With September only a few months away, the LIFE Foundation is gearing up for another Life Insurance Awareness Month campaign (LIAM). To focus Americans on their need for life insurance during LIAM, LIFE has enlisted the help of a celebrity with a special connection to the life insurance industry.

Chris Noth, an accomplished actor who is probably best known for his leading roles on Sex and the City and Law & Order, grew up in a life insurance family. Both his father and grandfather were agents for Prudential. Sadly, that’s not where Chris’ connection to the industry ends. His father died in an automobile accident when Chris was nine years old, leaving his mother to raise three boys on her own.

To support her family, Chris’ mother, a broadcast journalist, continued to work following her husband’s death. Fortunately, she was also able to rely on her husband’s life insurance coverage. The insurance helped maintain the family’s standard of living and was particularly important when Chris’ mother was in between jobs and not bringing home a paycheck.  Insurance proceeds also helped put Chris and his brothers through college.