It seems like Jennifer Lawrence has been around for a lot longer than she really has, due to the volume of work that she's participated in, in the last decade. Jennifer Lawrence's role as Mystique in the comic book turned movies series, X-Men, has made her international superstar alongside her role as the Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games series which earned her the titles of the highest paid female actress in both the 2015 and 2016 years. Now, Lawrence is looking to solidify her acting career forever by participating in critically acclaimed films like Mother! and the upcoming film, Red Sparrow.
What many don't know is that there was a Jennifer Lawrence before there was even a Jennifer Lawrence in actress, Zubaida Tharwat, an Egyptian actress who's known for having the most beautiful eyes in the region during the '60s and '70s. If you compare both Tharwat's and Lawrence's facial features, the similarities are uncanny. Unfortunately, Tharwat passed away at the age of 76-years-old in 2016. Rest well to the beauty and talent that was Zubaida Tharwat.
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."