# Brooklyn Decker
**Brooklyn Decker** (Brooklyn Danielle Decker; born 1987) is an American model and actress who came to prominence as a [Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue](https://www.edgepedia.org/sports-illustrated-swimsuit-issue) cover model and then built a film and television acting career, most notably as a co-star of the Netflix series *Grace and Frankie*.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brooklyn_decker) • [2](https://swimsuit.si.com/models/brooklyn-decker)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1987, Kettering, Ohio; family soon moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was discovered in a shopping mall[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brooklyn_decker) |
| SI Swimsuit | Debut in the 2006 issue (Rookie of the Year, after a shoot in Colombia); cover of the 2010 issue; returned for the 60th anniversary issue in 2024[2](https://swimsuit.si.com/models/brooklyn-decker) |
| Feature film debut | *Just Go With It* (2011), opposite Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston[2](https://swimsuit.si.com/models/brooklyn-decker) • [3](https://www.self.com/story/brooklyn-on-acting) |
| Best-reviewed film | *Support the Girls* (2018) at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes; her lowest-rated is *Just Go With It* at 20%[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brooklyn_decker) |
| Television | *Grace and Frankie*, *New Girl*, *Ugly Betty*, and *The League*[2](https://swimsuit.si.com/models/brooklyn-decker) |
| Marriage | Married tennis star Andy Roddick in 2009; he reportedly sought her out after seeing her photo in Sports Illustrated[4](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brooklyn-decker-lands-si-swimsuit-cover/) • [5](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/brooklyn-decker-sports-illustrated-bikini-bombshell/story?id=9787785) |
| Other work | Global ambassador for the Special Olympics; collaborations with clothing, home, and digital brands[2](https://swimsuit.si.com/models/brooklyn-decker) |
## Early life and modeling start
Decker was born in [Kettering](https://www.edgepedia.org/kettering), Ohio, and was reportedly named by her parents, who both worked in the medical field, after a horse called "Brook." The family lived briefly in [Middletown, Ohio](https://www.edgepedia.org/middletown-ohio), before settling in [Charlotte, North Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlotte-north-carolina), where she was discovered in a shopping mall.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brooklyn_decker) She has said she started modeling in Charlotte after being scouted, and that five years later she was on the Sports Illustrated cover.[6](https://www.wbtv.com/story/11935857/wbtv-talks-to-si-cover-model-brooklyn-decker/)
After high school she moved to New York in 2005 at age 18 and signed with the Paris-based Marilyn Agency, which had a New York office. She quickly secured magazine spreads in *Glamour*, *FHM*, and *Cosmopolitan*, along with campaigns for the Gap and [Victoria's Secret](https://www.edgepedia.org/victorias-secret), and spent regular time co-hosting a CNN/SI Web sports show.[7](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/brooklyn-deckers-model-actress-career-challenge-62661/) Her published credits also include *Teen Vogue*, *American Vogue*, *GQ*, *[Vanity Fair](https://www.edgepedia.org/vanity-fair-magazine)*, and *Esquire*.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brooklyn_decker) • [8](https://fashiondb.com/models/brooklyn-decker)
## The Sports Illustrated years
Decker made her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue debut in 2006, appearing in the annual issue and earning Rookie of the Year honors after a photo shoot in Colombia.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brooklyn_decker) • [2](https://swimsuit.si.com/models/brooklyn-decker) She posed for the magazine from age 17 onward, and her annual appearances beginning in 2006 led to the cover spot.[5](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/brooklyn-decker-sports-illustrated-bikini-bombshell/story?id=9787785) • [7](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/brooklyn-deckers-model-actress-career-challenge-62661/)
**The 2010 cover.** In February 2010, at age 22, she landed the cover of the SI Swimsuit Issue, photographed in a canary-yellow bikini, the result of her magazine feature in the Maldives.[4](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brooklyn-decker-lands-si-swimsuit-cover/) • [2](https://swimsuit.si.com/models/brooklyn-decker) She called the selection "the news of a lifetime" and, on the *Today* show, "the equivalent of a model winning the MVP or the Super Bowl."[4](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brooklyn-decker-lands-si-swimsuit-cover/) • [5](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/brooklyn-decker-sports-illustrated-bikini-bombshell/story?id=9787785) She described the cover photo, a smiling shot, as a departure from the more sultry look SI had used in recent years, closer to the friendly, sun-loving covers [Elle Macpherson](https://www.edgepedia.org/elle-macpherson) made in the 1980s and 1990s.[4](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brooklyn-decker-lands-si-swimsuit-cover/) [Sports Illustrated](https://www.edgepedia.org/sports-illustrated) keeps the cover choice secret even from the models until less than 24 hours before the reveal.[4](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brooklyn-decker-lands-si-swimsuit-cover/)
She returned to the franchise for the 60th anniversary issue in 2024, which SI described as marking her eighth year with the annual publication.[2](https://swimsuit.si.com/models/brooklyn-decker)
