Brooks Nader is following in the footsteps of one of fashion’s finest.
At the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2025 launch party at the Hard Rock Hotel in NYC Thursday, the “Dancing with the Stars” alum shared the piece of advice she lives by as a model.
“One of my biggest icons — and one of my mentors now — is Christie Brinkley. The first day that I met her, I said, ‘How did you do it, and what is your biggest advice?’ And she said, ‘Show up on time. Show up with a smile on your face and never complain and always be grateful. Have that gratitude,’” Nader told us, adding that she speaks with the “Uptown Girl” author on a “monthly basis.”
As for any words of wisdom that the 28-year-old Swimsuit Issue fixture passed down to this year’s cover stars Salma Hayek, Livvy Dunne, Jordan Chiles and Lauren Chan?
“I don’t think that they even need any advice. I feel like all three have it going on in every sense of the word,” the 2023 cover girl said.
“I will say one thing that I regret from when I was on the cover … I blacked out because I was so excited. You know, I blacked out because I was drunk and excited. I would [tell this year’s cover stars to] take every moment in.”
Nader recently returned to the glossy for her seventh year in a row, posing for photog Ben Watts in Bermuda while modeling a series of bikinis and one-pieces that showed off her curves.
Her favorite? A barely-there white Andi Bagus design with a teeny starfish top that “just showed everything.”
“That was my favorite because it was the most me,” Nader said. “I feel the most confident when I’m naked, so naturally that was my favorite.”
Asked where she gets her self-assurance, the model revealed, “It wasn’t always my personality. I think that confidence is a process, and it doesn’t just happen overnight. I’m still gaining confidence, still working on myself.”
However, Nader added, “I feel a lot more myself this year. I really grew into my own ‘Brooks’ this year.”
It’s been a whirlwind 12 months for the brunette beauty, who divorced ex-husband Billy Haire in May 2024 before diving headfirst into a steamy on-again, off-again romance with her “DWTS” partner, Gleb Savchenko.
Nader and her model sisters — Mary Holland, 26, Grace Ann, 25, and Sarah Jane, 22 — are also set to launch their own reality show, “Love Thy Nader,” this summer.
Asked which of her younger siblings might be coming for her cover-girl crown, Brooks quipped, “They’re all trying to, no? I would say Sarah Jane. She’s the strongest and the next in line for sure.”
In true sisterly fashion, she couldn’t help but throw some shade, too: “Grace Ann would probably say it’s her, but she’s delusional and insane.”
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