Anna Nicole Smith

Anna Nicole Smith Biography

Vickie Lynn Marshall (November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007), better known under the stage name of Anna Nicole Smith, was an American sex symbol, model, actress, celebrity, and spokeswoman. Her highly publicized marriage to oil business executive and billionaire J. Howard Marshall, 63 years her senior, resulted in speculation that she married the octogenarian for his money, which she denied. Following his death, she began a lengthy legal battle over a share of his estate; her case, Marshall v. Marshall, reached the U.S. Supreme Court on a question of federal jurisdiction.

While working as a waitress at Jim's Krispy Fried Chicken in Mexia, Anna Nicole met Billy Wayne Smith, who was a cook at the restaurant. The couple married April 4, 1985; she was 17 and he was 16. The next year, she gave birth to their son, Daniel Wayne Smith. She and Billy separated in 1987 and she moved to Houston with one-year-old Daniel. They were officially divorced February 3, 1993, in Houston.

Smith's career took off after she was chosen by Hugh Hefner to appear on the cover of the March 1992 issue of Playboy, where she is listed as Vickie Smith, wearing a low-cut evening gown. Smith said she planned to be "the next Marilyn Monroe". Becoming one of Playboy's most popular models, Smith began a trend for a more big bust look although her breasts were surgically enhanced. Smith was chosen to be the 1993 Playmate of the Year. By the time of her PMOY pictorial, she had settled on the nameAnna Nicole Smith.

While performing at Gigi's, a Houston strip club, in October 1991, Smith met elderly oil billionaire J. Howard Marshall and they began a relationship. During their two-year relationship, he reportedly lavished gifts on her and asked her to marry him several times. She divorced her husband Billy on February 3, 1993, in Houston. On June 27, 1994, Smith, 26, and Marshall, 89, married in Houston. This resulted in a great deal of gossip about her marrying him for his money. Though she reportedly never lived with him, Smith maintained that she loved her husband, and age did not matter to her. Thirteen months after his marriage to Smith, Marshall died on August 4, 1995, in Houston.

Within weeks of J. Howard Marshall's death, Smith and her husband's son, E. Pierce Marshall, battled over her claim for half of her late husband's US$1.6 billion estate. She temporarily joined forces with J. Howard's other son, James Howard Marshall III, whom the elder Howard had disowned. Howard III claimed J. Howard orally promised him a portion of his estate; like Smith, Howard III was also left out of J. Howard's will. The case has gone on for more than a decade, producing a highly publicized court battle in Texas and several judicial decisions that have gone both for and against Smith in that time.

In 1996, Smith filed for bankruptcy in California as a result of a $850,000 judgment against her for sexual harassment of an employee. As any money potentially due to her from the Marshall estate was part of her potential assets, the bankruptcy court involved itself in the matter.

In 2002, she debuted in her own reality TV series on the E! cable network, The Anna Nicole Show. The series focused on her personal and private life in the manner of other reality shows, such as the ratings hit The Osbournes. One of the recurring guests on the show was interior designer Bobby Trendy of West Hollywood, CA, who often feuded with lawyer Howard K. Stern.

Dr. Wecht announced on Larry King Live that the procedure he performed on September 17, 2006, showed that Daniel died from a lethal combination of Zoloft, Lexapro and methadone. Although he explained that methadone is used in the treatment of heroin and morphine addiction, Wecht said he had no information to make any conclusion why Daniel was using the drug. On February 8, 2007, Wecht said on Fox News that he still had no information about how Daniel obtained methadone.

After the ceremony, they landed on the island of Sandy Kay where they had a party and celebrated with champagne and apple cider that had been brought over for the occasion by sailboat.

Regarding the questionable timing of the ceremony, Smith's attorney in Nassau, stated, "They needed a little adrenaline boost because things have been so hectic and devastating in their life recently," The photos of their ceremony were sold through Getty Images to People Magazine for around $1,000,000.

A phone call was released to the public on February 13, 2007 involving Seminole police and the local 911 operators, saying:

We need assistance to Room 607 at the Hard Rock. It's in reference to a white female. She's not breathing and not responsive...actually, it's Anna Nicole Smith.

On May 15, 2007, TMZ.com announced the official release of Anna Nicole's will. TMZ states, "The petition to probate Anna's will was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. It is the same will that was discussed during the contentious Florida court hearings. The will doesn't name Larry Birkhead as a beneficiary, but the petition to probate lists him as a party with interest to Anna's estate." "In the will, Anna is listed to have personal property valued at $10,000 and real property valued at $1.8 million when she died; however, she still had a $1.1 million mortgage."