And she's the biggest - and hand's down the prettiest - thing to come out of podunk Russian town called Yemanzhelinsk. Now she's a New Yorker whose exercise routine includes regular jogs up and down the West Side Highway. But the green-eyed goddess hasn't forgotten where she's come from. "I'm from a working class background and lost my father at an early age due to complications in the coal mines," Shayk told the Miami Herald last July. "My mother and all of my family have always had to work hard for everything we've gotten in our lives." Humble roots are someting Shayk shares with her boyfriend Cristiano Ronaldo, currently the highest-paid soccer player in the world. Heis the son of Portuguese gardener. Born Irina Shaykhlislamova 25-years-ago, she has been touted as the first Russian to grace the cover of the annual swimsuit edition. Shayk, however, is only half-Russian and credits her unusually sultry looks to her father. "My father was dark skinned, because he was Tatar," she said in an interview. "Sometimes Tatars can look Brazilian." Shayk was 14 when her father died and her mother worked two jobs to support the future supermodel and her sister. It was on a train trip to Moscow in 2004 that Shayk was "discovered." The 5 foot 10 inch tall brunette quickly rocketed to the top ranks of international supermodels, appearing on the cover of foreign issues of Elle, GQ and Vanity Fair, among other titles. Shayk was exposed to a huge American audience last May after rapper Kanye West tapped her for the video of his single "Power." Word that Shayk was succeeding Brooklyn Decker on the cover of SI leaked out Monday afternoon when the sports blog Deadspin.com got an early glimpse of the cover. But that didn't completely kill the excitement for Shayk, who broke into tears when it was announced on the David Letterman show. Decker, who is married to tennis ace Andy Roddick, tweeted her congratulations early Tuesday morning. "Congratulations to the brand new cover girls for #SISWIM 2011!" Decker wrote. "IRINA!! Enjoy the ride girl!!" As if that isn't reason enough to hate her, Shayk told People.com that she doesn't diet to maintain her stunning 34-23-35 figure. "I love to eat everything," she says. "I think I love food too much to not eat."
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