elle uk

David Beckham is the first man to ever grace the cover of Elle UK, and in honor of the special occasion, he's shirtless and wet in the July 2012 issue! The full feature appears in the July issue of Elle UK, which goes on sale tomorrow. It's a special edition to coincide with the beginning of the Olympics in London, David's hometown. He's been especially active in hyping up the games, and even brought the Olympic flame to the UK earlier this month. In the magazine, David spoke about his dedication to soccer, not fame, and shed some light on his family life with wife Victoria, their sons, and nearly 1-year-old daughter Harper. Here's more from David Beckham in Elle UK:

• On not setting out to be famous: "I never thought about the money, the fame. It never interested me, and it doesn't interest me now. None of that has ever excited me . . ."
• On having a daughter now: "It's great. I love to bite her legs, or shoulders. It's how a baby should be. She's so beautiful. There's no more love for a daughter than there is a son, but it's just different. When they (boys) are kids you can roll them around and they fall to the sides and they pick themselves up and they're fine. Whereas Harper, now, she hits herself just slightly and she cries . . . I still think 'Oh God, I can't believe this, I've got a girl.' And to see the boys with her it's incredible. When they walk into the room, her little face lights up."
• On catching up with his wife: "She comes home and shows me what she's been doing all day and what exciting dresses and bags she's got coming through. And then I say something boring like 'I got kicked today.' But we listen to each other. We try to go out at least once a week, just the two of us, a quiet dinner somewhere. It's not about wearing a nice dress or a nice suit. It's just going out and chatting and having some time together."

Photos courtesy of ELLE UK and photographer Doug Inglish

Kristen Stewart went retro for the June 2012 cover of Elle UK, shot by photographer David Slijper. The issue hits newsstands tomorrow, May 2. She wore Jil Sander for the front of the magazine, which is being released as part of Kristen's promotional tour for Snow White and the Huntsman. Kristen was in Las Vegas last week for CinemaCon to chat up the thriller with her costar Charlize Theron, ahead of its release on June 1 here in the US. Now, Kristen's had to switch gears to focus on another project. She traveled to Vancouver over the weekend to do Breaking Dawn reshoots alongside her Twilight — and real-life — love Robert Pattinson.

>> Soccer player turned underwear designer David Beckham will make magazine history today when he poses for Elle UK's first cover that doesn't feature a woman.

Elle UK editor Lorraine Candy said the July issue will be pegged to this Summer's Olympic games in London, and picked Beckham because he bridges the gap between British sports and British fashion.

"David Beckham is a national hero, so we saw an opportunity to shoot a celebratory cover to support a historical and patriotic year," she said. "He is an icon and Elle is known for featuring icons on its cover. This is a first for us on the newsstand and I believe he is loved by men and women alike. Anyway, who doesn't want to see a picture of one of the world's most handsome men on the front cover of a magazine? It will be a collector's issue."

Elle has put men on its covers in the past, but most of them have been standing next to (or crouching underneath) women. Beckham, who's never been on the cover of a glossy women's magazine before, said he feels "honored to have been asked to be the first ever solo male fashion cover."

A look at some of the other men who have been on the cover of Elle UK in the gallery.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen appear on dual Elle UK covers for the glossy's April issue. The sisters have managed to build a massive high-fashion empire helmed by their luxury line, The Row, since leaving their acting careers behind. Mary-Kate and Ashley, who show off their well-honed individual style in the pages of the publication, talk about their "shared" thought process and their somewhat controlling approach to their design work. The Olsens also reflect on their decision to mostly stay out of the public eye these days. The full feature appears in the April issue of Elle UK, on sale Wednesday, March 7. In the meantime, check out some highlights from the interview:

