SI LifeStyle

SI Swimsuit’s Newest Model Ellie Thumann Offers BTS Glimpse at Rookie Photo Shoot

The influencer will appear in the SI Swimsuit Issue this spring.

Cara O’Bleness

Ellie Thumann

Ellie Thumann was photographed in Puerto Rico by Derek Kettela.

In case you haven’t heard the exciting news yet, model and YouTuber Ellie Thumann is SI Swimsuit’s newest 2023 rookie. 

The 21-year-old, who regularly shares beauty, fashion and travel-related content on her YouTube channel, traveled to Puerto Rico for her photo shoot. Yesterday, Thumann shared several snippets of behind-the-scenes content on TikTok from time on location with photographer Derek Kettela.

In the clip, which she backtracked to a popular Taylor Swift song, Thumann modeled a string bikini as she walked along the beach, rocked a white strapless one-piece swimsuit, grinned in a knit two-piece and served looks in a blue jean bikini.

“SI ROOKIE 2023?! PINCH ME AM I DREAMING @SI SWIMSUIT 👙,” Thumann exclaimed in her caption.

“YES,” 2022 SI Swimsuit model Olivia Ponton responded simply.

“The white one piece clip made me jaw DROP,” one person added.

“CONGRATS YOU DESERVE IT,” someone else stated.

“OMG CONGRATS U DESERVE THIS SO MUCH,” another fan agreed.

Thumann also shared a compilation of footage that was originally posted by the official SI Swimsuit Instagram account on Monday. 

“I attribute my success on YouTube to staying 100% true to myself,” Thumann said in the montage.

She currently has more than two million subscribers on the video-based platform. Thumann offered up her expert advice and shared her top tips for aspiring content creators here.

Meet Ellie Thumann—read the 2023 SI Swimsuit rookie’s full feature profile here.

Make sure to follow SI Lifestyle in Google News!

Published
Cara O’Bleness

CARA O’BLENESS

Cara is a trending news writer/editor for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. A passionate writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience in print and online media, she loves storytelling and believes that words have the power to change the world. Prior to joining the team, Cara worked as a writer and editor across a number of content verticals, including food, lifestyle, health and wellness, and small business and entrepreneurship. In her free time, Cara loves reading, spending time with her family and making her way through Michigan’s many microbreweries. She is a graduate of Michigan State University's School of Journalism.