Gloria Paul was an actress and dancer who was originally born in London. She acted in several shows and films in the 60s and 70s, including The Benny Hill Show, The Intelligence Men, and Darling Lili with Rock Hudson and Julie Andrews. She would have had a longer career, however, tragedy struck her life in 1996. She was taking a shower when suddenly a water heater fell through the ceiling on top of her. It paralyzed her from the waist down, destroying her acting and dancing career.
For a dancer, that is especially tragic. Out of all the accidents you expect to happen in the shower, the last thing you expect is something to fall from the ceiling on top of you. Suddenly I'm a lot less worried about slipping in the shower. I am going to start wearing a helmet in the tub.
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.