Frances Louise McDormand wasn't always known by her now-famous actress name. She was actually born Cynthia Ann Smith on June 23, 1957. After graduating from Bethany College in West Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre in 1979, McDormand went on to study at Yale School of Drama. She earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in 1982 (just a few years before our previous headshot superstar, Chris Noth in 1985). And like Noth, Frances McDormand's commitment to higher education in the field of acting paid off well.
She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1988's "Mississippi Burning". And in 1996, she was nominated for, and won, the Academy Award for Best Actress after playing the role of police chief Marge Gunderson in the movie "Fargo". In more recent projects, she co-stars along with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and John Malkovich in the 2008 film "Burn After Reading". And in 2011, she starred alongside John Malkovich again in "Transformers: Dark of the Moon".
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.