Cristiano Ronaldo’s girlfriend, Russian model Irina Shayk, has landed the cover of the Sports Illustrated 2011 Swimsuit Issue.
Irina had no idea she had been chosen until the cover was revealed on the David Letterman Show last night.
Ten models had flown to Hawaii and The Philippines for the photo shoot. The magazine’s editor later decided which shot should grace the cover, keeping it a secret from even the girls themselves.
Irina fought off completion from Anne Vyalitsyna, Julie Henderson, Kate Upton, Alyssa Miller, Chrissy Teigen, Hilary Rhoda, Genevieve Morton, Damaris Lewis and Izabel Goulart to land the coveted spot.
She told reporters after the show: “There were ten models there to do (Letterman’s) Top 10 List, and nobody knows until the last minute who the cover will be… And then I saw it, and I couldn’t believe it.”
Billboards featuring Irina, Brooklyn and Anne had been placed around New York over the past week in order to generate hype as to who would grace the cover.
Sports Illustrated have been running the annual Swimsuit Issue since 1964 and Beyonce, Heidi Klum and Elle Macpherson have all featured as cover girls in the past.
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