As Kim Kardashian invents a bra with nipple piercings costing £80 we take a look at other famous folk who turned out to be unlikely inventors and some of the creations they’ve come up with
Kim Kardashian may have shot to fame as a reality TV star during The Kardashians, but these days she’s a sharp businesswoman with an eye for what women want.
The SKIMS founder has just launched a new version of the viral nipple bra with fake piercings, which will be available to buy from Thursday, May 22.
It’s the first nipple bra with piercings to go on sale – and the video on Instagram of a model named Carolina walking into a bar wearing a SKIMS bodysuit with the pierced nipple bra under has got everyone talking.
And she’s not the only one to turn her creative hand to other things, which leads us to some other very famous stars who turned out to be unlikely inventors…
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Jamie Lee Curtis
American actress and film producer Jamie Lee Curtis, 66, is best known for playing Laurie in the Halloween films franchise, but she is also a children’s book author and has patented a diaper with a wipe-holding pocket. Called Dipe and Wipe, it’s a disposable diaper with a moisture-proof pocket containing wipers, which she invented in 1988. Jamie came up with the idea after her own experiences of caring for children, but although it’s a great concept, the invention itself is not commercially available and was not designed for mass production.
Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen, the actor known for his Hollywood roles including The Great Escape and The Sand Pebbles, designed bucket seats and even patented one in 1970. The bucket seat, which was used in the Ford Mustang for the movie Bullitt, was designed to keep the American actor and his doubles safe during filming, particularly the car chase scene. While he improved the look of the seat, it was not a groundbreaking invention, as bucket seats had existed previously.
Hedy Lamarr
Not only was Hedy Lamarr a Hollywood sex symbol in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, starring in films like Samson and Delilah (1949) and My Favorite Spy (1951) – she was also a pioneering inventor. Known for her beauty and intelligence, it was her invention of frequency-hopping technology that later formed the basis for modern WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth. The Austrian-American actress studied engineering and top-secret weapons systems. In 1942, she and a partner won a patent for a frequency-switching radio system to control torpedoes, which now forms the basis of wifi and Bluetooth technology.
Christie Brinkley
Beyond her iconic modelling career, where she appeared on Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue covers in 1979, 1980, and 1981, Christie is known for her other talents. She had a starring role in National Lampoon’s Vacation and has appeared in music videos for her then-husband, Billy Joel. But she’s definitely not just a pretty face. The supermodel received a patent for an educational toy she designed in 1991 that helps kids learn their ABCs. She also launched a number of business ventures, including a wine called Bellissima Prosecco.
Prince
In 1984, Prince became the first singer to simultaneously have a number-one film, album and single in the US, with the film Purple Rain, its soundtrack, and his first Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping single ‘When Doves Cry’. Considered to be one of the best musicians of all time, in 1992, he also got the thumbs-up for a design patent for a portable keyboard instrument – a custom keytar called ‘Purpleaxxe’. This allowed musicians to play while moving around the stage. Keytars existed before Prince’s Purpleaxxe, and while his design was unique and used in live shows, it didn’t become a dominant instrument across the music industry.
Paula Abdul
Singer, songwriter and dancer Paula Abdul shot to fame in the 1980s and 90s with hits like ‘Straight Up’ and ‘Opposites Attract’, later becoming known as a judge on the reality TV show American Idol. But did you know the American choreographer also designed a dynamic microphone stand, which was awarded a patent in 2009? The unique creation allows performers to stand on it and sway while singing without becoming tangled in the microphone cable, but was designed to help her own performances, rather than for mass consumption.
Michael Jackson
Did you know that Michael Jackson invented a type of gravity-defying shoe that allowed him to lean forward and look like he was defying gravity? The King of Pop devised a post that popped up from the stage and locked into his shoe, allowing him to perform his trademark move of leaning forward at an alarming angle. It’s what he used to execute his signature dance move in ‘Smooth Criminal’ which reached number 8 on the official charts in 1988, returning to the Top 40 in 2009 after his death.
Harry Connick Jr
Actor Harry Connick Jr may be recognisable as Leo Markus in Will & Grace and starring roles in P.S. I Love You, but his talents don’t end there. The gifted singer and pianist has also devised a machine capable of displaying music digitally for orchestras after becoming frustrated with his sheet music blowing away during performances. This invention, which he patented, allowed for real-time adjustments to scores and eliminated the need for constant paper revisions and has proven a significant advancement for orchestras.
Julie Newmar
Julie Newmar, most famous for her portrayal of Catwoman, also patented inventions in the 1970s. These included ‘Nudemar’ pantyhose with a shaping band designed to give a woman’s rear ‘cheeky derriere relief’ and she also patented a ‘nearly invisible’ brassiere. She obviously had a head for business, as she also became involved in property sales in Los Angeles.
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill rallied Britain and the Allied forces to victory against Nazi Germany in the years leading up to 1945, but in his spare time he invented the onesie! He designed a one-piece green velvet jumpsuit to wear in the Downing Street bunker during air raids, which he called his ‘siren suit’. It’s reported that he loved it because it was easy to slip on when the air raid siren sounded, so much that he ordered 12 of them.
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