Sports Illustrated is very secretive about their swimsuit issue and even the model herself did not find out she made the cover until hours before it hit the newstands. The cover model for SI’s 46th annual swimsuit issue is Bar Refaeli, also known as Leonardo DiCaprio’s girlfriend.
SI’s swimsuit issue is viewed by 66 million readers making it the biggest annual event in magazine publishing. Being the Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit cover girl helped further launch the careers of Tyra Banks, Rebecca Romijn, Cheryl Tiegs, Cindy Crawford and Heidi Klum.
The beautiful photos were done by Raphael Mazzucco on Canouan Island in the Grenadines. There were 19 models included in the shoot, all hoping to score the cover.
