Babette Beatty: Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s First Cover Model

Sixty years after landing the first SI Swimsuit Issue cover in 1964, Babette Beatty is still receiving regular fan mail from her many admirers.

Transcript

00:00 Yeah, this was actually a surprise when I came out.

00:03 Hi, I'm Babette, and I did make the first cover of Sports Illustrated.

00:09 That was a long time ago.

00:12 The woman who started it all, right here.

00:15 I had just started modeling in '62.

00:18 The shoot was in '63, and it was just a nice trip to go on.

00:23 I don't think the cover was planned. It just happened.

00:27 Beautiful. You already look beautiful.

00:29 I don't have an iPhone.

00:31 Good for you.

00:33 Got a lot of marriage proposals from it, which I didn't accept.

00:37 And that's me. That's the sexiest bathing suit I ever wore for Sports Illustrated.

00:42 Yeah, I like this picture.

00:45 Actually, I'm sort of incognito. I live in a very small town in Oregon.

00:52 Most people don't realize, you know, they don't know.

00:56 They don't know.

00:57 Legend. Legendary.

00:59 (upbeat music)

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