Anna Nicole Smith

Vickie Lynn Marshall (née Hogan; November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007), known professionally as Anna Nicole Smith,<ref name=cnn>Template:Cite news</ref> was an American model, actress, and television personality. Smith started her career as a Playboy magazine centerfold in May 1992 and won the title of 1993 Playmate of the Year. She later modeled for fashion companies, including Guess, H&M and Heatherette.

Smith dropped out of high school in 1984, married in 1985, and divorced in 1993. In 1994, her highly publicized second marriage to 89-year-old billionaire J. Howard Marshall resulted in speculation that she married him for his money, which she denied. Following Marshall's death in 1995, Smith began a lengthy legal battle over a share of his estate. Her cases reached the Supreme Court of the United States: Marshall v. Marshall on a question of federal jurisdiction and Stern v. Marshall on a question of bankruptcy court authority. Smith died in Hollywood, Florida, of a combined drug intoxication.

Early life

Smith was born Vickie Lynn Hogan on November 28, 1967, in Houston, Texas, the only daughter of Virgie Tabers Arthur (1951–2018) and Donald Eugene Hogan (1947–2009).<ref name="Guardian20070512">Template:Cite news</ref> Smith attended Mexia High School, in Mexia, Texas, transferring there from a Houston school. She attended at least one semester of ninth grade in Mexia but did not complete a whole term of tenth grade.<ref name=Stoddard>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She had five half-siblings on her father's side. Smith was primarily raised by her mother and her family in Mexia.<ref name="Guardian20070512" />

Career

Modeling

Smith started her career as a Playboy magazine centerfold in May 1992 and won the title of 1993 Playmate of the Year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Smith secured a contract to replace supermodel Claudia Schiffer in a Guess jeans advertisement campaign featuring a series of sultry black-and-white photographs. During the Guess campaign, she took on the stage name "Anna Nicole". Guess photographers noticed Smith bore a striking resemblance to Jayne Mansfield and showcased her in several Mansfield-inspired photo sessions. In 1993, she modeled for the Swedish clothing company H&M, which led to her picture being displayed on large billboards in Sweden and Norway.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Smith was featured on the cover of Marie Claire, shot by Peter Lindbergh in October 1993, and in GQ magazine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2004 she modelled for Heatherette.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Anna Nicole Smith 145 (cropped).jpg

Smith in 2003

Endorsements

In October 2003, she became a spokeswoman for TrimSpa, which allegedly helped her lose a reported Template:Convert. TrimSpa diet product company and Smith were sued in a class-action lawsuit alleging their marketing of a weight loss pill was false or misleading. TrimSpa filed for bankruptcy after Smith's death and was liquidated.<ref>"Goodbye, Anna Nicole: TrimSpa parent to be liquidated". NJ.com, Published: Oct. 08, 2008.</ref> In March 2005, at the first MTV Australia Video Music Awards in Sydney's Luna Park, Smith spoofed Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction by pulling down her dress to reveal both breasts, each covered with the MTV logo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life

While working at Jim's Krispy Fried Chicken in Mexia, Smith met Billy Wayne Smith, a cook at the restaurant, and the couple married on April 4, 1985, when he was 16 and she was 17.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She gave birth to their son, Daniel Wayne Smith, on January 22, 1986. Smith and her husband separated the following year, and divorced in 1993.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

While performing at a Houston strip club in October 1991, Smith met 86-year-old petroleum tycoon J. Howard Marshall.<ref>In re Marshall 275 B.R. 5, 21 (C.D. Cal. 2002).</ref> On June 27, 1994, Smith and Marshall were married in Houston,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> resulting in speculation that she married him for his money. Marshall died on August 4, 1995, in Houston, at the age of 90.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Court cases and bankruptcy

Template:See also In October 1994, Smith initiated a $5 million lawsuit against the New York magazine, claiming that she did not authorize the use of her photo on the cover of its magazine titled "White Trash Nation" and that the article damaged her reputation. The lawsuit was settled.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Even though Smith was not in Marshall's will, she claimed that in return for marriage, Marshall verbally promised her half of his estate, which primarily consisted of a 16% interest in Koch Industries, then worth $1.6 billion. Smith's stepson E. Pierce Marshall disputed the claim. Smith temporarily joined forces with J. Howard's other son, J. Howard Marshall III, who was disowned after attempting to take control of Koch Industries. Howard III also claimed that his father had verbally promised him a portion of the estate; like Smith, Howard III was also left out of his father's will.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1996, Smith filed for bankruptcy in California as a result of an $850,000 default judgment against her for the sexual harassment of a nanny who cared for her son.<ref name=supreme/> Since any money potentially due to her from the Marshall estate was part of her potential assets, the bankruptcy court involved itself in the matter.<ref name=supreme>Template:Cite news</ref>

