Jim Morrison is universally recognized as one of the greatest frontmen in the history of rock and roll, but he'd much rather be remembered as a poet. Morrison was happier writing words than he was singing them, and was initially so shy of performing in front of an audience that he'd sing with his back to them. He eventually overcame that shyness, but only with the aid of a lot of psychoactive drugs.
Morrison and his band, the Doors, developed a reputation as rabble-rousers, with some of their performances turning into riots, and the apparent drug references in their songs provoking moral outrage. They were banned from many cities and television networks, and Morrison was eventually banned from performing with the band at all. He retreated to France with his girlfriend Pamela Courson, who he's pictured with here on June 28th, 1971. He died of apparent heart failure six days later on July 3rd, joining the notorious '27 Club' by doing so.
To insure one’s house, one’s car or to underwrite a life insurance policy, that is common practice. But who would pay an insurance premium for his/her thumb, legs or smile? Stars, of course.
At the top of the ranking are the legs of Mariah Carey, worth 810 million USD: The diva became, in 2006, the Gillette brand muse for the advertising campaign «Legs of a Goddess». She then took out an insurance policy with London Lloyds to protect her legs, a decision that is far from being insignificant. Among its customers, the London insurer then included several icons of music, such as Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart.
David Beckham’s body insured for 195 million USD: European champion with Manchester United in 1999, David Beckham was in 2006 the most renowned footballer of the planet. In relation to his sporting activities, he took out an insurance cover for his legs. The huge amount paid for his insurance would reportedly exceed the 103 million USD disbursed by Real Madrid for the cover of Christiano Ronaldo in 2009. The fashion model would later extend his insurance cover to his entire body.
15 million USD in insurance for Kim Kardashian’s curves: The curves of Kim Kardashian are her number one beauty asset. The reality TV star, who is crazy about plastic surgery, has underwritten an insurance policy worth 15 million USD to protect her famous butt.
The culinary critic Egon Ronay assured his taste buds: The famous Hungarian culinary critic has insured his taste buds since 1957, for the amount of 400 000 USD. An original insurance policy which allows him to cover his sense of taste without which he will no longer be able to practice his job.