Getty Image / Taylor Hill / WireImage
Padma Lakshmi turned heads earlier this year when she made her Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit debut as a cover model at the age of 52. Now she’s released behind-the-scenes footage showing how the magic gets made.
When speaking about appearing in SI: Swimsuit at 52 years old, Padma Lakshmi said back in May that “I think I look great for my age and I definitely work at it. It’s important to show women of all ages, body types, skin colors, and show that beauty is so vast and broad of a spectrum.”
The Top Chef host also said that she hopes to return to the pages of SI: Swimsuit, a feat she inches closer toward with every Instagram post. Her most recent is a behind-the-scenes look at how they pull off hair flowing in the wind and flawless (non-sunburned) skin on set.
@padmalakshmi Thanks to all my on set boo thangs 😂❤️ #SISwim #Dominica #fyp
The video can also be seen on Instagram.
On TikTok, Padma showed off her ‘umbrella guy’ whose tasked with holding an umbrella to shade her between shoots so she doesn’t overheat or get sunburned while wearing nothing but a bikini in the rainforest. Padma Lakshmi also paid tribute to the ‘mini windblower guy’ who has a tiny leaf blower to shoot air at her from feet away and make it appear as if her hair is flowing in the wind.
There’s no denying that SI: Swimsuit will love this free exposure from Padma. With every post to her social channels she has people talking about her magazine cover that was shot in Dominica, a tiny and gorgeous country in the Caribbean sandwiched between Martinique and Guadeloupe:
@padmalakshmi Glimpses of Domenica ✨
At the end of May, Padma Lakshmi announced she’s leaving Top Chef after 19 seasons. She has been the face of that show for so long it’ll be exciting to see what she has planned next.
And at 52-years-old, Padma says she works hard on her body but it sure still seems like she’s playing with a cheat code of some sort.