Hilary Duff is proving that the stigma around moms embracing their bodies publicly is so yesterday. As revealed by Sports Illustrated Swimsuit on Tuesday (May 12), the Lizzie McGuire star is one of the 2026 cover models for its annual swimsuit edition, even though she says it was somewhat daunting to do as a mom of four kids.
“Of course it was flattering,” Duff said of the publication inviting her to appear on its cover, becoming one of four women — along with Alix Earle, Tiffany Haddish and Nicole Williams English — to be the face of an individual edition of this year’s swimsuit package.
“I’m a mom of four, and I’m not a spring chicken,” she shared. “I don’t typically frolic around in a bathing suit, so it was a little scary.”
The singer-actress shares 14-year-old son Luca with ex-husband Mike Comrie, as well as three daughters with husband Matthew Koma: 7-year-old Banks, 5-year-old Mae and 1-year-old Townes. She’s been open about her respective pregnancies and has spoken out in the past about how society can make body image complicated for mothers, firing back at body-shaming tabloids in 2017 with a message on Instagram.
“I am posting this on behalf of young girls, women, and mothers of all ages,” she wrote at the time, sharing what appeared to be a paparazzi photo of herself and Luca at the beach. “Since websites and magazines love to share ‘celeb flaws’ – well I have them! My body has given me the greatest gift of my life: Luca, 5 years ago. I’m turning 30 in September and my body is healthy and gets me where I need to go. Ladies, lets be proud of what we’ve got and stop wasting precious time in the day wishing we were different, better, and unflawed.”
Duff is currently in the midst of a wildly successful musical comeback, dropping her first album in a decade, Luck … or Something, in February and debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. In June, she’ll kick off her Lucky Me Tour, which will include two nights at Madison Square Garden in August.
But while speaking to Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, the musician revealed that prior to her musical renaissance, she genuinely didn’t know if she’d ever make music again. “People asked me for years when I’d make another album, and I always skirted around that question,” she told the publication. “The truth is I didn’t really know if I ever would because I had never gotten to make an album the way I wanted to.”
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