Shayk is the first Russian to be featured on the cover of the annual swimsuit issue of the magazine which has heightened the profiles of many models.
"It's a part of the modern world to use these technologies, and I think our readers, and viewers, can have the issue come alive in so many new ways, now," said Diane Smith, SI's swimsuit issue senior editor.
The 2011 Sports Illustrated is available at newsstands on Tuesday. Digital formats for iPads, mobile phones and even television with new apps for the digital reader will also be released.
Irina Shayk via Wikipedia
Irina Shayk (sometimes credited as Irina Sheik, born Irina Shaykhlislamova (Russian: Ирина Шайхлисламова) on January 6, 1986 in Yemanzhelinsk, Russia, USSR) is a Russian model known for her 2007 through 2011 appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She is the cover model for the 2011 issue.
She currently ranks 10th in the "Top 20 Sexiest Models" list on MODELS.com.
It’s from her father that she got her unusual looks, she says, which often cause people to think she’s South American. “My father was dark skinned, because he was Tatar. Sometimes Tatars can look Brazilian,” she says. “I get my light eyes from my mother.” Irina has a pet dog named Caesar (named after Julius Caesar),a Lab who, she claims, was fathered by one of the dogs who played the title role in Marley & Me.
Since May/Spring of 2010, she has been dating footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. Shayk and Ronaldo allegedly met through their Armani Exchange campaigns.The New York Observer reported on September 2010 that Shayk purchased a $1.963 million one-bedroom apartment in West Village.
Photo credits: SI Mag