The pioneering publisher widely credited with developing the iconic – and often infamous – Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue at a cultural institution has died at 96.
Campbell joined Sports Illustrated as an assistant and reporter in the magazine’s fashion department in the early 1960s, after a stint at Glamour.
Her career took off after the launch of SI’s Swimsuit Issue, which was first suggested by editor André Laguerre to fill the magazine’s usually sluggish winter months.
Its first iteration – a six-page cover featuring model Babette March wearing a white two-piece swimsuit – appeared in January 1964. Campbell’s work on the swimsuit issue began the following year, establishing it quickly as a powerful figure in the industry.
Campbell (right, with binoculars) on set during a Swimsuit Issue shoot. Credit: Joan Truscio
Avoiding much of the “skinny chic” aesthetic praised by the fashion industry at the time, Campbell’s vision was clear. During her casting, she told journalist Michael MacCambridge in an interview for his book “The Franchise: A History of Sports Illustrated Magazine” that “I went to California because I thought we should use more natural women”.
“I wanted them to look like real people who were beautiful, and I think our audience tied into that,” Campbell, quoted by Sports Illustrated, said in his obituary.
The first model she chose was a fresh-faced teenager named Sue Peterson, who appeared on Campbell’s first cover in a black one-piece with side cutouts and a red sash. It set a precedent for decades of scantily clad white model numbers — and, though a far cry from what would be considered overtly revealing swimsuits today, decades of reader outrage.
Beyond canceled subscriptions, the Swimsuit Issue has also drawn protests from groups, including the National Organization of Women, who have accused the magazine of objectifying women.
Models from the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue wear swimsuits designed by Pompei Beach in New York on April 24, 2008. Credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Campbell retired in 1996. Her final issue featured Tyra Banks, the first black model to appear on the magazine’s cover (although Banks shared the cover with Argentinian model Valerie Mazza). Other famous models who have featured on the Swimsuit Issue under Campbell’s tenure include Elle Macpherson, Christie Brinkley, Kathy Ireland, Paulina Porizkova, and Carol Alt, among others.
Since 1997, the Swimsuit Issue has been printed as a stand-alone edition, separate from the regular magazine. It expanded into television specials and documentaries; a reality series and an open cast.
In recent years, a greater commitment to diversity in the issue’s pages has seen the inclusion of plus-size, transgender and disabled models. Many athletes—including tennis players Venus and Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and Naomi Osaka, skier Lindsey Von, wrestler Ronda Rousey, and racing driver Danica Patrick—have been featured in the magazine and on its cover; celebrities like Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian and Megan Thee Stallion have also landed covers.
