Tyra Banks & Danielle Herrington Attend ‘Sports Illustrated’ Swimsuit Launch

Tyra Banks, 44, and Danielle Herrington, 24, attended the launch of the 2018 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

TYRA BANKS & DANIELLE HERRINGTON ATTEND SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMSUIT ISSUE LAUNCH PARTY

Herrington is the model featured on the cover, and is only the third black woman to grace the cover of this coveted issue. The first two were Banks and Beyoncé. In fact, Banks revealed Harrington’s cover photo to the model in an emotional moment that the SI Instagram account captured and posted.

Dreams do come true! ✨ Watch the emotional moment @danielle_herrington_ finds out she’s the #SISwim 2018 cover model. ❤️ Big thanks to Swimsuit legend @tyrabanks for helping us share the big news!

A post shared by Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (@si_swimsuit) on Feb 13, 2018 at 4:29am PST

At the SI Swimsuit launch party, Herrington and Banks appeared together. Herrington in a gold and tan bedazzled dress with a plunging neckline, and Banks in a funky black and brown striped number with an hourglass design, by Labourjoisie.

And the obsession with cover model @danielle_herrington_ continues 😍😍😍

A post shared by Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (@si_swimsuit) on Feb 14, 2018 at 6:02pm PST

oh why hello.

A post shared by Danielle Herrington (@danielle_herrington_) on Feb 14, 2018 at 4:53pm PST

Last nights look ✨#OWNIT

A post shared by Danielle Herrington (@danielle_herrington_) on Feb 15, 2018 at 12:19pm PST

Caterpillar 🐛

A post shared by Tyra Banks (@tyrabanks) on Feb 15, 2018 at 11:54am PST

The pair appear very close. In fact, Banks has taken Herrington under her wing and plans to coach the young model in her blossoming career. “We kind of talked about this, but, like, this is a moment and all eyes are on you,” Banks said to Entertainment Tonight. “There’s all of these things that you do with strategy to make sure their eyes stay on you. And you don’t have to be gutter and crazy to do it. We’re going to strategize.”

Herrington still can’t quite get over the fact that she was chosen for the cover photo. “That makes my heart drop because Tyra, Beyoncé, they are superstars,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “They are what you want to be. They are my idols and they mean so much to me because they have the best work ethic and I feel like …sorry, I’m emotional. But that’s a part of where I get my drive from.”