## Move into acting
Acting was not an early ambition. Decker has said it became an interest as a way to compensate for not going to college, because she wanted to use her mind to study something while traveling for shoots; she trained with acting coaches Joan Rosenfels in New York and [Cameron Thor](https://www.edgepedia.org/cameron-thor) in Los Angeles, and stopped taking new modeling work to signal how seriously she approached the switch.[7](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/brooklyn-deckers-model-actress-career-challenge-62661/) In a 2013 interview she said she had stopped modeling four years earlier and had studied acting for a long time.[9](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/interviews/a27950/brooklyn-decker-interview-friends-with-better-lives/)
Her feature film debut came in the 2011 romantic comedy *Just Go With It*, playing the character Palmer opposite [Adam Sandler](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-sandler) and [Jennifer Aniston](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-aniston). She had auditioned for the part several times over roughly three and a half years of quiet auditioning, and said Sandler "was willing to work with me and take his time because he thought I was right for the role."[3](https://www.self.com/story/brooklyn-on-acting) She followed it with roles in *[Battleship](https://www.edgepedia.org/battleship-film)* (2012) and *What to Expect When You're Expecting* (2012).[2](https://swimsuit.si.com/models/brooklyn-decker) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brooklyn_decker)
Her later film work drew better reviews than the early studio comedies. On Rotten Tomatoes, *Support the Girls* (2018) stands at 91 percent, her highest-rated film, followed by *Band Aid* (2017) and *Stretch* (2014) at 88 percent each and *Lovesong* (2016) at 83 percent; *Just Go With It*, at 20 percent, remains her lowest.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brooklyn_decker)
On television she appeared in *New Girl*, *Ugly Betty*, and *The League*, and starred in Netflix's *Grace and Frankie*, which SI's profile calls the streaming service's longest-running series to date.[2](https://swimsuit.si.com/models/brooklyn-decker)
## Personal life and public image
Decker began dating tennis player [Andy Roddick](https://www.edgepedia.org/andy-roddick) in 2007; he reportedly sought her out after seeing her photo in Sports Illustrated, and they married in April 2009.[5](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/brooklyn-decker-sports-illustrated-bikini-bombshell/story?id=9787785) • [4](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brooklyn-decker-lands-si-swimsuit-cover/) During his Grand Slam matches she was a familiar courtside presence; a 2008 *GQ* profile described her as the star of four straight Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues and noted her Manhattan-to-Queens subway trips to the U.S. Open.[10](https://www.gq.com/story/brooklyn-decker-model-photos-video-andy-roddick-victorias-secret)
She has spoken candidly about the constructed nature of swimsuit photography. In a 2016 interview with [Stephen Colbert](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-colbert) covered by *Cosmopolitan*, she pointed out retouching on her own SI cover and said, "You become a model when you go through hair and makeup and Photoshop."[11](https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/fashion/a59022/brooklyn-decker-stephen-colbert-modeling-interview/) She is a global ambassador for the [Special Olympics](https://www.edgepedia.org/special-olympics) and works with clothing, home, and digital brands.[2](https://swimsuit.si.com/models/brooklyn-decker)
## References
1. [Brooklyn Decker Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brooklyn_decker)
2. [Brooklyn Decker News & Galleries, Sports Illustrated Swim](https://swimsuit.si.com/models/brooklyn-decker)
3. [Behind The Scenes: Brooklyn Decker in Just Go With It, SELF (January 31, 2011)](https://www.self.com/story/brooklyn-on-acting)
4. [Brooklyn Decker Lands SI Swimsuit Cover, CBS News (February 9, 2010)](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brooklyn-decker-lands-si-swimsuit-cover/)
5. [Brooklyn Decker: Sports Illustrated Bikini Bombshell, ABC News (February 9, 2010)](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/brooklyn-decker-sports-illustrated-bikini-bombshell/story?id=9787785)
6. [WBTV talks to SI cover model Brooklyn Decker (February 2010)](https://www.wbtv.com/story/11935857/wbtv-talks-to-si-cover-model-brooklyn-decker/)
7. [Brooklyn Decker's Model-to-Actress Career Challenge, Backstage Magazine](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/brooklyn-deckers-model-actress-career-challenge-62661/)
8. [Brooklyn Decker, FashionDB model profile](https://fashiondb.com/models/brooklyn-decker)
9. [Brooklyn Decker on What Makes Her Laugh, Esquire (2013)](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/interviews/a27950/brooklyn-decker-interview-friends-with-better-lives/)
10. [Brooklyn Takes Queens, GQ (2008)](https://www.gq.com/story/brooklyn-decker-model-photos-video-andy-roddick-victorias-secret)
11. [Brooklyn Decker Points Out a Major Photoshop Lie in Her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover, Cosmopolitan (2016)](https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/fashion/a59022/brooklyn-decker-stephen-colbert-modeling-interview/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Food, customs, and everyday culture › Clothing, textiles, and domestic crafts › Fashion and commercial models › Glamour and pin-up models*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license