BUFFALO, NEW YORK

Dead bodies don't scare Jessica White. In fact, she wouldn't mind spending the next 30 years working with them. "I've always wanted to be a forensic pathologist," she says. "I want to pursue a medical career and do autopsies."

For now, she's content to bring some life to the modeling world; she has already been featured in campaigns for Cover Girl, Gap and Chloé.

She got her start at 14 when she flipped through the Buffalo Yellow Pages and found a modeling school. Success in local competitions got her invited to the International Model and Talent Association competition in 1999, which led to a contract with IMG Models in New York City.

An avowed homebody, White still lives with her family in Buffalo. She recently took up golf, which she has found to be a challenge in her hometown. "Last year we got buried in snow the day before Christmas," she says. "I was snowed in for a good month!"

This is White's first appearance in the Swimsuit Issue.

-- RICHARD DEITSCH