Many celebrities have been accustomed to the practice of insuring body parts, some to hedge against risks while others engage in insurance for promotional gimmick. The list of celebrities goes way back to Liberace’s hands, Marlene Dietrich’s legs, to Keith Richard’s fingers and Dolly Parton’s breasts just to name a few. Most recently, another actress has joined the bandwagon and she comes in the form of America Ferrera, lead actress on the ABC dramedy Ugly Betty.

According to BBC, Lloyd’s, the British insurance firm, has insured the Ugly Betty star’ smile for a whopping $10 million. The policy has been taken out by a tooth product company called Aquafresh White Trays, which is working with the 23-year old actress on a U.S. charity campaign.

"It's very flattering to have my smile insured for $10 million, it's not something that I ever imagined happening," Ferrera said.

Ferrara, a native of Los Angeles, California, currently plays Betty Suarez, the “ugly duckling” with braces on the series Ugly Betty. Prior to her work on the series, she has starred in films like The Lord’s of Dogtown, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Steel City, Plainsong and Real Women Have Curves. She has also appeared on television series such as Touched by an Angel and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Apart from her newly insured smile, Ferrera has other reasons to smile about. Apart from her previous Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award and several other nominations, she has three movies this year, Muertas, Boy Immigrant and Hacia la oscuridad, and an upcoming film in 2008 entitled Forever in Blue.

-Kris, BuddyTV Staff Columnist

Source: BBC

_{(Photo Courtesy of ABC)}