Hilary Duff Calls Posing for ‘Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’ Cover a ‘Little Scary’ After Having 4 Kids

“I’m not a spring chicken,” the singer-actress added.

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.”

Hilary Duff Makes Her Sexy “Sports Illustrated Swimsuit” Cover Debut in Plunging One-Piece

The singer and actress is a cover star of the 2026 issue alongside Tiffany Haddish, Alix Earle and Nicole Williams English

NEED TO KNOW

Hilary Duff has made her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit debut
On the cover, she wears a plunging cream-colored one-piece
The Disney Channel alum is enjoying a renaissance after releasing her first album in over 10 years earlier this year

Hilary Duff is a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model!

The singer and actress, 38, graces the cover of the summer 2026 issue in a plunging one-piece swimsuit.

Her hair is styled in effortless mermaid waves for the cover shot, which was taken in South Caicos by Kat Irlin. Duff’s other photos feature swimwear like a black one-piece, a sweet red-one piece and a high-waisted white bikini.

Duff makes her SI Swimsuit debut alongside Olandria Carthen and Gabi Moura. They are joined by Christen Goff, Katie Austin, Jena Sims, Jasmine Sanders and Ellie Thumann in the class of stars who were photographed by Katherin Goguen on the Gulf Coast beaches. Duff’s fellow cover stars include Alix Earle, Tiffany Haddish and Nicole Williams English, who all got their own covers.

The Disney Channel alum is having quite the year after releasing her first album in over 10 years, luck…or something on Feb. 20.

She also embarked on her Small Rooms, Big Nerves music outing in January, marking her first time touring in more than a decade.

This summer, Duff will continue to perform across the globe through her The Lucky Me tour, where she will sing some of her most iconic songs, as well as tracks from her new album.

“I’m so excited for the scale to change,” Duff tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview. “There is something so sweet about getting to see everyone’s face, and being so intimate and close with everyone — and it was really a great way for me to start and build confidence — but I just feel like I know what I’m doing and kind of got my reps in.”

“What’s been so fun about the live shows is realizing how much the old songs mean to people,” Duff said. “A lot of those songs just live rent-free in my head, so it’ll be nice for the other music to catch up and join the mix.”

Hilary Duff Says She Felt ‘Used’ by Ashley Tisdale’s ‘Toxic Mom Group’ Essay: ‘It Sucks to Read Something That’s Not True’

The former child star also shared her response to her husband Matthew Koma’s biting clap back to Tisdale

NEED TO KNOW

Hilary Duff addressed Ashley Tisdale’s viral “Toxic Mom Group” essay, calling it “sad” and untrue during an interview on Call Her Daddy
Duff said the essay’s timing felt exploitative and revealed that her husband Matthew Koma’s viral response was unexpected
Duff name-dropped Mandy Moore and Meghan Trainor during the episode, appearing to still be on good terms with the stars despite the controversy surrounding Tisdale’s words

Hilary Duff is raising her voice after Ashley Tisdale’s “Toxic Mom Group” essay went viral earlier this year.

The 38-year-old pop star appeared on the Wednesday, Feb. 25 episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, where host Alex Cooper directly asked her about the controversy surrounding Tisdale’s January essay “Breaking Up with My Toxic Mom Group” for The Cut.

In the essay, the High School Musical alum, 40, did not directly name the members of the mom group in question, but there’s been plenty of online chatter about the fact that Tisdale previously spent time with stars like Duff, Mandy Moore, and Meghan Trainor as a new mom.

“I felt really sad. I honestly felt really sad,” the Lizzie McGuire alum admitted of her initial reaction to the piece. “I was pretty, pretty taken aback and felt just, like, sad.”

She added that becoming a mom has brought different groups of mom friends into her life.

“So I think I just was like, ‘Woah,’ ” she added. “It sucks to read something that’s, like, not true. And it sucks on behalf of six women in all of their lives.”

Duff, who released her first album in a decade last week and who is preparing to go on a world tour this year, added that Tisdale’s essay “came at the craziest time where I was … the timing felt not great and I felt used.”

Duff also commented on her husband Matthew Koma’s clear and pointed response to Tisdale. The musician recreated Tisdale’s pose on The Cut, writing his own headline: “When You’re The Most Self Obsessed Tone Deaf Person On Earth, Other Moms Tend To Shift Focus To Their Actual Toddlers.”

The mother of four said she didn’t know that her husband was going to post his biting response, saying, “Honestly, everything he does makes me laugh. So I was like, ‘Oh my God. Oh my God.’ But I also don’t censor him, and I don’t tell him what he can and can’t post. He is so, like, fierce for me, and, like, I love him for that.”

During her appearance on Call Her Daddy, Duff name dropped both Moore and Trainor and is seemingly still on good terms with both.

“Meghan Trainor texted me the other day, and she’s like, ‘Babe, this rollout has been flawless. Are you okay?’ ” Duff said of the “Girl Get In” singer.

Duff previously told The Los Angeles Times of the drama, “On the days when crazy s— happens, I go home and quiet the noise.”

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