At 57, Nina Cash is officially a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit newcomer.
The retired associate dean of the university from California will join Penny Lane, Brittney Nicole, Jena Sims, Sharina Gutierrez, Berkleigh Wright and Achieng Agutu in the 2024 edition. It’s the first time the magazine has featured all of the Swim Search finalists who competed in its annual Swim Week runway show.
“My heart just started racing – I had tears in my eyes,” Cash told Fox News Digital about the news. “I was shocked but happily shocked. I was so happy that all seven of us did it together.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Sports Illustrated Swim Search Finalist, 56, Says Husband Accepted Casting Snaps: ‘It’s Never Too Late’
At 57, Nina Cash will be featured in the upcoming Sports Illustrated “Swimsuit” issue. (John Parra/Getty Images for Sports Illustrated)
“To this day, I still pinch myself,” she gushed. “Is this even happening to me? Just a year and a half ago, I was deputy dean at a university. Now I’m a newbie who will be in the 60th anniversary issue of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.”
The original edition was published in 1964. Since then it has served as a launching pad for models such as Kathy Ireland, Christie Brinkley, Elle Macpherson, Kate Upton and Ashley Graham. Cash said she was inspired by Kathy Jacobs, who became “the oldest rookie” in 2021 at age 57.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
It was Cash’s husband who motivated her to submit her photo to the annual casting call, which receives thousands of submissions from hopeful models each year.
Nina Cash is a retired university associate dean from California. (Aaron Cash)
“People have told me, ‘Your husband pushed you into this [modeling] “A bikini — I would never push my wife into it,” Cash said. “No – my husband encouraged me because I wanted to do it.” Big difference. He didn’t say, “I want you to show everyone that you can wear a bikini.” [57]’. He said, ‘Honey, if you want to do it, I support you 125%.'”
Cash wasn’t always so confident. When she was younger, she didn’t wear a two-piece suit for fear of being judged.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Nina Cash walks the runway at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Shows on July 7, 2023 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)
“I would say to myself today, ‘Girl, who cares what other people think?'” she giggled. “You live and you have to live… There will always be critics no matter what you do… But if you stay true to yourself and block that out, you will be happy. I like to say that there is none of my business, what people think about me or what others say about me… If you are a light that shines brightly, people who are not healed [will] be negatively affected by this light. I still say, shine bright.”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
Nina Cash was a participant in SI Swim Search, the magazine’s annual casting call. (Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)
Cash said she received an overwhelming response from younger women and men who fully supported her stripping down to the bikini. But there will always be critics, Cash stressed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
“There are some men who still want to…put the person with gray or silver hair in that box,” she explained. “Eleanor Roosevelt once said, ‘The only way to be offended is to allow yourself to be offended.’ I don’t know the people who make negative comments and I won’t dwell on it… I get a lot of people sending me private messages [on social media] say, “Thank you for making it okay to go gray” or, “Thank you for making it okay for a woman to be an educator or have advanced degrees and still do such things.”
Nina Cash has started a new career as a model. (Paige Craig)
“A lot of times you have to be really smart, but you can’t also be in a bikini because, for whatever reason, those two don’t fit together,” she shared. “You have to be one or the other. No, I’m here to tell you not to. You can be educated and you can be in a bikini too…Do what makes you happy.”
Model Nina Cash attends the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Show on July 7, 2023 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Mireya Acierto/Getty Images)
In July, Cash strutted the runway during the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show during Miami Swim Week.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Never in a million years did I think I would be on one of the biggest runway shows in the world,” she said. “…It rained – in Filipino culture, if it rains on your wedding day or a special day, it really means good luck [were] like, ‘Oh my God, it’s raining,’ I say, ‘Make the rain – it’s magical right now!’”
During the fashion show in Miami, Nina Cash carried a bag with the words “Gone gray and still slay.” (John Parra/Getty Images for Sports Illustrated)
“It was just so encouraging to have my husband, my best friend and my daughter in the audience cheering me on,” she shared. “Not to mention the SI Swim family…It was magical…They gave me a bag to walk the runway with that said, ‘Greyed and still dead.'” Yes, you can go gray and still kill. There’s nothing wrong with that. So embrace it – embrace the grey.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Today, Cash hopes that her images will inspire other people to take a step in life and achieve their dreams – no matter how old they are.
Nina Cash said her gray hair has made her more confident than ever. (Michael Higgins)
“Live life and embrace all its different phases,” she said. “Embrace the heartache, the bad things, the good things – that’s what life is about. And if you are lucky enough to live a long life, then you are very lucky. It’s an absolute privilege to grow old… And I think about that.” America, we have this stigma that when you get old, you’re no longer sexy. You’re worn out. You are frail. I think my generation… we don’t feel that way. We don’t look like this. We take care of ourselves. We take pride in our health and in being kind, loving and supportive. So when I go gray, I’m happy when I inspire people.”
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Editor-in-Chief MJ Day, center, poses with models backstage for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show at the W Hotel Miami Beach on July 7, 2023. (Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for Sports Illustrated)
Do you like what you’re reading? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
“The gift of being alive is not given to many,” she reflected. “It’s cut short. So do it – wear this bikini. Who cares what others think? Run in the rain in your bikini and dance in the rain and love life. Everything is good. Life is too short. “Let’s enjoy it” and embrace it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.