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Refaeli Lands Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover

NEW YORK (CBS) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 2: The Sports Illustrated 2009 Swimsuit Edition, featuring cover model Bar Refaeli, was revealed on a billboard during "Late Show With David Letterman" on Feb. 9, 2009.
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Click to enlarge 2 of 2: Israeli model Bar Refaeli poses upon arriving at the opening ceremony and the screening of "Blindness" at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2008, in Cannes, southern France.
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Model Bar Refaeli has landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated's 2009 Swimsuit Issue, according to a billboard overlooking Broadway in New York City's theater district.

The cover was revealed Feb. 9, 2009, during a taping of "Late Show with David Letterman," which is based in the Ed Sullivan Theatre across the street from the billboard.

Refaeli, girlfriend to "Titanic" actor Leonardo DiCaprio, had been rumored to be the publisher's top pick for the iconic issue.

The 23-year-old Israeli model has been the subject of increasing buzz since becoming the new face of Marks and Spencer's Valentine's Day lingerie range.

According to rumors on online celebrity blogs, Refaeli also is being courted by MTV to revive the 1990s "House of Style" show pioneered by Cindy Crawford.

DiCaprio and Refaeli visited Israel in March 2007, at the time trying to slip into the country unnoticed on a night flight from Frankfurt, Germany. Unfortunately for the couple, the plane was also carrying a group of Israeli entertainment reporters on their way back from a press junket in Ireland. By the time DiCaprio and Refaeli headed for her family's home in an upscale Tel Aviv suburb, it had been besieged by dozens of photographers.

While in Israel the pair paid an after-hours visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and later visited the Western Wall and its subterranean tunnels in the Old City. Police kept cameras back to shield the famous couple from exposure.

DiCaprio has received Oscar nominations for his roles in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," "The Aviator" and "Blood Diamond." Refaeli was featured in previous Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues, once alongside Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler.