Jessica White was photographed by Raphael Mazzucco in Canouan Island, The Grenadines. Swimsuit by RYGY.

Interview with Jessica White

What was your reaction to getting into the Swimsuit Issue?

I was 18-years-old and I started screaming. My agent called and said Sports Illustrated had confirmed me. The very first time I saw Diane Smith I was 14 years old and she was excited about putting me in the magazine and then she asked me a very interesting question. She asked me how old I was. I said that I was 14, but I had a body to die for, to be honest with you and I developed at a very quick age. And she said, 'Oh, my goodness, you're only 14?!' She called my agent and said I love this girl and she's perfect for us but she's only 14 so tell her to grow up and when she's 18 we'll give her a call and that is exactly what she did.

She remembered and she called me when I was 18, and that was the beginning of my long stretch with Sports Illustrated. It's still special and distinctly unique each time I get the call. To be honest with you, being in Sports Illustrated made me famous. Once that happened I started to break some barriers. They've used African-American girls but no woman of color has been in the magazine for as long as I have. I learned so much more about my body and I really started to perfect my skills as a model working with Sports Illustrated.

In all honesty, is modeling really that hard?

You try doing it! You sit there nude, surrounded by people you don't know and you don't know what they're thinking about you. You're standing there in the hot or cold dealing with your own personal insecurities and you make a photograph look as beautiful as I do in those circumstances. It's very hard. If you naturally don't have it, you're never going to get it because it's hard. It's acting, but it's silent acting. It's being an actor without saying anything but doing it with your body, your facial expressions. It's not easy. People think it's very easy, but it's difficult.

At what point in your career do you know you've made it?

The very first time was six years ago and I was inside a store in New York City. I walked in and five people knew who I was, and I'm so not pretentious. I walk around thinking I'm just regular Jessica but I walked in there and noticed that they were staring at me and then they all came up to me screaming and wanted my autograph. They all just encouraged me and thanked me so much for representing our race so well. I was 18 at the time and I didn't know what to say so I just said thank you. Now it happens all the time but for someone to want my name, my little autograph on a picture or on a sheet of paper, that's pretty awesome.

Happiness is...

I don't believe in happiness. Happiness is what's happening around you. Happiness comes from what happens around you. In life, not everything that happens to you is going to be great or something you necessarily want. I'm a Christian and as long as I'm waking up and praying and have a positive attitude, that gives me joy. God gives me joy. I believe in joy and joy is something that only God can give you but happiness is what's happening around you and that's temporary.

If you could change one thing in the past year, what would it be?

I don't know. It was a year of great knowledge for me. I learned a lot about making decisions that weren't necessarily the smartest professionally, but 2008 was the year of new beginnings. I learned a lot because I'm walking into a new stage of my life personally and professionally. I sat back and watched a lot. In 2008, I paid attention and was prudent and wise in every decision. Sometimes I can be too quick with my decisions so I learned how to think things through and not be so quick to speak. I'm trying to listen more. Last year I did a lot of quick talking, and this year I'm going to be more of a listener and then act instead of acting on things quickly.

What makes you feel sexy?

I feel sexy when I get my hair done and when I'm home by myself and lighting candles after I get out of the bathtub. I put on lingerie and relax. I don't do those things for men, I do them for myself and I think that's what we as women have to do. We have to love ourselves first. I honestly wear lingerie around the house for myself and I get out of bathtub and lotion up and I get turned on just by smelling myself.

Who is your dream guy?

My dad was a dream guy. Maybe I'm biased because he was my dad, but I had a great example of what a man is supposed to be and what a man is supposed to do. My dad was the epitome of a real man. He took care of his wife and he took care of his daughter and he was a provider whether he was severely sick or not. He got up and worked and provided for his family and he had a fear of God, and he was a man who loved God. My father was so knowledgeable. I would come home from school and my father would be playing Martin Luther King's albums. He was so smart and so wise. He had this big study with all these books from philosophers and inspirational speakers. My father was a preacher and he was knowledgeable of all things. He didn't have a high school diploma but my father home schooled himself. He could stand in front of Barack Obama and teach him a few things. He was so intelligent, and his name is Preston White, and he's my ideal man.

Do real guys have a shot?

Definitely, I actually have a crush on a regular, normal guy at the moment. What attracts me to this guy is the fact that he's successful in his own right and he's not on TV, and he doesn't have to be and doesn't want to be. He is very powerful and smart and young. He's only 29 years old. I'm going out on a limb even talking about this. We're not dating it's just some guy that I sit back and admire and I'm completely, completely attracted to him, and he knows who he is, too.

How much attention do you pay to nutrition and exercise, or is it all natural?

I really don't exercise at all. I feel bad for saying that but I really don't. I eat organic food sometimes, but mostly I'm on a see food diet. Whatever I see I eat!

If you had to play matchmaker for a day, what celebrities would you pair up?

I would have to say myself and James Franco. I think that would be a nice.

What meal do you miss from home?

This is kind of country, but lima beans and fried chicken. If my mom makes that I'll eat it. She makes it the best.

Every girl has her dating checklist. What are your top three deal breakers when dating?

I don't like it when a guy is overly confident, conceited, pretentious, talks about himself way too much and is boastful. I don't like a guy who is too boastful and arrogant. That's a huge turnoff for me. I'm a very humble person and I think that's the most important thing. The most attractive thing in the world is someone who is confident and successful but really humble.

What is your most memorable first?

The New York Post did a story on me wrote I was the first African-American model to have two beauty contracts. I never thought I would be the first to do anything in my life, and at that moment, I sat back and thought that I just broke a barrier, I made history. Another young girl can look at me and say I want to be just like Jessica White. I never thought I could do it. I came from the ghetto and trust me you never think you're going to be the first to accomplish anything, and I was the first person to do something. Not only that, but I had agents and people tell me that it could never happen and it did. I cried and I began to thank God for that moment. I prayed that prayer to God a long time ago and he answered it when I was ready.

People have said I look like...

Well, I get a lot of different people, but the one I always get is Naomi Campbell.

The world's hottest athlete is...

Hands down, LeBron James. He's young and I do think he's physically attractive. I've met him and he's a big guy. He's very athletic and he's like an entertainer, he gets on the court and he becomes this bigger-than-life person. To watch kids and grown men get excited about this guy when he steps on the court is amazing. I'm a huge fan.