Ronald Robertson was gay at the time he was skating, but his sexuality wasn't known until many years afterward. That left the door open for Rudy Galindo to become the first openly gay skating champion in the history of the United States when he won the National Championships in 1996. He'd actually won the award before in 1982 and was a decorated pairs skater with National Championship wins in 1989 and 1990.
Galindo was at the end of his career when he decided to come out as gay, and didn't compete again after that 1996 championship win, opting to go out on a high at the age of 27. He's been living with HIV since 2000 but is healthy and happy with his life in San Jose, California. He's Californian by birth and returned there in 2006 after spending years in Reno, Nevada.
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.