Stars' bodies insured for millions

Jennifer Lopez displays her $1 billion booty. File picture / Reuters

British TV entertainers Ant and Dec revealed this week they had taken out an insurance policy on each other's lives - reportedly worth $6 million.

They join the many stars who have safeguarded physical attributes.

Voice: The Boss

At times he may sound like he has been gargling with debris from the New Jersey turnpike, but Bruce Springsteen has gone to extraordinary lengths to safeguard his voice. In the 1980s Springsteen insured his voice for £3.5 million ($9.6 million). The Boss is not alone in seeking a safety net in the event of vocal collapse. Gravel-voiced Rod Stewart has also insured his throat, as has Bob Dylan. And Marlene Dietrich's insurance policy priced her husky voice at £1 million.

Breasts: Dolly Parton

She may have one of the finest voices in the history of country and western music, but it is her physical attributes that helped to make Dolly Parton one of the most famous women in the world. She also has a sense of humour, joking to one reporter: "I was the first woman to burn my bra - it took the fire department four days to put it out." Parton insured her breasts for a reported US$600,000 during the 1970s. During the 1980s she lost weight and in 2002 she had cosmetic surgery to return them to their former glory.

Feet: Michael Flatley

The Irishman's reinterpreted traditional Celtic dance in productions such as Lord of the Dance is worth an estimated £375 million, and he has insured his feet for £25 million

Nose: Jimmy Durante

Durante was one of the most recognisable faces of the American entertainment industry. And at its centre lay a voluminous nose, an ever-present butt for his deadpan sense of humour that gave the actor, musician and comedian a unique selling point when he moved to television from radio. Referring to it as his schnozzle, Durante insured the nose during the 1950s for US$50,000.

Hands: Keith Richards

Until a tumble from a coconut tree this year, some had thought Keith Richards indestructible. Despite a lifetime of drinking and smoking, and decades of heroin abuse, the guitarist always managed to show up and play. But along with other stars such as the pianists Richard Clayderman and Liberace, Richards felt it necessary to insure his hands for a sum said to be in the region of £1 million.

Legs: Betty Grable

She was known as the girl with the million-dollar legs. Back in the 1940s, Betty Grable's bosses at 20th Century Fox insured their most bankable star's most instantly recognisable assets with Lloyd's of London for the then vast sum of US$1.25 million. Whether it was a genuine financial hedge or an early and successful attempt at studio hype is unclear.

Teeth: Ken Dodd

Briton Ken Dodd, a notoriously money-conscious comic who was famously acquitted of tax evasion during a sensational trial in 1989 when it emerged he kept thousands of pounds stashed under his bed, insured his toothy grin for £4 million at the height of his fame.

Taste Buds: Egon Ronay

The Hungarian-born food critic arrived in Britain in 1946 after the seizure of his father's estates by the Russian Army. The first of his famous guides was published in 1957, and sold 30,000 copies, revolutionising Britain's dining-out experience. Ronay's endorsement could singlehandedly boost the fortunes of a favoured establishment. Dependent on his palate for his livelihood, the critic insured his taste buds for £200,000.

Buttocks: Jennifer Lopez

"Don't be fooled by the rocks I got, I'm still Jenny from the block," intoned Latino-Bronx-born Jennifer Lopez in 2002. A Jenny, that is, with a derriere reportedly valued at a distinctly extraordinary US$1 billion. There are those inside the Lopez camp who insist the star has been misrepresented. (They say it is equally untrue that she is so fixated with her appearance that she demanded 4.5kg be shaved off the backside of her Madame Tussaud's waxwork.) Admirers of Lopez' distinctive curves may agree that $1 billion is a small price to pay to preserve them.

Partner's Body: Ant And Dec

In a recent poll, 70 per cent of respondents admitted they couldn't individually identify Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly. It was a lesson not lost on the cheeky-chappie presenters who underlined just how mutually dependent they are when they revealed this week they had taken out a joint insurance policy. The Geordie stars will pocket £2 million if either one of them expires during their on-screen partnership. The British Association of Insurers described the policy as a sensible precaution, and one common among business partners who brought "unique and distinctive qualities" to an enterprise. Abbott and Costello had a similar arrangement in case they fell out.

- INDEPENDENT