WHEN Rosanna Davison became the first Irish woman to pose on the cover of Playboy, she didn’t expect her toddlers to find the saucy issue years later – and rip it up.
The former Miss World has achieved plenty in the first 40 years of her life, celebrating her big birthday on Wednesday April 17.
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It’s a milestone that usually warrants a huge celebration, however Rosanna isn’t partial to a party these days, being a busy mum-of-three.
The former Miss World didn’t steer away from her strict health regime when turning 30 and instead marked the quiet occasion surrounded by her family and close friends with a vegan cake.
We take a look through Rosanna’s incredible achievement throughout the decades.
MODELLING CAREER
The model won Miss World back in 2003 at just 19-years-old, four months before turning 20.
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Rosanna recently revealed to The Irish Sun that she did little to no preparation for the international beauty pageant.
She said: “I just showed up. I just went into it. Lisa Fitzpatrick came over to my house a week before to help me put together all my outfits for the days and accessories.
“But that’s as much as I did.”
Speaking about winning, Rosanna said: “I was shocked. We were there for four weeks, the first week I remember being overwhelmed and having imposter syndrome.
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“But then I stepped up my game and tried to compete with the girls who really had prepared well.”
The influencer’s 20s saw her launch a successful modelling career on the back of her win as well as stripping off for Playboy magazine.
NAKED SHOOT
Rosanna was the first ever Irish woman to grace the cover of the infamous magazine.
Back in 2012, she posed topless on the cover of the German edition, with a series of steamy photos inside.
And the Irish star still has no regrets about the topless cover.
In 2022 she said: “It just came at the right time and it was before I got married and had my family, I’m grateful I did it. I don’t regret it, it was fun.”
But while her parents, Lady in Red singer Chris DeBurgh and mum Diane, were supportive, as was her now husband Wes Quirke, there were a few people close to home who were less keen on her decision to pose nude.
She added: “I’ve two younger brothers and my poor brothers were tormented by their friends, texting.
“My now husband, we weren’t engaged at that stage, Wes was very encouraging, my parents were.”
And she told how in recent years, her three kids found her spare covers of the shoot – and ripped them up.
She said in 2022: “Maybe about two weeks ago, we have this sort of desk that was upstairs now it’s downstairs in the playroom with the kids. And I find my toddlers ripping up one of the Playboys.
“I had a pile of them in a drawer and it was just left there. I’d forgotten they were there, and I found them tearing it up.
“Thankfully, I have a few extra copies — but I just had to laugh, how life has changed completely. Thankfully, they didn’t recognise me in it.”
THIRTY FLIRTY AND THRIVING
Rosanna started off her 30s with a big celebration as she got married to her longterm love Wes Quirke.
The couple’s romance bloomed after the entrepreneur slid into her DMs on the social media website Bebo in 2006.
Wes popped the question on holiday in Mauritius in 2012 and they tied the knot on May 16, 2014, at the Powerscourt Hotel in Co. Wicklow.
The pair also had a massive bash at the Atzaro hotel and Spa Ibiza in June 2014.
FERTILITY STRUGGLE
Rosanna has been very open about her pregnancy struggles after suffering 14 miscarriages before welcoming her daughter Sophia through surrogacy in November 2019.
She had told that the experience was very stressful on her and Wes’ relationship.
Speaking to Ryan Tubridy on the Late Late Show in 2020, Rosanna said: “At the beginning, I questioned my role as a woman, I couldn’t do what my body was biologically designed to do.
“There were a couple of times, I suppose we look back at them now and laugh, I tried to convince Wes to leave me and find another partner because I knew he was dying for a baby.”
Rosanna then shocked the country in 2020 when she announced she was pregnant with twins Hugo and Oscar who were born in November of that year.
As they were arrived a little earlier than expected, the newborns had to spend some extra time in the neonatal department.
She announced the birth of her sons on Instagram saying: “Our beautiful and healthy identical twin baby boys, Hugo and Oscar, arrived safely into the world this morning and our hearts are bursting with love
“Just like that, we’ve become a family of five and all our dreams have come true. We’re deeply grateful to the wonderful, hardworking team at @nationalmaternityhospital for all of their kindness and support.”
She went on to write a book about her experience, with the aim of giving hope to those struggling.
She said: “My aim in writing the book about the awful struggles we faced – with infertility and the long and challenging journey we undertook to have Sophia via surrogacy and then they joy in expecting twin boys just months after Sophia was born – is to help to normalise the conversation about infertility, miscarriage, pregnancy loss.
“And to really examine the silence and the stigma that surrounds it.
“I’ve discovered that there’s great healing power in sharing or discussing your experiences with pregnancy loss or infertility, even if it’s just with a couple of close friends or family members.”
DANCING INTO HER 40S
Rosanna competed in the eighth season of RTE’s Dancing With The Stars earlier this year.
The former Miss World was eliminated from the hit show in week eight after losing out in a dance-off with Six O’Clock host Katja Mia.
Rosanna revealed that she took part in the competition to get her “self confidence back“.
The mum-of-three told The Irish Sun: “I’m really, really delighted I did it.
“To meet the people that were a part of the show and feel like a big family.
“I went into it as a personal project to sort of remember the person I was before I had children and get that bit of self confidence back.”
‘DREAM COME TRUE’
Rosanna has admitted she felt “terrified” doing the live shows but it was a “dream come true”.
She explained: “I feel like I got everything out of it that I went in to get.
“It’s such a personal growth sort of show to be on because you realise you can do so much more than you ever thought you could in terms of pushing outside your comfort zone and doing something that really terrifies you.
“It’s still terrifying, it was never not terrifying to dance on live TV – you feel so exposed.
“Especially if you’re like me and never had experienced something like that.
“So I felt like I learnt a lot about myself doing that and made a lot of friends, hopefully we keep in touch. I got everything out of it and more. It was a dream come true.”
And who knows what’s in store for the glamorous Dublin beauty’s 40s, happy birthday Rosanna!
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