Don't be fooled by the rocks that she's got, she's still (she's still) Jenny from the Block. That's the problem with Jennifer Lopez though; she isn't. Much as she makes frequent references in her music to being 'real' and still being the same person who grew up poor, it doesn't resonate well with the public when she's a millionaire living in a mansion. Her relationship with Ben Affleck (during which the couple was obnoxiously referred to as 'Bennifer') saw her become over-exposed in the tabloid press to the point where she felt omnipresent, and her rumored diva-esque behavior with her personal staff make her appear detached from reality.
The thing is, Lopez denies such behavior even happens. She forced the 'Daily Mail' newspaper to apologize for reporting that she insisted her staff don't talk to her or make eye contact with her, so that was a lie. She's also an icon among the LGBT community, having helped to raise millions of dollars for their causes across the world.
When we think of inventors, the image that comes to mind is usually that of a frazzled scientist toiling away in a lab, not celebrities pulled from the pages of Us Weekly. However, a number of well-known public figures hold patents for various innovations. Some are related to the work that made them famous, while others are offshoots of hobbies or just a single great idea.
Part of guitar wizard Eddie Van Halen's signature sound was his two-handed tapping technique, but letting all ten fingers fly while simultaneously holding up the guitar's neck could get a bit tricky. Van Halen came up with a novel way to get around this problem, though; he invented a support (top) that could flip out of the back of his axe's body to raise and stabilize the fretboard so he could tap out searing songs like "Eruption." While Van Halen was obviously interested in improving his guitar work, the patent application he filed in 1985 notes that the device would work with any stringed instrument. Want to tap out a scorching mandolin solo? Find someone selling Eddie's device.
It’s probably not surprising that James Cameron—who designed a submersible to take him to the deepest known part of the ocean—will often invent technology to make his films if what he needs doesn’t exist. He holds a number of patents, including US Patent No. 4996938, “apparatus for propelling a user in an underwater environment,” that he and his brother, Michael, created to film The Abyss and patented in 1989. The device is basically an underwater dolly equipped with propellers that makes it easy for a camera operator to maneuver in the water—and allowed Cameron to capture the shots he wanted for the 1989 film, part of which was filmed in an abandoned nuclear reactor.
In 1987 Jamie Lee Curtis designed and patented a disposable diaper that included a waterproof pocket that held baby wipes. She hasn't profited from her idea yet, though, since she refuses to license the patent until diaper companies make biodegradable products.
You know him as a rock legend, but Neil Young also loves trains—so much that he owns a stake in a model train manufacturing company and has an extensive collection. He also holds seven patents related to model trains, including Patent No. US5441223, "Model train controller using electromagnetic field between track and ground."