About
Nina Brohus Agdal is a Danish model born on March 26 1992 in the town of Hillerød, Denmark. She burst onto the global fashion radar through her fresh, sun-kissed look and easygoing personality, eventually becoming a regular in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Her biggest professional milestone so far is sharing the magazine’s 50th-anniversary cover in 2014 with Chrissy Teigen and Lily Aldridge, a moment that cemented her status as a swimsuit-model favorite. Today Nina balances modeling, brand work and a growing online presence with life as a fiancée to creator-athlete Logan Paul and mom to their baby girl, Esmé, born in September 2024.
Before Fame
Nina grew up just north of Copenhagen, enjoying a childhood filled with handball games and bike rides rather than catwalk dreams. At 15 she entered the Danish round of the Elite Model Look contest “for fun.” She didn’t win, but the exposure led to a contract with Elite Models Copenhagen. Nina finished high school first—a promise she made to her parents—then headed for New York at 18 with two suitcases and unlimited curiosity. Print ads for Billabong, Bebe and Calzedonia arrived quickly, followed by her rookie appearance in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, where readers voted her Rookie of the Year. That early momentum, paired with an informal, girl-next-door vibe, set the stage for the high-profile work that followed.
Trivia
- Rookie royalty: Winning SI’s 2012 Rookie of the Year put her in the same club as Kate Upton and Ashley Graham.
- Super Bowl cameo: A light-hearted Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s fish-sandwich spot starring Nina aired during Super Bowl XLVII in 2013, turning a 30-second ad into millions of Google searches.
- On-screen moments: She slips into Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s film Don Jon as the “Supermodel in a commercial,” and has popped up on shows like Ridiculousness and Lip Sync Battle.
- Half-birthday hype: Nina is genuinely into half-birthdays; she celebrated Esmé’s six-month milestone on Instagram with cupcakes and a confetti emoji spree.
- Body-positivity advocate: After headlines once fixated on a retouched magazine image of her hips, she spoke out against unrealistic standards and now often posts unfiltered workout clips to keep the conversation honest.
Family Life
Family remains Nina’s grounding force. Her mother, Anne-Mette, still lives in Denmark and occasionally joins her daughter on shoots; her father and brother, Emil, prefer life out of the spotlight but cheer her on from afar.
Romantically, Nina’s relationships have been headline fodder. She dated Leonardo DiCaprio from 2016 to 2017, a globe-trotting year chronicled by paparazzi and think-pieces alike. A quieter chapter followed with Jack Brinkley-Cook, son of supermodel Christie Brinkley.
In early 2022, sparks flew with YouTuber-turned-boxer Logan Paul. The pair announced their engagement on July 9 2023 during a Lake Como vacation and welcomed daughter Esmé Agdal Paul on September 29 2024. Wedding plans are still in the works, but both routinely share “practice-parenting” vlogs featuring diapers, dumbbells and Danish lullabies.
Associated With
- Logan Paul: Her partner in life, podcast guest spots and the occasional WWE ringside cheer squad.
- Chrissy Teigen & Lily Aldridge: Co-cover models from the iconic 2014 Sports Illustrated issue—friends who regularly swap mom tips in group chats.
- Leonardo DiCaprio: High-profile former boyfriend whose environmental activism rubbed off; Nina donates portions of campaign checks to ocean-cleanup projects.
- Jack Brinkley-Cook: Surf-loving ex who introduced her to Montauk’s bonfire scene.
- Sports Illustrated family: Editors, photographers like James Macari, and fellow Swimsuit “legends” who continue to bring her back for anniversary shoots—most recently the 60th-year spread in 2024.
