Hannah Davis' mother ''peed her pants'' when she found out she had landed the cover of this year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.

The 24-year-old beauty - who was unveiled as the star of the hotly anticipated issue last week - has revealed her mum, Deborah, wet herself when she informed her of the news.

She explained: ''My mum peed her pants. That's what she said. She said, 'Oh my god, I wet my pants.' ''

The Virgin Islands-born star still can't believe she was chosen to front the magazine ahead of favourites Emily Ratajkowski and Gigi Hadid and confessed to feeling a range of emotions upon learning she was to grace the cover.

She said: ''I was confused, shocked, happy, frightened. But I was really just grateful.''

Hannah - who is the girlfriend of baseball legend Derek Jeter - added the unusual setting for her photo, the Blackberry Farm in Tennessee, only increased her surprise at being chosen as it broke with the magazine's tradition of featuring swimwear models on beaches.

She explained to the New York Daily News: ''I didn't shoot on a beach so that's what made this even more surprising for me.

''My cover shot was the last shot of the day and I had been riding horses for three hours and just drenched in sweat. So I didn't think that was my moment.''