Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe LOS ANGELES, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Carolyn Murphy may or may not become a household name, but she is about to enter a relatively rarified level within the entertainment industry now that she has made the cover of Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit issue. The annual publishing event has made stars out of such models as Cheryl Tiegs, Christie Brinkley, Kathy Ireland, Elle Macpherson, Tyra Banks and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos. It has also turned into a significant profit center for Sports Illustrated, which is owned by Time-Warner. Advertisement SI Publisher Dave Morris told United Press International the swimsuit issue -- introduced in 1964 -- has become "the Super Bowl of print" and will be seen by more than 59 million adults this year. "The issue has evolved into a multimedia brand that reaches the consumer via every medium," he said, "in print, online, broadcast, and even cell phones." Advertisement While Murphy -- a veteran of major fashion runways and magazine covers including Vogue -- moves to the next level of professional success and prosperity, the swimsuit issue routinely provides a revenue bonanza for SI. The magazine calculates that the issue generates revenue of $50 million from ad sales, newsstand sales and ancillary items such as calendars, screensavers and DVDs. At the moment there is no way to calculate the impact that being on the cover will have on Murphy's career. But in an interview with United Press International, Ivan Bart -- senior vice president of Murphy's modeling agency IMG Models -- said the name recognition that comes with the SI gig is invaluable. "She is introduced to every outlet -- 'Today,' 'Access Hollywood,' everything," he said. "She's walking down the red carpet and she's being interviewed all over the place. It just becomes a media explosion." Murphy is making the rounds this week in venues ranging from "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" to phone-in appearances on sports talk-radio shows. Bart said the appearances give her a chance to show more than just her looks. "The personality is everything," he said. Brinkley, Ireland, Macpherson and Romijn-Stamos in particular parlayed their SI fame into wider opportunities in Hollywood, with varying degrees of success and longevity. Advertisement Brinkley made a splash in the 1983 comedy "Vacation" and starred in a classic music video with Billy Joel, but she did not develop a substantial acting career. Ireland fared a bit better, appearing in such features as "Loaded Weapon 1" and "Mr. Destiny" and TV movies including "Once Upon a Christmas" and "Miami Hustle" -- but her greatest prosperity probably comes from her line of fashion, home and garden products. After playing a model in her earliest films, Macpherson went high-profile with an appearance in "Batman & Robin" (1997) and a starring role with Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin in "The Edge" (1997), but her movie career hasn't grown much since then. Romijn-Stamos has had the highest profile for an SI cover model in Hollywood, playing Mystique in the "X-Men" movies. As Bart pointed out, Murphy already brings an extensive background to her assignment as swimsuit cover model. "She's already the face of (cosmetics giant) Estée Lauder, so she's already seen in magazines every month, with millions and millions of dollars worth of advertising push behind her," he said. "It's too early to tell what's going to happen, but I can say that she's poised to really springboard and go with it." Advertisement Murphy also has a feature-film credit on her résumé, with a role in writer-director Barry Levinson's 1999 picture "Liberty Heights." Getting the SI swimsuit cover is not easy to do. Editors consider between 60 and 80 models each year for the issue, but only a few are chosen. This year 20 made the cut -- and the choice of who would go on the cover was turned over to focus groups, Bart said. There's no way to psych out what focus group members will want to see in their ideal SI model, but Bart said a successful shoot comes down to chemistry between the model and the photographer. The photographer whose work is on this year's cover is Jeff Olson, but the shot is not likely to do as much for his name recognition as it will for Murphy's. Besides being featured on as many TV shows as her schedule will allow, Murphy will be seen in the magazine by nearly three times as many readers as SI typically has for non-swimsuit issues. That makes it the single most widely read issue of any magazine in the world, according to SI. Promotion for the issue included a Spike TV special that aired Wednesday, as well as a six-week long reality series on NBC last year that chose one woman to join this year's lineup of SI swimsuit models. Advertisement It all adds up to muscular ad rates -- with SI charging more than $328,000 for a full-color, full-page national ad. The magazine said the issue generates about $35 million in ad revenues, $9 million-$10 million in gross newsstand sales and $5 million-$10 million in sales of ancillary products. It's a bit harder to ascertain how much money the cover will be worth to Murphy. "All models fees are confidential," said Bart. -- (Please send comments to [email protected].)
