The Models

May Andersen
Age: 21 Place of birth: Copenhagen Now lives in: New York City Major ad campaigns: Victoria's Secret, Matrix Biolage, BCBG and J. Crew SI r�sum�: This is May's second appearance (2003) in the Swimsuit Issue. Currently on my CD player: The Cure and David Gray. Can't leave home without: My dog, Bailey (a Cavalier King Charge Spaniel), because he doesn't like to be alone. My biggest vice: Mochi, a Japanese ice cream. I'm addicted to it. Roots for: Allen Iverson, but I'm becoming a Lakers fan. This year I plan to: Take singing lessons again. My mother always wanted me to play piano because my fingers are so long—she said I had piano hands—but I took up singing instead. In 10 years: I'll wake up at my beach house in Denmark and walk into my living room, where my two kids will have my breakfast ready for me. My husband will be outside, gardening. Quote: Americans should know that Danes are very friendly and open and liberal and love foreign people. It's worth going to Denmark because you walk down the street and notice that everyone is gorgeous.

Ana Beatriz Barros
Age: 23 Place of birth: Itabira, Brazil Now lives in: New York City Major ad campaigns: Chanel, Victoria's Secret, Guess and Sisley SI r�sum�: This is Ana's third appearance (2002 and 2003) in the Swimsuit Issue. Can't leave home without: A Brazilian book. I love reading in my native language. On my CD player: A lot of hip-hop—Jay-Z, Ja Rule, Snoop Dogg and Missy Elliott. My biggest vice is: Housecleaning. I clean a lot. I cannot stand a dirty house. My mom calls me the Witch when she sees me with a broom and vacuum. Ten years from now. I would like to have my own business, but I don't know in what field yet so I think I'll go study at a university. Person I would love to meet: Johnny Depp, because he's a great actor and so cute. If I was not a model: I'd be a veterinarian. Roots for: Clube Atl�tico Mineiro [a Brazilian soccer club]. I've never been to a baseball or basketball game in the U.S., but I really want to go to one. Quote: For fun I love to bowl. I go all the time, but I am terrible. I still haven't broken 100. I have no coordination. None. Even when I was young, I would always break glasses...and everything else. My family calls me Destrada. Disaster.

Elsa Benitez
Age: 28 Place of birth: Hermosillo, Mexico Now lives in: Miami and New York City Major ad campaigns: Cover Girl, Jones New York and Ferragamo SI r�sum�: This is Elsa's fourth appearance (2000-2002) in the Swimsuit Issue. She was on the cover in 2001. Ever tease your husband (retired NBA player Rony Seikaly) because you've been on SI's cover more times (1 to 0) than he has? I'd never do that. My biggest vice: I eat a lot of things I should not eat, like hamburgers and pizza. Quote: I was scheduled to be on TWA Flight 800 [a Boeing 747 bound for Paris that exploded shortly after takeoff from JFK Airport in July 1996]. I got to the airport and I just had a bad feeling. I started crying, and I couldn't stop. I called my husband and said, "I feel something is going to happen on the flight." He said, "Don't worry." I said, "No, something is going to happen." He told me to wait 10 minutes and if I still had the same feeling, I should change the ticket. I couldn't stop crying, so I bought a ticket for another flight and took off 10 minutes after that flight did. It made me appreciate so much that just being alive is a gift.

Yamila Diaz-Rahi
Age: 27 Place of birth: Buenos Aires Now lives in: New York City Major ad campaigns: Davidoff Cool Water, Victoria's Secret, Cover Girl, GE SI r�sum�: This is Yamila's sixth consecutive appearance in the Swimsuit Issue. She was on the cover in '02. Can't leave home without my: Alarm clock and CD player. On my CD: Astor Piazzolla [an Argentine tango composer] and Brazilian music, such as samba and bossa nova. If I weren't a model I'd be: Teaching children dance or art. You were in a TV ad for GE last year in which you meet a geeky professor of nanotechnology in a laundry room, fall in love and marry, and wind up in a picture-perfect home with a baby and a GE washer and dryer. Any chance this could happen in real life? Yes, of course. Models are like any other girls. There is no limit for love. In fact, after the commercial ran, many people thought that guy was my real husband and the baby was my baby. People I work with said, "Congratulations!" To relieve stress: I do yoga. Quote: My biggest vice is that I love water. I can take a bath for three hours. I light candles all over the place and put music on, and I read or talk on the phone. But sometimes I fall asleep. So I guess this is kind of dangerous.

Bridget Hall
Age: 26 Place of birth: Springdale, Ark. Now lives in: Brooklyn Major ad campaigns: Ralph Lauren, Victoria's Secret, Gucci, Anne Klein SI r�sum�: This is Bridget's third consecutive appearance in the Swimsuit Issue. On my CD player: The White Stripes, Robert Randolph and Ben Harper. I'd like to meet: Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. My biggest vice: Video games. I like Tony Hawk's skateboarding games and all the snowboarding games. The one movie I wish I'd had a part in: Fatal Attraction, and I'd play the Glenn Close character. It seems like a fun part and a good way to get the anger out. Best (non-modeling) job: Before I was modeling I was babysitting. I still do it every now and then for friends, and I do it for free. It's good practice for my future. For fun, I: Go wakeboarding and ride my bike a lot around New York City in the summer. In the winter you'll find me snowboarding. Roots for: The Dallas Cowboys, the New York Jets and the New York Knicks. Quote: I picked NFL games for Sl.com this year, and it got me really involved in the season. I have Sunday Ticket because I can't miss seeing my Cowboys play. I was shocked at how well they did this year, but that's what you get by having a good coach.

