Camille Kostek has landed her first very Sports Illustrated cover, and while some people may only have previously know her as Rob Gronkowski’s girlfriend, she’s already creating a name for herself around the world.
The stunning 27-year-old was born in Killingworth, Connecticut on February 19, 1992. Her father, Alan, is a construction framer, and her mother, Christina, is a gym manager.
Camille has four siblings and she’s the oldest. She is of Polish, Irish and Jamaican descent. Growing up, she was a ballet dancer and even played lacrosse, becoming a varsity captain. She attended the Eastern Connecticut State University, where she majored in Communications, wanting at the time to pursue a career as a broadcast journalist.
Her now describes herself as a model — she is signed to the Maggie Agency — as well as a host, Emcee, and a fitness instructor. Plus, she’s a former New England Patriots Cheerleader.
“Being a Patriots Cheerleader has always been a dream of mine. I wasn’t going to stop auditioning until I read my name on that roster, which led me to auditioned two times before I was finally selected. I will never forget the feeling I had when I was chosen, it was as if my body went numb,” she revealed in a 2016 interview.
“I had worked for years to look into that endless sea of cheering fans from the sidelines. That first performance in the middle of the field was such a rush. And just when I thought that couldn’t be topped, I had the chance to perform on one of the biggest stages in America at Super Bowl 49.”
The news broke this week that Camille Kostek had received her own Sports Illustrated cover and she shared the moment of her reveal on Instagram.
After the news broke, Rob Gronkowski revealed that he was one proud boyfriend.
“Congrats baby on the cover!! @camillekostek @sportsillustrated,” he posted on Instagram Live.
Camille is one of the three covergirls of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition for 2019, alongside Tyra Banks and Alex Morgan.
.@tyrabanks, @camillekostek and @AlexMorgan13 are your #SISwim 2019 cover models https://t.co/z4GUahwGIU pic.twitter.com/YowilFb5HC
— Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (@SI_Swimsuit) May 8, 2019
“A short year ago, Camille Kostek was a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model search hopeful, vying for a coveted rookie spot in the 2019 issue,” editor MJ Day revealed about choosing Camille for the cover. “In a short amount of time, she has leveraged the power of her brand to inspire and educate others while at the same time pursuing her own dreams. She is a star on the rise.”
Gronkowski is a very supportive boyfriend. When Camille was told by modeling agencies to lose more weight, he backed her by telling her that she was perfect the way she was.
“He had seen me get rejected by a lot of agencies,” Kostek revealed on Mark Dohner’s Living Large podcast, revealing she was told to lose 15 pounds in 3 weeks. “I was like, I just don’t want to do that. [Gronk] was like, ‘Do you even want a body like that?’ And I was like, ‘No.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t even want you to be like that.'”
Camille and Gronkowski met once she resigned from the cheerleading team. She was a cheerleader for the New England Patriots for two years but stepped away in 2015 to focus on her career. That’s when the two got in touch and got romantically involved. Camille would later reveal that she found it weird to have her names in articles, as she’s a very private person.
As it turns out, Rob plays a huge role in her modeling photos for Instagram. Camille told PEOPLE this week that he’s actually responsible for many of her photos.
“I never thought he would do my photos. I thought I would get a little uncomfortable in front of him when he has to take my shots. But he does a good job. It’s easy, and he’s so supportive,” she reveals.