Salma Hayek appeared on The Today Show and shared that she almost backed out of her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover shoot. The actress opened up about feeling self-doubt and body image concerns.
Salma Hayek talks about her Sports Illustrated cover
Salma Hayek recently revealed that she almost backed out of her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover shoot due to feelings of self-doubt. In an interview on Today on May 13, the actress admitted that while she was initially excited about the opportunity, she later hesitated when it came time for the shoot. She shared, “I tried to back out. I said, ‘No,’ because the bathing suits never fit me, how am I gonna do this? There’s nothing my size — I always suffer.’”
Describing it as “a very bad case of impostor syndrome,” Hayek recalled that when she was younger, it never crossed her mind that she could appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. She said, “My body’s not necessarily the model type, and I never thought that was a possibility.” Despite her doubts, Hayek went ahead with the shoot.
To ease her nerves, Sports Illustrated sent her 200 swimsuits to try on, but many needed alterations. After fittings in Los Angeles, she packed her suitcase with the final selection of suits. However, her luggage got lost on the way to Mexico for the shoot. Fortunately, Sports Illustrated had a small set of extra suits, which Hayek wore during the shoot. She also jokingly mentioned that not all of them fit perfectly.
Hayek mentioned that her nerves quickly faded once she arrived on set. As she walked onto the beach, a whale appeared in the background, which Hayek called “magical.” She added, “And I got so excited, I felt really free. I put on Bad Bunny, I started dancing, I loved it!”
Hayek will appear alongside other big names, such as Olivia Dunne and Jordan Chiles, when the issue hits newsstands on May 17.
Originally reported by Disheeta Maheshwari on ComingSoon.
