Martha Stewart has become the oldest ever cover model for Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit edition at the age of 81.

The businesswoman and presenter was one of four cover models chosen for the issue, alongside Megan Fox, musician Kim Petras and model Brooks Nader.

She told the magazine that she wanted to inspire other women and said she was thrilled to appear on the cover.

“I don’t think about age very much, but I thought that this is kind of historic and that I better look really good,” she said.

Colombian-born photographer Ruven Afanador took the pictures, which show Ms Stewart wearing a white one-piece swimsuit on the front page of the magazine.

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“My motto has always been: ‘when you’re through changing, you’re through’, so I thought, why not be up for this opportunity of a lifetime?” she wrote on Instagram.

“I hope this cover inspires you to challenge yourself to try new things, no matter what stage of life you are in. Changing, evolving, and being fearless – those are all very good things, indeed.”

Ms Stewart started a catering business in the 1970s and rose to fame in the 1990s when she started her own magazine, Martha Stewart Living. Her media empire later led her to become a billionaire.

In 2004 she was sentenced to five months in prison after she was found guilty on a number of charges related to an insider trading scandal.

She has attempted to rebuild her brand since then, starring in her own reality television show, expanding her food products and teaming up with rapper and friend Snoop Dogg in 2016 for a television series.

Before the celebrity chef, the oldest person to pose for the cover was billionaire Elon Musk’s mother Maye Musk at the age of 74. (BBC)