The policy of celebrities insuring their body parts began about a hundred years ago, led by the first Hollywood stars of the silver screen. Today, everyone from musicians to models to sports players have insured their bodies or parts of them – often for ground-breaking sums which will leave you completely in shock. Many companies have also been jumping into the game as of late, insuring their spokespeople and models to create publicity for the celebrity and the brand.
In this list, we’ve gathered some of the strangest, most bizarre, and (in some cases) downright gross body parts which have been insured by celebrities. While body part insurance policies started out rather tamely, they’ve since taken a turn to the wild side for many of these celebrities. Can you guess what will be the weirdest body part a celebrity has insured? If you guessed the legs, you might be on to something. If you guessed a six-pack, well, we haven’t come across anyone who had their abdominals insured, but it’s probably happened knowing this world. If you start to guess some of the more risqué body parts, now you’re on the right track. Have a laugh with this list of the 25 Most Ridiculous Body Parts Insured by Celebrities.
Ben Turpin
One of the first people to take out insurance on one of their body parts was famous 1920’s silent film comedian Ben Turpin. The cross-eyed comedian took out a $25,000 policy, payable if his trademark eyes ever uncrossed.
America Ferrera
Ugly Betty star America Ferrera had her teeth insured by Aquafresh as part of a charity promotion for a whopping $10 million.
Miley Cyrus
After all the controversy (and notoriety) stirred up by her 2013 MTV Video Music Awards performance, Miley Cyrus insured her tongue for a million dollars.
J-Lo
One of the most powerful and influential women in music, Jennifer Lopez (J-Lo) has her voluptuous booty insured anywhere from $27 million to $300 million.
Dolly Parton
Country singer Dolly Parton insured her famous 40 DD chest in 1970 for $600,000. That’s worth nearly four million dollars today.
Heidi Klum
A Victoria’s Secret lingerie model, Heidi Klum insured her legs for $2.2 million. Going to show that insurers really are quite thorough, her left leg is insured for $200,000 less than her right leg due to a small scar on the knee.
David Beckham & Cristiano Ronaldo
Soccer star David Beckham is known for his legs, insuring each of them for $35 million against all kinds of injury or disfigurement (since he is a model). The less-than-humble Cristiano Ronaldo had his legs insured by Real Madrid for a massive $144 million.
David Lee Roth
The lead singer of Van Halen, David Lee Roth had his little swimmers insured for a million buckaroos.
Daniel Craig
Recent James Bond actor Daniel Craig insisted on doing most of his own stunts while filming “Quantum of Solace”. To protect their investment, the producers insured his whole body for a cool $8,000,000.
Egon Ronay & Ilja Gort
Hungarian-British food critic Egon Ronay insured his useful taste buds for $400,000, worth over two million dollars today. Similarly, famous Bordeaux wine maker Ilja Gort insured his nose for a jaw-dropping five million euros.
Bruce Springsteen
Widely known for his distinctive voice, 20-time Grammy winner Bruce Springsteen insured his voice in the 1980’s. Today, it’s worth over $30 million.
Gene Simmons
If anyone is known for their tongue, it’s KISS frontman Gene Simmons. The rocker had his super-long tongue insured for $1 million so KISS fans wouldn’t have to worry about him losing the trademark.
Merv Hughes
Famous Australian cricket player Merv Hughes was even better-known for his famous handlebar mustache. The player took out a $317,000 policy on his tuft of facial hair.
Madonna
It’s rumored that Madonna sought a $12 million insurance policy on her bust. After examination, the insurance company only agreed to pay out two million.
Bette Davis
Known as one of the greatest actresses in film and television history, Bette Davis was the first woman to win the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Famous for her tiny waist, she had it insured against weight gain for $28,000 (over $400,000 today).
Jimmy Durante
Actor Jimmy Durante was known for a body part most people try to tone down – the nose. “The Schnozzola”, as he was known, took out a $140,000 policy with Lloyd’s for his bulbous nose.
Michael Flatley
Lord of the Dance and famous Riverdance performer Michael Flatley insured his trademark tapping legs for $39 million.
Keith Richards
Rolling Stones’ guitarist Keith Richards had his money makers (his hands) insured for $1.6 million – though, some sources claim the amount was just for his left hand’s middle finger.
James Dean
Just a week before his untimely death in a car crash, actor James Dean took out a life insurance policy of $100,000.
Mariah Carey
Insured by razor maker Gillette, Mariah Carey’s legs were protected after she became the spokeswoman for their “Legs of a Goddess” campaign. Out of all the strange body parts insured by celebrities, Mariah has the most expensive in the world – her legs are insured for a ground-shattering one billion dollars. (Cue Dr. Evil laugh.)
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is one of over 20,000 Americans who have covered themselves against one of the most unusual things on this list – aliens. The actress is a firm believer in extra-terrestrial life and took out a $25,000,000 policy to protect herself against any losses arising from alien abduction.
Betty Grable
As you’ve seen, plenty of celebrities on our list have insured their legs. This trend dates back to 1940’s actress and pin-up girl Betty Grable who insured her trademark legs for $1,000,000. This also gave rise to the phrase “million-dollar legs”.
Angela Mount & Gennaro Pelliccia
Wine expert Angela Mount was so good at her job that her employer took out an insurance policy of $16 million for her taste buds. (Wouldn’t it be great if all companies started doing that?) Costa Coffee took out a $15 million insurance policy on its chief taste taster Gennaro Pelliccia’s taste buds.
Troy Polamalu
A spokesman for Head & Shoulders, former Pittsburgh Steelers player Troy Polamalu is known for his three feet of curly black hair. The shampoo company wanted to keep his luscious locks safe by insuring them for a million bucks.
Tom Jones
British icon of male libido Tom Jones is so well-known for his unbuttoned shirts that he insured his chest hair for a staggering seven million dollars.