14 DAY TRIAL // Word got out online a few days ago that Taylor Swift, in preparation for her brand new tour, which kicks off in May, had insured her legs for $40 million (€37.6 million). This would cover her in case she became injured on stage, and would protect her against going bankrupt, because it would pay organizers for the canceled dates.
The pop-country star isn’t the first and she will definitely not be the last celebrity to ensure a body part. With certain acts in certain branches of entertainment (like, say, actors doing an action movie and performing at least a part of the stunts), this is common practice. More so, it’s mandated by the studio.
However, that doesn’t mean that the industry lacks examples of insurance policies taken out for insane amounts of money, for no reason at all. So sit back and enjoy.
Famous ladies with famous body parts
I didn’t mean this post to be all about female stars, but after sorting through a variety of confirmed stories and tabloid reports, and deciding not to include those stars who opted to insure parts because of their work, I was left with some of the biggest divas in showbiz right now.
Apparently, the Queen of Pop, Madonna, insured her breasts for $2 million (€1.8 million) because they were so famous and valuable that her image would have never recovered if something happened to them. Playboy bunny Holy Madison also insured her girls, for half that amount, confirming for the media that they were her livelihood and she’d be out of work in a worst case scenario involving her breasts.
Madonna has her beat because hers were more valuable.
Do you remember the gold hotpants Kylie Minogue wore in the music video for her 2000 single “Spinning Around,” which got the entire world talking about her small but pert derriere? That reportedly made her understand that her backside was just as valuable as, say, her voice was, so she had her buttocks insured for $5 million (€4.7 million).
Actress Julia Roberts is said to have taken out a $30 million (€28.2 million) insurance policy on her smile, after it became her trademark. Sure, after shooting “Notting Hill” with her, co-star Hugh Grant joked that kissing her made an echo because of her big mouth, but the smile was what elevated Julia to the status of an international star and icon, charming the pants off the fans and critics.
We have now arrived to the woman who supposedly started this frenzy of insuring body parts, JLo from the Block, Jennifer Lopez. Shooting to fame in a day and age in which we still had no idea who Kim Kardashian or Amber Rose were, and in which women didn’t get the Brazilian butt lift or had implants or fillers put in to get bigger curves, JLo is the original bubble booty girl.
She reportedly had it insured for anything between $27 million (€25.3 million) and $300 million (€282.1 million), depending on which source you choose to believe.
Even so, she can’t hold a candle to Mariah Carey, the ultimate diva of showbiz. Back when she became a spokesperson for Gillette, Mimi is believed to have insured her pins for the insane amount of $1 billion (€941.1 million). That is One. Billion. Dollars. Then again, you wouldn’t expect any less from Mariah.
So what’s the deal?
This post would be nothing without honorable mentions, that category of celebrities who take out insurance policies on body parts because of their work.
Rolling Stone guitarist Keith Richards insured his hands, Lord of the Dance Michael Flatley his (dancing) legs, Bruce Springsteen his vocal chords, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo their legs, and Daniel Craig insured his whole body for $9.5 million (€8.9 million) during “Quantum of Solace,” because he did many of his own stunts.
However, in the cases of the five women mentioned above, there was no immediately pressing need for an insurance policy, because those body parts were in no danger of coming to harm. Chances are it might have never even been taken, and that the story about it was planted by a publicist looking to get more headlines for their client, whether it was the celebrity in question or some product they were endorsing at the time.
Take for instance the Mariah Carey case, which is the most glaring. Though no one would put that past Mariah, the fact that the rumor came out just as she was endorsing Gillette, thus tying the brand to the report for ever, smells of PR stunt from a mile away. Now, every time someone mentions Mimi’s insane insurance policy, Gillette is almost in the same breath.
Rumors like these attract a lot of attention precisely because they’re so wacky, and regular people want to believe they’re true because of it. This translates into even more publicity for the celebrity in question, whether she’s Lopez or Minogue, Madonna or Mariah, or anyone else.
The best part is that the celebrities don’t even have to address the rumor and set the record straight, since it’s not exactly damaging to their image / brand. And so it lives on for eternity.
