Sports Illustrated/Ruven Afanador

At 81, Martha Stewart is gracing one of the new covers of this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, becoming the first octogenarian to do so.

The photos were shot by famed photographer Ruven Afanador in the Dominican Republic.

The homemaking icon also participated in a “making of” video, in which the former model explained, “This time I was motivated by showing people my age can still look good, feel good, be good.”

It is, to quote her catchphrase, “a good thing.”

She also said, “When I heard that I was going to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, I thought, ‘Oh, well, that’s pretty good!’ I’m gonna be the oldest person I think ever on the cover. And I don’t think about age very much but I thought that this is kind of historic and I better look really good.”

This year’s issue also includes cover stars Megan Fox, Kim Petras and Brooks Nader, among its other pin-ups.

SI Swimsuit editor-in-chief MJ Day said in a statement, “Martha Stewart is a legend. The definition of a great female entrepreneur who built a dynasty against insurmountable odds.”

Day continued, adding of the celebrity cover stars, “These women, alongside our other models, refuse to allow themselves to be limited by existing societal norms and are incredible examples on how to harness talent, passion, persistence, perseverance, fortitude, curiosity and unabashed desire to evolve.”

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