Kate Upton was named People's magazine first-ever Sexiest Woman Alive Thursday night, at the inaugural People Magazine Awards.

People.com reported that the model thought the recognition was a little awkward for her little brother.

"I'm so, so sorry for my 18-year-old brother," she said during her acceptance speech. "Poor David!"

Upton also mentioned her 31-year-old baseball player boyfriend Justin Verlander, a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers.

"Um, you're welcome, Justin," she said.

USA Today reported Verlander did not attend the ceremony.

Eric Dane presented the 22-year-old Sports Illustrated model with the award.

There are a lot of reasons why Kate is sexy," he said. "Style, career, achievements, sense of humor, personality -- oh and did I mention her ... looks?"

Upton graced the stage to say what sexy means to her, Entertainment Weekly reported.

"This is such an honor to me because sexy to me means somebody who's confident and happy and that's the person I always strive to be," she said. "Thanks to my fans."

Upton is known for being on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition more than once and for her role in "The Other Woman."

Upton joins actor Chris Hemsworth, who won People's Sexiest Man Alive in November.

The People Magazine Awards gave out titles like Celebrity Role Model of the Year, which went to Kate Hudson, and the "Triple Threat" award, given to Jennifer Lopez, Huffington Post reported.

Other awards included Model of the Year, given to Karlie Kloss, Talk Show Host of the Year, given to Jimmy Fallon and Style Icon of the Year, awarded to Gwen Stefani.

Winners of each award were picked by the editors of People Magazine and Entertainment Weekly, according to CBS News.

Esquire magazine has previously named Penelope Cruz as Sexiest Woman Alive for 2014, while Maxim has named Eva Longoria the Woman of the Year.

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