Yes, THAT Hemingway

You may have noticed a couple of shots from the 2019 issue where Anne de Paula and Robin Holzken are posing on trucks labeled “Hemingways.”

This is part of the Hemingways Collection, a trio of luxury, amenity-filled resorts. SI made ample use of their safari experience for 2019’s Kenya shoot.

The name of the resorts is inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s fondness for Kenya, but something tells me Ernest probably roughed it more than this Simba Tent with enormous double bedrooms and on-site butler.

In any case, this truck is not the first Hemingway to appear in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. This is Margaux (née Margot) Hemingway. She was Ernest’s granddaughter.

She’s another Cindy/Amber/Sarah girl: one-hit wonder, and only one photo from that year.

Here she is as she was revealed to readers in 1975, nestled between already-established SI swimsuit royalty Cheryl Tiegs on the left, and rookie superstar-in-the-making Christie Brinkley on the right.

Her story has a sad end. She was mired in addiction, a faltering career, and depression, and she committed suicide in 1996.
 

I have occasionally wondered if she’s the only SI swimsuit model who is no longer living. She might be. I haven’t done any deep research into it, because it would be time-consuming and morbid. But it’s a magazine with over half a century’s worth of models. Margaux just might be the first casualty.

One-Hit Wonder: Charissa Craig, 1982

Now that she's been added to the Ashley canon, she should get her own one-hit wonder post.

Here are a couple pretty gorgeous shots.

One-Piece Wednesday: Louise Vyent, 1990

A reader commented that yesterday's post was the only listing on this blog for one-hit wonder Louise Vyent. Let's fix that right now.

SI pics of this Dutch beauty are unfortunately quite rare, so this shot and the spandex squad from yesterday will have to do.

Ten-Hit Wonders

These are, in my humble opinion, the ten best one-hit wonders to grace the swimsuit issue in this blog’s ten-year history.

#10 Georgia Gibbs (2018)

First appearance: February 28, 2018, Models Named in Suit

• • •

#9 Lauren Mellor (2014)

First appearance: December 6, 2013, Copycats

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#8 Kenza Fourati (2011)

First appearance: February 12, 2011, Your 2011 Rookies

• • •

#7 Michelle Vawer (2012)

First appearance: November 16, 2011, One-Piece Wednesday: 2012 Mystery Ladies

• • •

#6 Bregje Heinen (2014)

(This swimsuit alone would have gotten her on this list.)

First appearance: June 4 2013, So It Begins

• • •

#5 Sofia Resing (2016)

First appearance: February 17, 2016, Headless Body in Topless Photo

• • •

#4 Cris Urena (2014)

First appearance: December 6, 2013, Copycats

• • •

#3 Chase Carter (2018)

First appearance: January 28, 2018, Turning Back the Pages

• • •

#2 Kelly Gale (2017)

First appearance: February 7, 2017, Christie’s Back

• • •

#1 Raven Lyn (2018)

First appearance: October 19, 2017, Back to Basics

Interesting trivia: The one-hit wonders of the last decade had a Lyn (Raven, 2018) and a Lynn (Tara, 2019) as well as a Ren (Alexis, 2018) and a Renn (Crystal, 2012).

Also-Ren

I guess we should talk about Alexis Ren.

She won Rookie of the Year last year. Where has she gone?

For the eight previous officially designated Rookies of the Year, we assumed that the title was a guarantee we'd see the girl again. Whether you came back just once (Sara Sampaio/Kelly Rohrbach/Bianca Balti) or continue to return to this very day (Kate Bock/Barbara Palvin), a ROTY title was always a return ticket.

Alexis Ren is the first ROTY/one-hit wonder.

I don’t know much about her except that she arrived with a full contingent of fans and Insta fame, which she rode to the title.

I think she’s hot. A little straightforward for my tastes, maybe, but you can’t deny that she looks fantastic in a bikini. And she exudes a fun and happy personality that’s great to see.

(I love this bikini on her. Great colors, fun cut. Her best 2018 photos, for my money.)

I wonder what happened. I’m sure at some point the plan was to bring her back. It looked like a mutually beneficial relationship. Scheduling issues? Feud of some sort?

So, who should have won last year?

Raven Lyn gets my retroactive vote. Assuming she’s not coming back after a skipped year or two, I must add her to my ever-growing list of “shoulda-beens.”

Robin Holzken would also make my shortlist, and as a bonus, she actually came back in 2019.

And my dearly mourned Chase Carter rounds out my threesome. I think she had a lot more swimsuit to give.

This week, I plan to rewrite SI swimsuit history with a ROTY retrospective.

Until then, let us say farewell to Alexis.

One-Piece Wednesday: Roberta Little, 1995

I've never featured this delightful model, who cavorted with Stacey Williams in Costa Rica during her one shoot with SI.

One-Piece Wednesday: Rosie de la Cruz, 1991

How about a nice retro one-hit wonder girl in the lead-up to 2019?

Hit the Hammock Button

Well well well, Swim Daily.

Wherever did you get the idea for featuring SI models in hammocks?

Not here, that's for sure.

Anyway, if I am to compete, I must go deeper in my cuts, like Annie Morton here, one-hit wonder from 2002.

...And here's a more recent one that neither Swim Daily nor I had snapped up yet: Bregje Heinen from 2014.

Calendar Girls, Revisited: 1995

Stacey Williams ushered in a couple wonderful models in 1995. Unfortunately, I fear they are both destined to be one-hit wonders.


On January 9, Stacey oversaw the arrival of Raven Lyn. Raven was one of the 2018 models I was most excited about, but there's been no word of her participating in the 2019 shoots thus far.

 Hailey Clauson, however, has been accounted for in 2019.

And on March 7, 1995, her birth was celebrated by an underrated one-hit wonder in her own right, Jenny Brunt.

Another one-and-done girl, Solveig, arrived on April 13, heralded by her fellow one-name wonder Vendela.

Stacey's second one-hit wonder of the year is the deeply mourned Kelly Gale, on May 14.

On June 4, Ingrid Seynhaeve welcomed Georgia Gibbs. No sign of Georgia making a return appearance this year.

And finally, we have a week where neither the birthday girl nor the calendar girl is a one-hit wonder. Gigi Hadid (2014, 15, 16) and Kathy Ireland (1984, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, deep breath 96).

Happy Birthday, Pania Rose

The 2006 one-hit wonder is 31.

And, full disclosure, I forgot to post this on the 16th. It's now the 17th, and I am cheating by backposting this entry.

Pania is Australian, of Maori descent. But she kind of looks like if Cintia Dicker were Eastern European.

She also has an impressive body of non-SI swimwear and lingerie work.