Melissa Keller
Age: 25 Place of birth: Long Lake. Minn. Now lives in: Los Angeles Major ad campaigns: Revlon, Gap, L'Or�al SI r�sum�: This is Melissa's third appearance (2002, '03) in the Swimsuit Issue. On my iPod: Anything from country to hip-hop. Tattoos: Nine, the most recent being an electric green lightning bolt on my leg. Pets: Two cats: Beans and French Omelet. Roots for: the Minnesota Vikings. After this year's season finale, my dad was in the bedroom pouting, and I've never heard my mom swear so much in my life. If I weren't a model, I'd be: An actor or teaching photography to underprivileged children. Best (nonmodeling) job: Well, I've only really been a model. But I did work as a waitress at the Pannekoeken Huis (a restaurant chain in Minnesota). I had to wear a Dutch outfit and yell "Pannekoeken!" whenever people ordered pancakes. Quote: I really want to concentrate on acting. In Something's Gotta Give I play one of Jack Nicholson's girlfriends. I was only on the set for a day, and I had just one scene with him, but I did kiss him. Thai was my second on-screen kiss. My first was when I kissed one of the Ducks in Mighty Ducks 3.

Noemie Lenoir
Age: 24 Place of birth: Les Ulis, France Now lives in: Paris Major ad campaigns: L'Oreal, Ralph Lauren, The Gap, Victoria's Secret, Gucci SI r�sum�: This is Noemie's fourth appearance in the swimsuit issue (2000, 2001 and 2003). Who is your idol? I used to say my mom, but now I'll say Angelina Jolie. She says the truth even when people say bad things about her. I think she is an amazing natural talent. She is very real. If I weren't a model: I'd be a veterinarian. I love animals. Pets: I have two Chihuahuas—Nikita and Puma—and a ferret. Can't leave home without: My passport, my credit cards and my CD player. How I was discovered: Buying stamps at a post office in my hometown when I was 17. On my headphones: Norah Jones and Shaolin. Quote: I love to lie down and listen to old music—especially French artists from the 1950s like Edith Piaf. This is the way for me to calm down. I used to do yoga in New York, but that's not popular in France. With my job I always have to do some kind of sport to stay in shape. I used to say two years ago, "No, I don't like to exercise or diet. I can eat whatever I want." But that is now over. Now I'm running once a week. I know that's not a lot, but it is a start.

Marisa Miller
Age: 24 Place of birth: Santa Cruz, Calif. Now lives in: Calabasas, Calif. Major ad campaign: Tommy Hilfiger SI r�sum�: This is Marisa's third appearance (2001, '02) in the Swimsuit Issue. If I weren't a model: I'd be a sportscaster. On my headphones: Dashboard Confessional and the Ataris, but I love Led Zeppelin. The first thing I do every morning is: Go online to check the surf. If the waves are good, I'll go surf. The beach is 10 minutes away. I'm most proud of: My mom, Krista. She just went back to school and became a nurse, and now she works in pediatrics with preemies. She always tells me, "You can always go back to school, but you can't always model." I would love to go back to school as soon as this whole modeling thing is over. Quote: I'm very athletic. I was an outside hitter on my volleyball team in high school, and I don't think we lost a game my junior year. We just kicked ass. In junior high I played basketball. There's a basketball court close to my house, and my family and I played three-on-three on Thanksgiving. I can pick up any sport pretty quickly—believe me, I know how to throw a football.

Angela Lindvall
Age: 25 Place of birth: Midwest City, Okla. Now lives in: A 95-foot tugboat docked on the Hudson River, just north of New York City Major ad campaigns: Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci SI r�sum�: This is Angela's debut in the Swimsuit Issue. If I were not a model: I'd be a National Geographic photographer or enrolled at the Kansas City Art Institute. Does having a two-year-old hurt your modeling career? No. Having a son has been the most amazing experience—that pregnancy was like the birth of myself. Best (nonmodeling) job: I was 17 when I started modeling, but my first job was working in the mall for a fast-food place called Orange Julius. In 10 years I'll be: I'd love to have a shacklike bar on a beach, with my kids running around naked and people playing chess and weird games from around the world. Quote: I grew up in the middle of America and was completely unaware of what was going on in the rest of the world. I was overwhelmed when I started reading about the degradation of the planet and about people who are less fortunate. Stuff like that can make you feel helpless, so it's important that people realize that each individual can make a difference. It's about everybody getting involved.

Fernanda Motta
Age: 22 Place of birth: Rio de Janeiro Now lives in: New York City Major ad campaigns: Pantene, Victoria's Secret SI r�sum�: This is Fernanda's debut in the Swimsuit Issue Can't leave home without: My cellphone and laptop. Currently playing on my laptop: Plenty of hip-hop. I like Ja Rule, Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent. Discovered: At 16, by a modeling scout on Guarapari Beach, just north of Rio Roots for: Fluminense [a Brazilian soccer club]. My favorite hobby: Shopping. Best thing about my hometown: Life is really easy in Rio. Everybody works until four and then goes to the beach. How did you meet your husband? We were best friends for a long time, like sister and brother. Then we got married. I don't know what happened! In 10 years: I think I'll be a mother, living in Brazil. And I would not mind selling something with my name on it. Quote: I come from a big family. When everyone gets together, there are maybe 100 people. It's like a concert—we barbecue, play music, football and tennis. I'm the baby of my family, which is good because everybody really cares about me. My mother still calls me her "baby." and when I go back home, I sleep on the floor in the same room with my father and mother. I left home when I was young, so I like being close to them when I am back home.