Cover girl model Kate Upton in Queensland, Australia for Sports Illustrated's 2012 Swimsuit Issue

The 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue features model Kate Upton as its cover girl in Queensland, Australia. Upton spoke of her honour at being featured in the magazine, "I grew up in an American family, so it always was on the coffee table, and to be that girl on the magazine on the coffee table would just be really groundbreaking for me." Sports Illustrated, a magazine regularly read by 23 million adults each week, began its annual Swimsuit Issue in 1964 and is widely credited with making the bikini a legitimate piece of swimwear.