HOT CELEBRITIES: How Sports Illustrated cover girl Kate Upton gained so much weight last summer, her friends staged an intervention

She has become a household name almost overnight, her blonde locks, never-ending legs and womanly curves propelling her to the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition.

But, while Kate Upton looks in fine form in the sizzling shoot and wall-to-wall publicity surrounding the much-hyped launch, it was revealed that the 5' 11" model might never have made the cover if it wasn't for a little friendly dieting advice.
The 19-year-old bombshell reportedly let her figure go last summer - so much so that her friends stepped in to set her back on the path to superstardom.

Weight-loss: Kate Upton modelling in the Beach Bunny fashion show in Florida in July 2011 (left), and (right) at a launch part for her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover this week

A friend of Miss Upton's told the New York Post: 'She’s not your typical model... She will eat anything. She’s not assuming. She’s not into herself. She’s not very affected.'
The football fan's laid-back approach started to show, the newspaper said - and pounds piled on, in part because of her refreshingly healthy attitude to eating.

 

More...

• Move over, Irina! Red hot Kate Upton usurps Miss Shayk as Sports Illustrated new cover girl takes centrestage at magazine launch
• Bikinis, beaches and bombshells: From a VERY demure two-piece in 1964 to Kate Upton's barely-there number, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue covers through the decades

Extra gym sessions were all it took to hone her body into readiness for the coveted role, the hard work paying off, it appears.
The Post reports that the model last night admitted to her sweet tooth at club Crimson in New York. She said: 'I never deprive myself. If I’m craving something once a week, then I’ll go have it... Ice cream or whatever, I just eat the foods I like.'
Her workout regimen keeps her in shape, and she praised her personal trainer for her figure.

Body beautiful: Miss Upton on the cover (left) and inside (right) this year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

'I have to give credit to my trainer. He definitely kept me motivated in staying in shape... I’ve always been naturally curvy, but of course I had to get used to being in the public eye', she said.
It couldn't get much more public than Sports Illustrated.
The coveted position, filled by vixens including Elle 'The Body' Macpherson, Christie Brinkley and last year's Irina Shayk, is a surefire path to lucrative modelling gigs elsewhere.
Credited as being 'bigger than fashion' by Ivan Bart, head of IMG Models, Miss Upton's success is largely thanks to internet - she has 170,000 Twitter followers and is a YouTube hit. He told the New York Times that the wholesome bikini model is the 'Jayne Mansfield of the internet.'

'She has that kind of face that anyone with enough money can go out and buy'

Praise indeed - but Miss Upton may want to change her focus if her sights are set on Victoria's Secret.
The lingerie company's creative head, Sophia Neophitou, told the Times that the label would never choose the voluptuous blonde to star in their annual fashion showcase.

Unafraid to mince her words, the vision behind the ever-glamorous and over-the-top production said that the Sports Illustrated star is dubiously blessed with beauty that is 'too obvious'.
She likened her look to a page three girl and told the newspaper that the model is 'like a footballer’s wife, with the too-blond hair and that kind of face that anyone with enough money can go out and buy.'
Not that the harsh judgement has posed an obstacle to Miss Upton's success so far.
VIDEO: Kate Upton's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition cover shoot