When a young woman breaks into showbusiness as a child star, they're sometimes referred to as a 'Shirley Temple,' because Temple was the one who wrote the book on how to do it. She' also, sadly, the classic cautionary tale of what can happen when child stars fail to find success when they get older. Temple had the 'cute' factor in a big way, and audiences fell in love with her singing and dancing. She became less cute as she got older, and Hollywood cast her away quickly when they had no further use from her. Temple quit acting for good in 1950.
It's a shame that so few people know what she did next, as it's actually fascinating. Temple developed an interest in politics during the 1960s and tried to find a way to get involved. Somehow, she ended up as the official United States Ambassador to the African nation of Ghana. How that happened, we may never know, but Temple was said to have loved the role.
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.