A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Woman

Wild Irish rose Rosanna Davison rides free in tropical Africa

Considering its size, Ireland has unleashed an uncanny number of great talents upon the world. While we love Joyce and Beckett, there's something instantly mesmerizing about Rosanna Davison. The dash­ing Dubliner studied art, loves to paint, has illustrated two chil­dren's books, writes about travel and is launching an acting career. Still, her most celebrated body of work is the one you're looking at. Rosanna won the 2003 Miss World pageant and has since worked as an international model. Bonus: Her father is Chris de Burgh, the musician best known for the 1986 hit "The Lady in Red." We pho­tographed Rosanna on the isle of Mauritius off Africa's east coast. "Mauritius is extremely close to my heart," she says. "I've been visiting the tropical island with my family for many years. It was the perfect destination for the playboy shoot." We couldn't agree more.