49 and Sunny

Modelinia.com has decided to count down to the 50th anniversary swimsuit issue, revisiting one cover per week until February 2013.

This week: the delightfully named Sunny Bippus on the cover of the 1966 issue.

Sunny was one of just two models in the issue that year, and a one-hit wonder at that.

There is one problem with Modelinia's countdown. The 50th anniversary issue will be in 2014, not 2013.

I fell victim to this faulty reasoning too. 2013 will bring the 50th swimsuit issue, making it the 49th anniversary. If 1989 was the 25th anniversary, the 50th will be in 2014.

I'm sure it will be cleared up eventually, right?

Speaking of the 25th Anniversary issue, it had a nice little profile of Sunny.

"Even in her modeling days, Margaret Caroline Bippus, known as Sunny, was more than just a pretty face. The photographers and art directors with whom she worked in the 1960s quickly learned that she was also a good sport. Hence, they threw her from airplanes, submerged her in swamps and perched her on precipices wearing everything from swimsuits to ball gowns."

Sounds like a predecessor for Stacey Williams, who mentions in this clip, (2:35) "I always joke, if there's a shot, you know, that involves danger or torture, it's usually mine."

One-Hit Wonder: Shana Zadrick (1992)

Well, there's not much going on in Swimsuitland, so I thought I'd celebrate the 43rd birthday of Shana Zadrick.She was born in Colorado, but she has the look of one of the luxurious Czech chicks from the 80s and 90s.Or even a young Cindy Crawford.She definitely had the potential to stick around, but when 1993 rolled around Shana had disappeared from the swimsuit issue's pages.

If anything new happens on the scene (no Brooklyn?!) I'll keep you updated.

A One-Hit Wonder No More

The announcement rang out today: After a two-issue hiatus, Ariel Meredith is returning to the swimsuit issue in 2012.Welcome back, Ariel!

The Swimsuit Contest Curse

Today is Michelle Lombardo's 28th birthday.She won the Sports Illustrated "Fresh Face" contest, landing her in the 2005 issue (and a lot of scuba gear).Of course, another contest winner made her debut in 2005, this one as the result of a reality show, "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search." That girl was Alicia Hall.
(Though I was heartily rooting for the runner-up, Shannon Hughes.)Both Michelle and Alicia ended up as one-hit wonders, never to appear in the magazine's pages again. Is there a swimsuit issue contest curse?

If, a year and a half from now, Jessica Perez fails to appear in the 2013 issue, we'll know something supernatural is afoot.

Two Melissas Enter. One Melissa Leaves.

In 2008, we were presented with two remarkably similar models. Each had long, dark hair and a deep, sultry look and a sleekly solid build.

Each was named Melissa.Melissa Baker (left) and Melissa Haro (right). They could be each other’s soap opera twins—the good girl gone bad and the bad girl gone good. A yin and yang of hot brunette.They seem so alike, I almost suspect a clerical error; two statuesque, raven-tressed Melissas were accidentally entered into the database at the same time. They were even born one month and one day apart in 1987 (Haro on September 5, Baker on October 6).Clearly, only one could survive.

Haro went on to pose again in 2009.And Baker was entered into the record books as a one-hit wonder.

One-Hit Wonder: Lucia Dvorska (2009)

I didn't get around to posting this on her birthday, which was Thursday. But I thought I'd send a shout-out to Lucia Dvorska.

She's a very fragile-looking model.Those huge doe eyes, the thin facial structure. Even when she makes eye contact and smiles, she seems a little timid.She’s from Slovakia, and those peasant genes may make her a little soulful. She looks like she’s venturing out for the first time in the week since her boyfriend broke up with her.I’m doing great. No, it was for the best. Let’s sing some karaoke.
Whatever it is, it works. I’d love her to appear again.

One-Hit Wonder: Yasmin Brunet, 2008

Two of my favorite swimsuit issue paradoxes: Jessica White is black, and Yasmin Brunet is blonde.This is Yasmin’s mom, by the way.Happy 23rd, Yasmin.

One-Hit Wonder: Dominique Piek, 2010

Psst, Dominique…You’re today's featured model.Atta girl.
I suppose I’m a little ethnocentric, because I keep forgetting that other nations have their own editions of Sports Illustrated, and that those editions have their own swimsuit issues. Dominique Piek, 2010 rookie, did not come out of nowhere. She was the cover girl for SI South Africa in 2007:Bar Refaeli and Dominique’s fellow Sayth Iffrican model Genevieve Morton have also appeared.I have to say, Dominique was the most surprising 2010 rookie not to return. I don’t think she had the makings of one of the Immortals, like an Elle or a Paulina. But she could have been a good, solid, go-to presence, like a Lujan Fernandez or an Ingrid Seynhaeve.She rocked a yellow bikini, that’s for sure.

One-Hit Wonder: Julie Ordon, 2010

I would have readily welcomed back this intense Swiss model… even though New York magazine’s online fashion bio skips right over her SI appearance. (2009: Signs with Elite. Mar 2010: Featured on the cover of French Marie Claire.)Her feral mane can look blonde:…or brunette:…or red:…depending on the angle and the light. And man, does she rock those jewel tones SI brought to India.Apparently, she gave birth in August of 2009, which means she must have been pregnant during her photo shoot for the 2010 issue.I don’t see it. And I’m really looking.
And, she posed for French Playboy back in 2007, giving us this rather kinky photo:

One-Hit Wonder: Zoe Duchesne, 2010

I have to say, I’m not surprised Zoe didn’t return. She didn’t seem like a great fit.Her face wavers from smartass biker chick to impassive mannequin.When she does smile, I don’t really buy it.This is her best shot from the issue, in my opinion:…and that’s because she summons Daniella Sarahyba.

She seems like she’d be a better fit for a pouty lingerie photo shoot, and sure enough, that’s what she seems to do for the most part.Much as was the case with Jessica Hart, I find her non-SI pictures more alluring.