The Body. That's what they used to call Elle Macpherson, the nearly flawless supermodel that's been arguably Australia's most famous export, and certainly its most beautiful. Whatever she was doing to her body - diets, workouts, hard drugs, dysentery - nobody cared. The results spoke for themselves, with the kind of figure that only appears once in a lifetime, if at all.
Born in 1964 in Sydney, Elle's luck took a real turn for the amazing when she spent a year in the US before going to university, just "trying to earn some money". That single year she planned turned into three decades of high-profile modelling, becoming one of the most famous models in the world, appearing in every issue of Elle for six straight years and featuring in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue a record five times. Oh, and she's also the first model in history to appear on a nation's legal tender.
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.