Her paintings may sell for thousands of dollars, but she is best known for a modeling shot 50 years ago that helped launch a money-spinning business empire. Now 72, but looking a decade younger, Babette Beatty was the first Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover star. Discovered on a beach in Florida, these days she resides in a mountain town far from the glamor and glitz of the entertainment industry that has made household names of her successors. It all started on a whim -- for her a chance of some Mexican sunshine; for Sports Illustrated a chance, for one week, to fill the void left by a lack of content in the winter months.
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Babette Beatty was the first model on the cover of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue
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The German had no idea how big the editions, which has turned 50, would become
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Beatty landed back from Mexico trip on the day John F. Kennedy was shot dead
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She now lives in the mountains in Oregon and spends her time painting
But she made the cover: her head turned to the side, smiling cheekily in a white bikini as the @placeholder waters lapped against her ankles.