Sailor Brinkley Cook will join mom Christie Brinkley as a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model when she appears in the upcoming 2018 Swimsuit Issue.
It's a major milestone in the 19-year-old model's career as she follows in her mother’s footsteps: Christie Brinkley has appeared in the SI Swimsuit edition nine times and graced the cover three times to date.
Although she leaves big shoes for Cook to fill, the young model seems to have already won the affections of Sports Illustrated employees, who are full of praise for her.
"Meeting and shooting her last year was one of the highlights of my career,” Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue editor MJ Day said.
"She's the millennial girl next door. She's funny. She's driven. She's smart. She's beautiful. She's interesting," Day continued. "And most of all, she has a voice and isn't afraid to use it."
To break the news to Cook, Sports Illustrated invited Brinkley to participate in a prank that would see the young model interrupted during a fake interview.
“She thinks she’s coming here today to do an interview for Fashion Week but she is in for the biggest surprise,” Christie told behind-the-scenes cameras on set.
It took a bit of convincing but when Day presented Cook with a swimsuit featuring her name, she finally believed the news.
"You're on your own now," her mom said. "You're out of my sandy footprints, and you are on your own!"
Cook will join fellow models Chase Carter and Robin Holzken in the SI Swimsuit 2018 rookie class.
Her first official shoot is set for October this year in Aruba and will be live-streamed.
The SI Swimsuit issue featuring Cook will be available in February next year.
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