( CNN ) -- Babette Beatty laughs when asked whether she 's seen the cover of this year 's Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue . `` You have to understand , where I live , we do n't get stuff , '' she said with a chuckle recently . Beatty , born in Germany and raised in Brazil and Canada , now lives in the rural hamlet of Halfway , Oregon , near the Snake River . You would think that seeing the next iconic cover would appeal to Beatty . In 1964 , on that very first swimsuit cover , Beatty was the star of the show . It was n't a big deal to her then . `` It was just another job , '' she said . `` I never expected it to be big . It just did n't even enter my mind . It was really no big deal for me . I was just working , trying to survive in New York . '' Beatty was doing more than just surviving . She had been featured in the Paris collections and on the cover of Elle and other fashion magazines . She was one of the top-paid models in the world . Beatty , whose last name was March then , said she looked at the swimsuit shoot as a 10-day expenses-paid vacation to Mexico . The pay was n't memorable . Beatty thinks it was about $ 100 a day . She basically went for the trip -- which was wild . Beatty and another German model stayed with the crew in Cozumel , which in the early 1960s was relatively undeveloped . It was home to some fishermen , but in '61 , famous ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau declared it one of the best diving spots in the world , and it gradually became more of a tourist destination . Beatty remembers staying in what could be described as a less-than-five-star hotel , flying to shoots in the morning and then partying late with members of the Mexican air force . She described photographer Fred Smith , whom she had worked with before , and the editors as `` great . '' She never really cared whether she got the cover . Through the lens of 2011 , it 's an innocent cover . Beatty stands in the clear water in a white bikini , as if she 's emerging from a dip in the surf . Kind of `` wholesome '' -looking , Beatty says now . She had no idea what it would lead to for the magazine . Back then , it was n't even called the swimsuit issue . It was just five pages of a 17-page spread on diving and popular winter resorts , mostly travel stories . Beatty did n't even get her name on the front . Over the years , the SI swimsuit cover reveal has become one of the biggest moments of the year for the magazine , which is owned by CNN 's parent company , Time Warner . The issue sells more than a million copies , and according to the Wall Street Journal , about 10 percent of the magazine 's revenue comes from that one issue . The issue boosts business for the companies that make the swimsuits and jewelry featured inside . And these days , the cover model gets a huge boost to her career . It was n't like that in 1964 . Sports Illustrated never told Beatty that she was on the cover . `` I found out through my agent , '' she said . In fact , she did n't even have her own copy of the famous issue until just a few years ago , when a man sent her a few copies to autograph . She called him and said she 'd sign it if he let her keep one . She still gets lots of mail from across the country -- all from guys , she says -- asking for her autograph . The continuing interest intrigues her . Beatty , who turns 70 this year , is an artist now . After her retirement in 1976 , she tried several things , including being a chef . In 1992 , she and her husband took a trip west , fell for Halfway and moved into an abandoned church . Beatty runs an art gallery ( she paints ) and hikes every day , even through the snow . She loves living in Halfway with 349 other people . It 's gorgeous , she says . Kind of like the woman on the cover of the January 20 , 1964 , issue of Sports Illustrated , a photo that launched an institution .
Babette Beatty was on the January 20 , 1964 , cover of Sports Illustrated . She is pictured with her husband and two children in a photo that ran under the headline " She fondly remembers her shoot as a wild time hanging out with the Mexican air force . She now lives in Halfway , Oregon , population 350 , running an art gallery .