Billie Jean King has been an inspiration for gay people, and especially gay women, in sport for well over thirty years. In a time where gay people were still subject to horrific discrimination, tennis legend King had the confidence to declare that she was gay all the way back in 1981. She was the first significant female athlete in any sport to declare herself as a lesbian.
Her hand was forced with the declaration due to a palimony lawsuit filed by her former secretary Marilyn Barnett, who she'd been having an affair with since the 1960s. Coming out cost her over $2m in sponsorship revenue as partners pulled out, but she continued playing in defiance, going on to become the oldest player ever to win the Edgbaston Cup in 1983. Today, she's recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time and remains an activist for both women's and gay rights.
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.