Watch: Tiffany Haddish Shares Emotional Connection to Sports Illustrated Milestone
Tiffany Haddish is known for bringing the laughs, but the story behind her latest career milestone touches the heart.
After the comedian landed a cover in the 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, she shared that the reason why she was so thrilled about the honor was about far more than vanity.
“I wanted to follow in my grandmother’s footsteps of being a model,” Tiffany exclusively told E! News at a May 14 launch party in New York. “I feel like this is my way of honoring my grandmother and her legacy. So it’s a big deal for me.”
“It’s more than just being pretty,” Tiffany continued. “This is like my ancestors are all over this. And I’m very, very happy, very, very grateful.”
Tiffany couldn’t help but get choked up when describing the “full circle” moment. “I’m sorry, I’m getting emotional,” she confessed before landing one of her trademark jokes. “I’m ovulating or something, I don’t know.”
Securing the legendary cover was a family dream come true, but the Like A Boss star shared that another famous family was a huge part in making it happen. After all, she learned she would become an SI model during an elaborate surprise at Paris Hilton‘s house.
“And the way that I found out that I got the cover was my manager blindfolded me [and] took me over to Paris Hilton’s house,” Tiffany said, explaining that when she opened her eyes, she was there with Paris and a cake. “I looked at the cake and it said, ‘You are a cover swimsuit model for Sports Illustrated.’ And I’m just like, mind-blown.”
(Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit)
It was especially “cool” to get the news from Paris, Tiffany said, considering Paris’ mom, Kathy Hilton, has been a big supporter of her modeling career ever since knowing of Tiffany’s grandmother. “[Kathy] was encouraging me two years ago to walk in a Monse fashion show,” Tiffany noted. “And then the next year, Monse hired me to be in a fashion show.”
Read on for more of Tiffany Haddish’s major career highlights.
Universal Pictures
Randy Holmes/ABC
Showtime
Tiffany Haddish
Rosalind O’Connor/NBC
Gallery Books
O’Keefe Reinhard & Paul
imitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Business Of Fashion
Steve Granitz/WireImage
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