SI Swimsuit Model Lauren Chan 1 Year After History-Making Rookie Debut: 'I've Come Into My Own' (Exclusive)

In the year since Lauren Chan debuted as a rookie in 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit she feels more comfortable in her own skin than ever before.

“I’ve come into my own,” the 33-year-old model told PEOPLE exclusively at the magazine’s 60th anniversary party on May 16.

When Chan was named Rookie last May, she became his first ever plus-size queer model. The turning point happened not long after she divorced her husband and went out into the world.

The platform amplified Chan’s refreshingly candid conversations about body insecurity, queerism and diversity in the modeling industry.

“It took a long time,” Chan tells PEOPLE of becoming more comfortable in her own skin. “I feel like I’ve felt more like myself and more confident, the more I’ve relied on who I am, accepted, loved and then lived it over the past 10 years.”

‘Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’ Rookie Lauren Chan Says She Wants to Dismantle the ‘Beauty Ideal’ (Exclusive)

Lauren Chan for Sports Illustrated.

YuTsai

Former Glamour fashion editor and founder of Henning (a luxury clothing brand for women size 12 and up), adds that the more she’s embraced her sexuality, her size and her heritage (Chan is Asian and Middle Eastern), the stronger her sense of self has become.

“No matter what I look like, I know and love myself and that allows vulnerability to come out and insecurities to melt away.”

The PEOPLE Puzzler has arrived! How fast can you solve it? Play now!

Lauren Chan for Sports Illustrated.

YuTsai

Already for the second year with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, Chan is featured in the magazine’s 60th anniversary edition, which includes four covers featuring Chrissy Teigen, Kate Upton, Hunter McGrady and Gayle King and three Legends collector’s editions. All shot by Yu Tsai.

Chan said that one particular shot of her in a one-piece evergreen dress with a bare midriff shows the progress she’s made towards self-love.

“I would never have posed like this before because it doesn’t reduce my middle,” she wrote on Instagram. But, he tells PEOPLE, “Rolls could be art, and I think the pictures look better than ever.”

Her motto for this summer is: “Put on a damn bathing suit”.

“You look good. Go make memories, forget about the rest,” she encourages.

Lauren Chan for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.

YuTsai

SI Swimsuit Celebrates 60th anniversary with iconic Legends covers starring Martha Stewart, Tyra Banks and more

Having Tsai, who also shot all seven covers, behind the camera also gave Chan more confidence.

“I got to shoot with Yu Tsai and I think that really healed the part of my teenage soul that wanted to be a Chinese model, the part that grew up watching America’s Next Top Model and isn’t the size of ideal beauty, the part of me that was Asian and didn’t feel like I belonged. We just had a lot of fun and made pictures that feel like me.”

Lauren Chan for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.

YuTsai

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Like Tsai, who is Taiwanese, Chan continuously encourages representation in the modeling world while also being a beacon of hope for others. She knows she still has work to do. And, she is up to the task.

“Look, I think the industry is constantly evolving in terms of diversity on all sides. I will say that we may have taken a step back in the past, but when we look back at inclusion in 10 years, it will not be linear. It will be like the stock market, it will go up and down. But we are still here compared to where we were. So don’t lose sight of that, keep expressing your desire for more diversity because brands, clients, publications. They listen.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education