Salma Hayek Reveals Why She Almost Turned Down 'Sports Illustrated Swimsuit' Cover

Salma Hayek's sultry Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover didn't come without its challenges.

Before the actress, 58, stripped down to her bikini, she almost considered backing out due to the emotional burden of getting in shape for the shoot.

"At the beginning, I said, 'I'm going to do this. I'm going to work out.' But I didn't," she recalled to an outlet. "So as it was getting closer, I started putting weights on my ankles and walking around. I shouldn't be doing this. I was so stressed out. And once we were doing it, I loved it."

Hayek said that the shoot was "emotionally" difficult to prepare for.

"First, it was like, 'What?' And then everybody was like, 'Yes, this is great,'" she explained. "And then I was very excited. They told me I couldn't tell anyone, so it was like doing a Marvel movie."

She proceeded to express how happy her family was that she shot the cover in Mexico, otherwise, it would be a "betrayal to the country."

As for her friends, fellow actress Eva Mendes was the first to text her and had "nothing but beautiful words."

"I have some really good girlfriends, and I think they are the ones who are the most excited about it," Hayek expressed. "And they're so happy for me, for this cover, that I, at some point, didn't want to do anymore."

When asked if she would model again next year, she answered with a resounding "no," chalking it up to a "once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Hayek graced the cover of the 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, which was revealed on Tuesday, May 13. The Desperado actress rocked several bikinis in a tropical photoshoot at Cuixmala luxury resort.

In the cover shot, Hayek knelt in a pool with her hands in her hair, donned in a cleavage-baring green bikini. She accessorized the look with a large blue jewel and thin, gold body chains.

She also sported a zebra-print bikini while strutting through a field of live zebras digitally added to the image later on.

In another snapshot, the actress stunned in a leopard two-piece and toe rings while lying on a towel at the pool.

She later covered up in a bright red bikini with red fabric flowing behind her, as well as a lace, beaded and feathered Alexander McQueen dress.

A behind-the-scenes video on Hayek's Instagram showed her posing topless for a series of photographs snapped from above as she rested on a daybed.