going to Pilates every other day because it's so great. And I just, I live a clean life anyway — good diet and good exercise and healthy skincare and all of that stuff."
Stewart was photographed in the Dominican Republic by Ruven Afanador for her photo shoot.
In addition to Stewart, 36-year-old actress and mother of three Megan Fox was photographed for her cover feature at Tropicalia in the Miches region of the Dominican Republic.
Nader has been featured each year since winning the brand's open casting call competition in 2019. She traveled to Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic for her cover shoot.
Rounding out the four cover models was Petras, who made history earlier this year as the first transgender woman to win a Grammy Award in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category.
The 30-year-old said she's proud people are inspired by her work, even if she sometimes feels pressure to represent the transgender community.
“I think what you do is the most important thing, not what your gender is,” Petras said in an interview with Sports Illustrated. “No matter what your gender or sexuality or any of that stuff is, it’s about what you make of life and it’s about what’s inside of you and all of that, so I hope that can be inspiring to people.”
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit editor in chief MJ Day said the "vision" for the 2023 edition is the "hope that women can live in a world where they feel no limitations, internally or externally."