In September 2000, a Los Angeles bankruptcy judge awarded Smith $449,754,134.00, the amount that Marshall's interest in Koch Industries appreciated during their marriage.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, in July 2001, Houston judge Mike Wood affirmed the jury's findings in the probate case by ruling that Smith was entitled to nothing. The judge ordered Smith to pay over $1 million to cover the legal costs and expenses of E. Pierce Marshall. The conflict between the Texas probate court and California bankruptcy court judgments forced the matter into federal court.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In March 2002, a federal judge vacated the California bankruptcy court's ruling and issued a new ruling that reduced the award to $88 million. On December 30, 2004, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed that decision on the grounds that the federal courts lacked jurisdiction to overrule the probate court's decision.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In September 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear the appeal of that decision. The George W. Bush administration directed Paul Clement, the United States Solicitor General, to intercede on Smith's behalf in the interest of expanding federal court jurisdiction over state probate disputes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On May 1, 2006, the Supreme Court unanimously decided in favor of Smith. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the opinion. The decision did not give Smith a portion of her husband's estate, but affirmed her right to pursue a share of it in federal court.<ref name=nytmay>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On June 20, 2006, E. Pierce Marshall died at age 67 from an infection.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His widow and estate executrix Elaine Tettemer Marshall, pursued the case on behalf of his estate. After Smith's death in 2007, the case continued on behalf of Smith's infant daughter, Dannielynn Birkhead.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref> In March 2010, an appeals court upheld the verdict barring Smith from the estate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following the decision, lawyers for Smith's estate appealed the decision to the entire Ninth Circuit. On May 6, 2010, the appeal was denied.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In June 2011, in the case of Stern v. Marshall, the Supreme Court issued a ruling against Smith's estate, stating that the California bankruptcy court decision that gave her estate $475 million was made without subject-matter jurisdiction. The court agreed with the ruling of the Ninth Circuit that a bankruptcy court could not make a decision on an issue outside bankruptcy law.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In August 2014, David O. Carter, a federal U.S. District Court judge in Orange County, California, rejected efforts to obtain about $44 million from the J. Howard Marshall estate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Birth of daughter

A psychiatrist said she met with Smith in April 2006 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles while she was pregnant with her daughter, and that she believed that Smith had borderline personality disorder, and was addicted to prescription medications.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Main On June 1, 2006, Smith announced her pregnancy in a video clip on her official website.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She gave birth to a daughter, Dannielynn, on September 7, 2006, in New Providence, The Bahamas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In an interview on CNN's Larry King Live after the death of Smith's son, attorney Howard K. Stern said that he and Smith had been in a relationship for "a very long time" and said he was the father.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Entertainment photographer Larry Birkhead claimed that he was the baby's father and filed a lawsuit to establish paternity.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Bahamian birth certificate recorded the father as Stern.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

A judge in the United States ordered that DNA paternity tests be performed to determine Dannielynn's biological father. Following Smith's death, Birkhead's attorney asked for an emergency DNA sample to be taken from Smith's body.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The request was denied by a judge who ordered that her body be preserved until February 20.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On February 9, 2007, Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband, Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, stated that he had had a decade-long affair with Smith and could potentially be the father of her daughter.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Smith's former bodyguard and chef, Alexander Denk, also claimed that he had an affair with Smith and that he, too, was potentially the father.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

After Smith's death, the TMZ website reported that she had been given a prescription for methadone under a false name while she was in her eighth month of pregnancy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Medical Board of California launched a review into the matter. The prescribing doctor, Sandeep Kapoor, said the treatment he had administered was "sound and appropriate".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In April 2007, a Bahamian judge ruled that DNA tests had established Birkhead as the biological father.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Birkhead subsequently applied for an amended birth certificate listing him as Dannielynn's father, paving the way for him to obtain a passport for the baby to leave with him for the United States. Stern did not contest the DNA results or the ruling,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Birkhead returned to the United States with the baby.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, appealed the ruling, but her appeal was denied and she was ordered to pay costs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Death of son

