Sports Illustrated Cover Features 56-Year-Old, 5'3" Calabasan

CALABASAS, CA — Upon hearing that a Calabasas resident was featured on the cover of the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, one might suspect the cover model was one of the Kardashians.

Instead, it’s Calabasas model Kathy Jacobs, who is 56 years old and five-foot-three-inches. Jacobs, who began her career as a model in the 90s with Ford Modeling in New York City, fought for inclusion for shorter models in an industry where models are often at least five inches taller.

As she got older, she fought for the inclusion of older women, and now operates an Instagram account called @ageisbeauty.

“Society expects women over 50 to become invisible and support themselves, but you can’t do both,” Jacobs told Calabasas Style in 2019. “It’s time to shine!”

Jacobs is excited by her recent cover, feeling that it will help change readers’ views of beauty.

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THANK YOU SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIM SEARCH I am beyond grateful that you and everyone involved with this amazing search exists on this planet to showcase ALL TYPES OF BEAUTY!!!!!! The Sports Illustrayed Swimsuit issue is out on July 21st!!!!
A post shared by Kathy Jacobs (@ageisbeauty) on Jul 15, 2020 at 8:03am PDT

“I’m just like so grateful that they took like a chance on me,” she told The Associated Press. “Two things you can’t change about yourself are how old you are and how tall you are.”

The original swimsuit ran in 1964, and has served as a launching pad for well-known models like Kathy Ireland, Christie Brinkley, and Elle Macpherson.

Over the years, the issue has featured a diverse range of models of different sizes, ages, abilities, and backgrounds.

“The great thing about Sports Illustrated is they just keep reinventing themselves and they keep reinventing what is your view of beauty,” Jacobs said. “And they keep showing people that there’s more than one kind of beauty out there.”