BY JILL JOHNSON ÷ Though Brandi Joines was as quiet as a mouse on the set of our cover shoot, her six-foot frame defies her attempts to blend into the woodwork. She reminds me of a 15-foot baby giraffe I recently saw at the zoo; it was attempting to hide behind a sapling which barely covered the length of its lashes, let alone its neck. Over a year on the model fast-track (since her discovery as the winner of MTV's Fashionably Loud model search in 1999) and Brandi has yet to shake the schoolgirl self-consciousness that plagues teen girls who tower over all the boys in their class. It's a self-consciousness that makes her instantly likeable. She possesses an innocence which most 20-year-old girls÷not to mention 20-year-old models÷lost years ago.

"She's the sweetest girl ever," says Lisa Amato, Brandi's booker at IMG. "She's really down-to-earth. She'd rather be home with her family than out partying like your usual 20-year-old. You'll see what I mean when you meet her." Soon after stealing Brandi away from the hairdresser who couldn't wait to get his hands on her soft layered locks, I did see exactly what she meant.

Joines is refreshingly wholesome (she hasn't had a boyfriend yet) and devoted to her family (she goes home almost every weekend). She hails from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, "close to Lancaster." Lancaster, Amish country÷good values must come with the territory. But you won't find Joines' fashion flair in Witness. She wears the requisite fall footwear item÷cool boots÷which end mid-calf, at which point an interminable stretch of bare leg begins and reaches up to a jean miniskirt cinched with a wide leather belt and topped off with a country-girl cable-knit sweater in cream. Emerging from the turtleneck is an angelic face÷the kind of face that belongs on magazine covers, which is exactly where we would put it. This is news to Brandi and she responds like a kid on Christmas.

I sat down for a little chat with the gleeful girl-next-door, moments before her transformation into the glamorous cover girl pictured here.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Michael Zeppetello HAIR: Mitch Berry for Bryan Bantry MAKEUP: Charlie Green for Madina Milano Cosmetics MODEL: Brandi Joines, IMG STYLIST: Anjelina Jolin

JJ: Tell us about the Mademoiselle/IMG/MTV Fashionably Loud model search. BJ: My mom sent my pictures in and I had forgotten about it by the time I received the call inviting me to the semi-finals in New York City. One hundred girls came to New York [out of 5,000 entrants]. I had a strange feeling something was going to happen. I ended up winning and going to Miami for the week-long finals with three other girls. I didn't have any expectations. When I won I was excited but I felt bad because I had become friends with the other three girls.

JJ: How did your life change after this high-profile discovery?

BJ: I was in college at Penn State in York at the time, in the first semester of my freshman year. The next week I had to be in New York, so I had to put college on hold while I started spending weekdays here. I tried to do correspondence but lugging 12 books around and trying to study when I was so busy didn't work out very well. I'm going to wait until I have more free time.

JJ: You've had bookings all over the world since then, right?

BJ: I've gone on trips to Corsica, Germany, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Teneriffe...and I spent time in Paris, London, and Australia building my book.

JJ: Your best job so far?

BJ: This one: the Tear Sheet cover!

JJ: Who are your favorite models?

BJ: Yael Goldman÷she's not famous yet, but she will be. Heidi Klum÷she was the co-host at the competition and she's so sweet.

JJ: Unlike most models in this city, you head home on weekends?

BJ: Yes, I'm really close to my family. I have four sisters and two brothers who make up my heart. They're wonderful÷all of them!

JJ: Where do you fall in age?

BJ: I'm the oldest. The youngest is two! I have the coolest set of parents ever and three grandmothers who are the most amazing women put on this planet, along with my mom. There's a really strong woman thing happening in my family.

JJ: How would you spend your ideal Friday night?

BJ: First I'd have to find a boyfriend...then we'd eat dinner with my family, go to a movie, and then come home and watch TV.

JJ: What are you looking for in a guy?

BJ: Well I'm trying not to look because then it won't happen, but he'll have to be tall and he'll have to like Pennsylvania!

JJ: Do you have any advice for aspiring models?

BJ: Grow up a little first. I think there should be a high school diploma requirement for models. Girls that have been raised well do OK; ones who haven't don't act appropriately.

JJ: Are you happy with your agency, IMG?

BJ: Yes, I'm with them in New York, Paris, and London. I love all of them. They're all objective and have good morals.

JJ: Do you have any exercise and diet secrets?

BJ: Not really. I just started with yoga. I love home cooking. And I love fried foods÷this is becoming a problem!

JJ: What is your favorite beauty product?

BJ: Chap Stick÷it's all I use. I just bought my first mascara two months ago.

JJ: Do you like modeling and has it changed you at all?

BJ: I love it. It's helped me grow a lot in a short amount of time. It has made me a stronger person, not a different person.