About
Yumi Nu is a Japanese-Dutch American model, singer-songwriter and budding entrepreneur who has quietly shifted the conversation around body image in fashion. Born on September 23 1996 in Englewood, New Jersey, she burst into the wider spotlight in 2022 when Sports Illustrated chose her as a Swimsuit Issue cover star—the first plus-size model of Asian-American heritage to earn that honor. It was a milestone moment that let many fans finally see someone who looked a bit more like them in one of fashion’s most coveted spaces.
Modeling, though, is only half of Nu’s creative life. She writes and records music that blends gentle synths with airy vocals, releasing her first EP in 2019 and following it up with Hajime in 2022. In May 2024 she expanded on that sound with BLOODY, a seven-track alt-R&B collection that landed on Apple Music and Spotify and showed she can slip from catwalk rhythms to studio beats without missing a step.
Nu’s career keeps stretching. She returned to Sports Illustrated for the 2023 issue shot in Dominica, walked at Miami Swim Week, and appeared in Vogue editions on three continents. Every booking feels like another small—but highly visible—nudge toward a fashion world that values diverse bodies and diverse stories.
Before Fame
Although her résumé now spans magazines and arena stages, Nu’s childhood was rather ordinary—just with a few more cameras. Her mother, former model Kana Grace, often brought young Yumi to shoots, sparking an early curiosity about the craft. At seven, the family left New Jersey for Maryland, where Nu was one of only two Asian-American students in her school. Racist teasing stung, but it also planted the resolve she later poured into activism for better representation.
At fourteen the family relocated again, this time to Newport Beach, California, and Nu started signing first modeling contracts in 2010. Around the same time she discovered songwriting. A hand-me-down guitar and GarageBand sessions in her bedroom led to dozens of demos; by 2016 she had penned her first professionally released song. The twin tracks of modeling and music would eventually merge into the multifaceted career she enjoys today, but during high school they were simply after-school passions that made her feel seen when classmates did not.
Trivia
- Record-setter: Nu’s 2022 Sports Illustrated cover wasn’t her first brush with the magazine—she had already posed for the 2021 issue, becoming the franchise’s first Asian plus-size face. The cover, however, cemented her place in fashion history books.
- Entrepreneurial spirit: Frustrated by the lack of stylish options in extended sizes, she founded Blueki, a plus-size label that focuses on soft fabrics, ethical production, and silhouettes that feel playful rather than apologetic.
- White House guest: In May 2022 the Biden administration invited Nu to its AAPI Heritage Month celebration, where she mingled with lawmakers and fellow artists while championing body-positive messaging.
- Online resilience: After psychologist-turned-commentator Jordan Peterson mocked her SI cover on Twitter in 2022, Nu answered with a light-hearted TikTok and a simple statement: “No one can take this away from me.” Her calm clap-back went viral and pushed more people to question narrow beauty standards.
- Music milestones: Singles like “Sponges” (with Yuki Dreams Again) and “Pink Chalk” rack up hundreds of thousands of streams. She self-releases through her uncle’s label Dim Mak, giving her unusual artistic control for a young act.
Family Life
Nu’s lineage is a swirl of creativity and culinary entrepreneurship. Her grandfather, Rocky Aoki, founded the Benihana restaurant chain; her uncle is EDM superstar Steve Aoki, and her aunt is actress-model Devon Aoki. Her mother, Kana Grace, modeled in the 1980s and ’90s, while her Dutch-born father brought a love of photography that often placed Yumi behind lenses as well as in front of them.
She shares a particularly close bond with younger sister Natalie Nootenboom, who is also carving out space as a curve model and DJ. Holiday dinners, she says, are loud, bilingual, and filled with ideas for the next creative project. These days Yumi splits her time between Silver Lake in Los Angeles and New York City shoots, but family WhatsApp threads ensure she never feels far from home.
Associated With
Nu’s career weaves through a rich tapestry of collaborators and inspirations. She records under Dim Mak, the label Steve Aoki founded long before she was old enough to enter a club, and has teamed with Montréal artist Yuki Dreams Again on dreamy alt-pop tracks.
In fashion she has posed alongside Kim Kardashian, Ciara, and fellow barrier-breaker Maye Musk for Sports Illustrated, sharing more than glossy pages—each challenges conventional ideas of age, size, or background in modeling.
Nu also credits Naomi Osaka’s stance on mental-health advocacy and Vanessa Williams’s history-making SI cover in 1993 as inspirations for staying outspoken. Her Instagram likes reveal shout-outs to runway colleagues like Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid, proof that admiration in fashion often flows both ways.
