Anna Nicole Smith Dies in Florida at 39
Pastor Dale Morgan
Feb 8, 10:19 PM EST
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Anna Nicole Smith Dies in Florida at 39*
By SUZETTE LABOY
Associated Press Writer
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) -- Anna Nicole Smith, the curvaceous blonde whose
life played out as an extraordinary tabloid tale - Playboy centerfold,
jeans model, bride of an octogenarian oil tycoon, reality-show subject,
tragic mother - died Thursday after collapsing at a hotel. She was 39.
She was stricken while staying at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and
Casino and was rushed to a hospital. Edwina Johnson, chief investigator
for the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office, said the cause of
death was under investigation and an autopsy would be done on Friday.
Just five months ago, Smith's 20-year-old son, Daniel, died suddenly in
the Bahamas in what was believed to be a drug-related death.
Seminole Police Chief Charlie Tiger said a private nurse called 911
after finding Smith unresponsive in her sixth-floor room at the hotel,
which is on an Indian reservation. He said Smith's bodyguard
administered CPR, but she was declared dead at a hospital. Later
Thursday, two sheriff's deputies carried out at least eight brown paper
bags sealed with red evidence tape from Smith's hotel room.
Dr. Joshua Perper, the chief Broward County medical examiner who will
perform the autopsy, said if her death was from natural causes, the
findings would likely be announced quickly. He cautioned, however, that
definitive results could take weeks.
"I am not a prophet, and I cannot tell you before the autopsy what I am
going to find," he said.
Through the '90s and into the new century, Smith was famous for being
famous, a pop-culture punchline because of her up-and-down weight, her
Marilyn Monroe looks, her exaggerated curves, her little-girl voice, her
ditzy-blonde persona, and her over-the-top revealing outfits.
Recently, she lost a reported 69 pounds and became a spokeswoman for
TrimSpa, a weight-loss supplement. On her reality show and other recent
TV appearances, her speech was often slurred and she seemed out of it.
Some critics said she seemed drugged-out.
"Undoubtedly it will be found at the end of the day that drugs featured
in her death as they did in the death of poor Daniel," said a former
attorney for Smith in the Bahamas, Michael Scott.
Another former Smith attorney, Lenard Leeds, told the celebrity gossip
Web site TMZ that Smith "always had problems with her weight going up
and down, and there's no question she used alcohol." Leeds said it was
no secret that "she had a very troubled life" and had "so many, many
problems."
Smith attorney Ron Rale told The Associated Press that he had talked to
her on Tuesday or Wednesday, and she had flu symptoms and a fever and
was still grieving over her son. He dismissed claims her death was
related to drugs as "a bunch of nonsense."
"Poor Anna Nicole," he said. "She's been the underdog. She's been
besieged ... and she's been trying her best and nobody should have to
endure what she's endured."
The Texas-born Smith was a topless dancer at a strip club before she
entered her photos in a search contest and made the cover of Playboy
magazine in 1992. She became Playboy's playmate of the year in 1993. She
was also signed to a contract with Guess jeans, appearing in TV
commercials, billboards and magazine ads.
In 1994, she married 89-year-old oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II, owner
of Great Northern Oil Co. In 1992, Forbes magazine estimated his wealth
at $550 million.
In a 2005 interview with ABC, Smith recalled meeting Marshall at what
she called a "gentleman's club" in Houston. "He had no will to live and
I went over to see him," she said. "He got a little twinkle in his eyes,
and he asked me to dance for him. And I did."
Marshall died in 1995 at age 90, setting off a feud with Smith's former
stepson, E. Pierce Marshall, over his estate. A federal court in
California awarded Smith $474 million. That was later overturned. But in
May, the U.S. Supreme Court revived her case, ruling that she deserved
another day in court.
The stepson died June 20 at age 67. But the family said the court fight
would continue.
Smith starred in her own reality TV series, "The Anna Nicole Show," in
2002-04. Cameras followed her around as she sparred with her lawyer,
hung out with her personal assistant and interior decorator, and cooed
at her poodle, Sugar Pie. She also appeared in movies, performing a bit
part in "The Hudsucker Proxy" in 1994.
In a statement, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner said: "I am very saddened to
learn about Anna Nicole's passing. She was a dear friend who meant a
great deal to the Playboy family and to me personally."
Smith's son died Sept. 10 in his mother's hospital room in the Bahamas,
just days after she gave birth to a daughter.
An American medical examiner hired by the family, Cyril Wecht, said he
died accidentally of a combination of methadone and two antidepressants.
Last month, a Bahamas magistrate scheduled a formal inquiry into the
death for March 27.
Meanwhile, the paternity of Smith's now 5-month-old daughter remained a
matter of dispute. The birth certificate lists Dannielynn's father as
attorney Howard K. Stern, Smith's most recent companion. Smith's
ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead was waging a legal challenge, saying he was
the father. An emergency hearing in the paternity case was scheduled for
Friday in Los Angeles.
Lawyers were expected to discuss an emergency motion filed by Birkhead's
attorney seeking DNA from Smith's body, Rale said. The reasons for the
motion were not immediately clear, but an attorney for Stern, James T.
Neavitt, was frustrated.
"There's no question about her being the mother," he said. "So what's
the purpose of the DNA testing? Why do they need her DNA?"
Debra Opri, the attorney who filed Birkhead's paternity suit, said
Birkhead "is devastated. He is inconsolable, and we are taking steps now
to protect the DNA testing of the child. The child is our No. 1 priority."
The legal complications of Smith's estate could take years to unravel,
an expert said. Christopher Cline of the law firm Holland and Knight,
who is an estate planning specialist, said he has never seen a case
"with more moving parts."
Outstanding questions include not only the paternity of her daughter,
but if she died with a will and how her death will affect the lawsuit
pending against the Marshall estate. It also wasn't clear where she
legally lived when she died.
"It's a really large legal quagmire," Cline said.
Smith was born Vickie Lynn Hogan on Nov. 28, 1967, in Houston, one of
six children. Her parents split up when she was a toddler, and she was
raised by her mother, a deputy sheriff.
She dropped out after 11th grade after she was expelled for fighting,
and worked as a waitress and then a cook at Jim's Krispy Fried Chicken
restaurant in Mexia.
She married 16-year-old fry cook Bill Smith in 1985, giving birth to
Daniel before divorcing two years later.
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AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch in Los Angeles and Associated
Press Writers Sarah Larimer in Hollywood, Fla., and Ana Cholo in Los
Angeles contributed to this story.