On September 10, 2006, Smith's 20-year-old son Daniel Wayne Smith died in his mother's hospital room while visiting her and his half sister Dannielynn, who was born three days earlier on September 7. An autopsy found that Daniel had died from a combination of drugs, including methadone and antidepressants. A Bahamian jury determined that he had died from an accidental drug overdose and recommended no criminal charges.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A death certificate was issued on September 21, 2006.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Daniel was buried at Lake View Cemetery in New Providence on October 19, 2006.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

According to Stern, Smith was devastated by her son's death. "Anna and Daniel were inseparable. Daniel was without question the most important person in Anna's life," Stern said during his testimony at the trial regarding the right to control disposition of Smith's remains. "At Daniel's funeral, she had them open the coffin and tried to climb inside. She said that 'if Daniel has to be buried, I want to be buried with him.' She was ready to go down with him."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Stern said that, "Anna saw herself as both mother and father to Daniel. From the time I met her, everything was for Daniel. I would say that physically, she died last week, but in a lot of ways, emotionally she died when Daniel died."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Commitment ceremony with Stern

On September 28, 2006, Smith and Stern exchanged vows and rings in an informal commitment ceremony in the Bahamas. Although they pledged their love and made a commitment to be there for each other before a Baptist minister, no marriage certificate was issued and the ceremony did not create a legal marriage.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Regarding the questionable timing of the ceremony, Smith's attorney in Nassau said, "They needed a little adrenaline boost because things have been so hectic and devastating in their life recently."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Ceremony photos were sold through Getty Images to People magazine for $1 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Residency in the Bahamas

Smith and Stern were reportedly staying in the Bahamas to avoid paternity testing of her daughter in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In late 2006, Smith was granted permanent resident status in the Bahamas by Immigration Minister Shane Gibson. A local newspaper published photographs showing Smith lying clothed in bed in an embrace with Gibson.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gibson resigned after the wave of controversy over his relationship with Smith.<ref>"Minister Quits Over Nicole Smith Affair" Template:Webarchive. TheSydneyMorningHerald.com, AP, February 20, 2007.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The basis of Smith's permanent residency status was the claim that she owned a $900,000 mansion, which she said was given to her by a former boyfriend, real estate developer Gaither Ben Thompson of South Carolina. Thompson asserted that he loaned Smith the finances to purchase the property, which she failed to repay, and that he was attempting to regain control of it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Thompson sued to evict Smith from the property in the Bahamas Court and received a default judgment against her.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was claimed that methadone was found in Smith's bedroom refrigerator while the mansion was being reclaimed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A photograph provided to TMZ of Smith's refrigerator showed a large bottle labelled methadone, vials of injectable vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin), and numerous bottles of diet product SlimFast.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Death

On February 8, 2007, Smith was found unresponsive in her room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.<ref name = People>Template:Cite web</ref> Smith's bodyguard and his wife, who was a registered emergency nurse, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Smith was taken to Hollywood's Memorial Regional Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, at the age of 39.<ref name = People/>

An investigation was led by Broward County Medical Examiner and forensic pathologist Joshua Perper in conjunction with Seminole police and several independent forensic pathologists and toxicologists. Perper announced that Smith died of "combined drug intoxication" with the sleeping medication chloral hydrate as the "major component".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> No illegal drugs were found in her system. According to the official report her death was not due to homicide, suicide or natural causes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Smith's death was ultimately ruled an accidental drug overdose of the sedative chloral hydrate that became increasingly toxic when combined with other prescription drugs in her system, specifically four benzodiazepines. Furthermore, she had taken diphenhydramine and topiramate. Despite rumors of methadone use involved in the death of Smith's son, Perper only found methadone in her bile, indicating it was probably ingested 2–3 days prior to her death, and therefore was not a contributing factor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The autopsy report indicates that abscesses on her buttocks, presumably from prior injections of vitamin B12 in the form of cyanocobalamin, as well as human growth hormone, and viral enteritis were contributory causes of death. Tests for influenza A and B were negative.

