NEW YORK (AP) -- She's a Florida girl who's comfortable in a bikini, and now 19-year-old model Kate Upton is on the cover of the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.
She wears a tiny red-and-brown, sparkle-covered string bikini with a view of the waters of Australia behind her as she poses for the magazine cover, which is scheduled to be unveiled on TV Monday night on "Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS.
"That was one of the first photos from the first shoot," she said in a telephone interview before the big reveal. "It was my favorite swimsuit. ... I felt sexy in it but confident."
Upton, 5 feet 10, was born in Michigan but raised in Florida. Her hometown is Melbourne, on the state's east coast.
"In Florida, people walk around in their flip-flops, bikinis and jean shorts, so I'm very comfortable in a bathing suit," she said.
