Long before Anna Nicole Smith became the center of controversy – first her son’s tragic passing away, then her infant daughter’s paternity scandal, then her own mysterious death – she was a vivacious model and personality America was fascinated by.
Even when she was the brunt of jokes, there was little doubt that we all loved Anna Nicole. Following her life was the ultimate guilty pleasure. From her days as a Playboy centerfold to her own reality show, she always left her mark.
Here’s a brief photo retrospective on the late mother of Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern. May this Hollywood Gossip icon forever rest in peace.
ROW 1: Smith was often in the company of famous pals such as Hulk Hogan or Dennis Rodman (left). At right, a slender Anna flashes a smile as she waves to the cameras.
ROW 2: At left, Smith and son Daniel, who died in 2006 at the age of 20. The circumstances surrounding the strange death of Daniel Smith in the Bahamas are still uncertain. At right, an exuberant Anna shows off her enormous breasts emblazoned with dueling MTV logos. Some speculate that her boob job may have played a role in her death.
ROW 3: In her years as a young woman, Anna Nicole fashioned herself as a modern day Marilyn Monroe. She paid homage to the late icon in her 1993 Playboy Playmate of the Year cover. Later, she was given her own reality show on E! The tagline – “It’s not supposed to be funny. It just is” – pretty much sums it up.
ROW 4: Three of the men in Smith’s controversial life that her name will be forever linked to. At left, J. Howard Marshall, the oil tycoon 63 years her senior that Smith married in 1993. Smith was awarded $449,754,134 in a battle for his estate that still rages on.
In the middle, we see Smith and Howard K. Stern, the man she claimed was the father of Dannielynn and who many believe is somehow involved in her mysterious and tragic death. At right, Smith is with Larry Birkhead, the photographer who also claims paternity.