File:Anna Nicole Smith grave.jpg

Smith's grave in the Bahamas, with her son Daniel and husband Marshall

It was reported that eight of the eleven drugs in Smith's system, including the chloral hydrate, were prescribed to Stern, not Smith. Additionally, two of the prescriptions were written for "Alex Katz" and one was written for Smith's friend and psychiatrist Dr. Khristine Eroshevich. Perper acknowledged that all of the prescriptions were written by Dr. Eroshevich.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Smith's funeral took place on March 2, 2007, in the Bahamas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Smith's last will and testament

Smith's will was prepared by attorney Eric Lund in 2001, in Los Angeles, California. Smith named her son Daniel as the sole beneficiary of her estate, specifically excluded other children and named Stern executor of the estate.<ref>"Smith Leaves Everything To Dead Son" Template:Webarchive. CNN.com, February 22, 2007.</ref> It indicated personal property valued at $10,000 and real estate valued at $1.8 million, with a $1.1 million mortgage, at the time of her death. A petition to probate Smith's will was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, listing Birkhead as a party with interest to the estate.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Defamation lawsuit by Smith's mother

In 2008, John O'Quinn, lawyer for Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, filed the underlying proceedings against Entertainment Tonight, TMZ, CBS, journalist Art Harris, and several Texas bloggers, alleging that the defendants conspired to ruin her reputation through defamatory e-mails, blogs and website postings and harmed her efforts to seek custody and visitation of her granddaughter.<ref>"Anna Nicole's Mom Loses Bid for Reporter's Emails"; Template:Webarchive. Courthouse News Service, Jeff Gorman, April 29, 2010.</ref><ref>"Court Of Appeals Texas, In Re Harris"; Template:Webarchive. Court Of Appeals Texas, First District, Houston.</ref> The court jailed one blogger because she failed to turn over her computer as evidence.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Arthur's defamation lawsuit was dismissed after TMZ, CBS, Entertainment Tonight, Harris, and others won summary judgment.Template:Cn

Acting credits

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Playboy Video Centerfold: Playmate of the Year Anna Nicole Smith	Herself	Video compilation
1994	The Hudsucker Proxy	Za-Za	Theatrical film debut
1994	[[Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult|Naked Gun Template:Frac: The Final Insult]]	Tanya Peters	Worst New Star at 15th Golden Raspberry Awards
1995	Edenquest: Anna Nicole Smith	Herself	Pay-per-view film
1995	To the Limit	Colette Dubois	First starring role
1995	Playboy: The Best of Anna Nicole Smith	Herself	Playboy Playmate profile
1996	Skyscraper	Carrie Wink	Second leading role
1998	Anna Nicole Smith: Exposed	Herself	Documentary
2000	The Complete Anna Nicole Smith	Herself	Documentary
2003	Wasabi Tuna	Herself	Independent action comedy film
2005	Be Cool	Herself	Final feature film
2005	Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson	Herself	Celebrity roast special
2007	Illegal Aliens	Lucy	Final film role, released posthumously

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	The Naked Truth	Herself	Episode: "Wilde Again"
1998	Sin City Spectacular	Herself	Episode: "1.13
1999	Veronica's Closet	Donna	Episode: "Veronica's Wedding Bell Blues"
1999	Ally McBeal	Myra Jacobs	Episode: "Pyramids on the Nile"
2000	N.Y.U.K.	Dr. Anita Hugg	Anthology series
2005	All Of Us	Herself	Episode: "Kiss, Kiss, Pass"
2002–2004	The Anna Nicole Show	Herself	Reality sitcom

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist(s)	Template:Abbr
1993	"Will You Love Me Tomorrow"	Bryan Ferry	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1997	"My Heart Belongs to Daddy"	Anna Nicole Smith	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1997	"You Win, I Lose"	Supertramp	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1998	"Jumper"	Third Eye Blind	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2004	"The New Workout Plan"	Kanye West	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Legacy

Anna Nicole, an opera by Mark-Anthony Turnage about Smith, premiered on February 17, 2011, at the Royal Opera House, to mixed reviews.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Smith was the subject of the 2023 Netflix documentary Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Smith was also the subject of the biographical films The Anna Nicole Smith Story (2007)<ref name="Nasser Information">Template:Cite news</ref> and The Anna Nicole Story (2013).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In December 2023, it was announced that Sylvia Hoeks would portray Smith in the upcoming film Hurricana.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2017, Smith's primary care physician Sandeep Kapoor published a memoir titled Trust Me, I'm a Doctor: My Life Before, During and After Anna Nicole Smith. In February 2024, it was reported that Kal Penn would star as Kapoor in an upcoming film based on the book, titled Trust Me, I'm a Doctor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Anna Nicole Smith at Playboy Plus
• Template:IMDb name
• Template:TCMDb name
• Template:People.com
• Anna Nicole Smith at the FBI Vault