Cindy Jackson, born in 1956 in Hazard, Kentucky, United States is an American plastic surgery pioneer and best-selling author and television personality. In 2000 she was listed in the Guinness World record book for having had more cosmetic surgery procedures than anyone else. Since 1987 she has spent over $100,000 on 47 cosmetic procedures and has had 14 full scale operations including facelifts, two nose operations, eye lifts, knee, waist, abdomen and thigh liposuction, jaw surgery, lip and cheek implants, chemical peels and dozens of non-surgical procedures.
Jackson, 55, grew up in small town Ohio, with a short-tempered father and low self-esteem. She recalled a comment someone made to her when she was young: "One guy said when I was 14, 'You know Cindy, when you smile, from the side your nose and chin almost meet.'" She said: "It was like being in the wrong body and wrong face and I felt that very much and wanted to change it." When her father died, he left her some money, and she used it to start her transformation. She says she's been careful to take it slow, but also said she just wants to look beautiful and young. "I feel like a young spirit and I don't want to look in the mirror and see and old face. I feel this is me," she said. "This is the way I should look."
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."