• Ashley on how she and Mary-Kate think alike: "We're attracted to different things, but we arrive at the same place. I think we're probably unaware of how intuitive it might seem from the outside. It's basically one thought process shared between two people."
• Mary-Kate on other celebrity fashion lines: "Of course we knew about the trend of celebrities as designers, but we'd done that already when we were much younger. I don't understand the new idea of designers as celebrities either. To me, the Phoebe Philo [Celine designer] kind of modesty is the way to go. We love beautiful things. That's the only driving impulse."
• Ashley on their hands-on approach to work: "We are perfectionists. We've always wanted to be closely involved with everything, totally hands on — that's why it works. If we step away, it stops working. I know it sounds controlling, but that's how it has to be."
• Ashley on staying out of the public eye: "I don't have to be a pretty face. I've done that, but now it's important and liberating to be on the other side of the lens. I don't like to be the center of attention anymore."

Photos courtesy of Alexei Hayand for ELLE UK

Reese Witherspoon got serious and sexy for the May issue of Elle UK. The cover girl and newlywed, who just shared gorgeous pictures of her wedding day, is also gearing up for this month's release of Water For Elephants. She started promoting the project with an appearance at the Academy of Country Music Awards alongside costar Robert Pattinson last night, though she was more focused on her personal life when she sat down with the magazine. She spoke exclusively to Elle UK about her first marriage, the importance of her friendships, and how happy she is not to be dating in Hollywood. You can check out the full shoot, photographed by Ben Hassett, and the interview in the May issue, which is out this Wednesday. Here are highlights:

• On her worst trait: "I'm a worrier. I worry a lot. I'm in my head a lot and I… worry. I know it's bad for me and I know I shouldn't do it, but I do. If I said I was quiet to any one of my friends, they'd be like, 'Are you kidding me?' but I get really lost in my thoughts. I like my alone time."
• On dating: "I think dating is inherently complicated, anyway; what I do for a living makes it even more complicated. Let's just say I'm happy to not be dating. I met a wonderful man. I feel really, really lucky."
• On her first marriage to Ryan Phillippe: "Oh, I was so, so young. I was, like, ridiculously young. I learned a lot, though. It was a good opportunity for me to really find out what it means to be a partner and to be in a marriage and it's not anything that I thought it was. You can't say, 'I don't want to talk about that' [to your partner]. You just can't. You've got to talk about it all."
• On her friendships: "Friendships are work. You can only have a friend if you are a friend. You've got to be there. I really want to be the person who shows up for people when they need me. The friends I do have are very, very important to me."
• On her career: "When you make movies you have no idea what people are going to like, or if they're going to like it; if your career this year is going to be great or if next year nobody is going to want to see you in a movie. You just don’t know."

Ben Hassett / courtesy of UK ELLE

Gwen Stefani looked gorgeous while hanging around on the cover of April's Elle UK — check out a behind-the-scenes look at the shoot from photographer Matthias Vriens McGrath. She's the face of its romance issue and chatted with her good friend Shirley Manson for the accompanying interview. The L.A.M.B. designer and L'Oréal model opened up about her 14 years with Gavin Rossdale, her daily workout struggle, and feeling lazy. Here's more:

• On her marriage: "I've been with Gavin for 14 years, and, let's face it, that is a huge accomplishment. I feel so proud of that — it hasn't been the easiest journey."
• On her ideal day: "I think of myself as really lazy. My ideal day would be to never get out of bed. No one can force me to do something unless I'm passionate about it."

Photos Matthias Vriens McGrath courtesy of Elle magazine

>> Balmania is clearly not entirely over. One Miu Miu dress style (two colors) scored at least three fashion magazine covers over the Summer, but in the months since, a Fall 2010 gold Balmain dress — originally worn by Anja Rubik on the runway — is besting the Miu Miu dress twice over, with six covers so far. The Balmain look was first spotted on Abbey Lee Kershaw's August 2010 Vogue Germany cover, and has since been sported on covers by Cindy Crawford, Anna Dello Russo, and Natalia Vodianova. At least one more cover may be on the way — Anne Hathaway is said to be wearing "sparkly gold" Balmain on Elle UK's December 2010 cover.