Vickie Lynn Marshall (November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007), better known under the stage name of Anna Nicole Smith,[1] was an American model and television personality. She first gained popularity in Playboy, becoming the 1993 Playmate of the Year. She modeled for clothing companies, including Guess jeans. She starred in her own reality TV show, The Anna Nicole Show.Born and raised in Texas, Smith dropped out of high school and was married at the age of 17. Her highly publicized second 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. In the months before her death, she was the focus of renewed press coverage surrounding the death of her son, Daniel Smith, and the paternity and custody battle over her daughter Daniellynn.
Born Vickie Lynn Hogan in Harris County, Texas Anna Nicole was the only child of Donald Eugene Hogan (born July 12, 1947) and Virgie Mae (née Tabers; born July 12, 1951),[2] who married on February 22, 1967.[citation needed] Her father then left the family; he and Virgie divorced on November 4, 1969. Virgie's oldest child, Anna Nicole's half-brother, is David Luther Tacker, Jr. (born 1966).Anna Nicole was raised by her mother and aunt, Elaine (Todd) Tabers, wife of Virgie's brother, Melvin Tabers. Virgie's first child was fathered by her (later) stepbrother Donald Luther Tacker Sr. Virgie's mother Paralee Allman was married to Donald's father George Tacker.[citation needed]
Virgie, who worked as a law enforcement officer in Houston for 28 years, subsequently married Donald R. Hart in 1971.[citation needed] Their child was Donald Ray Hart, Jr. (born 1972).[2] After Virgie married Donald Hart, Anna Nicole changed her name from Vickie Hogan to Nikki Hart.[3] Virgie and Donald Hart divorced in 1983. Virgie then married Joe D. Thompson (1987, divorced 1991), James T. Sanders (1996, died 1996), and James H. Arthur (2000).
Anna Nicole's father Donald married Wanda Faye Atkinson in 1970 and had the following children: Donna Hogan (born 1971), Donald Ray Hogan (born 1973), and Amy Hogan (born 1975).Donald and Wanda were divorced in 1978Donald married Carolyn S. Vandver in 1996.
Anna Nicole attended Durkee Elementary School and Aldine Intermediate School in Houston. When she was in the 9th grade, she was sent to live with her mother's younger sister, Kay Beall, in Mexia, Texas.[6] At Mexia High School, Anna Nicole failed her freshman year and later quit school during her sophomore year
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;[4] 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
Initially, Anna Nicole found employment at Wal-Mart, then as a waitress at Red Lobster. She then became an exotic dancer, and in 1991, began taking modeling and voice lessons. In October of that year, she saw an ad in the newspaper to audition for Playboy magazine.
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.[13] She divorced her husband Billy on February 3, 1993, in HoustonOn June 27, 1994, Smith, 26, and Marshall, 89, married in Houston.[4] This resulted in a great deal of gossip about her marrying him for his money.Though she reportedly never lived with him,[16] 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.[17] 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.[18]
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.[19]
Smith claimed J. Howard orally promised her half of his estate if she married him. In September 2000, a Los Angeles bankruptcy judge awarded her $449,754,134. In July 2001, Houston judge Mike Wood affirmed the jury findings in the probate case by ruling that Smith was entitled to nothing and ordered Smith to pay over $1 million in fees and expenses to Pierce's legal team. The conflict between the Texas probate court and California bankruptcy court judgments forced the matter into federal court.[20]
In March 2002, a federal judge vacated the California bankruptcy court's ruling and issued a new ruling but reduced the award to $88 million. In December 2004, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the March 2002 decision, on the reasoning that the federal courts lacked jurisdiction to overrule this probate decision.[21]
The U.S. Supreme Court decided in September 2005 to hear the appeal of that decision. The Bush administration subsequently directed the Solicitor General to intercede on Smith's behalf out of an interest to expand federal court jurisdiction over state probate disputes.[22] After months of waiting, Smith and her stepson Pierce learned of the Supreme Court's decision on May 1, 2006. The justices unanimously decided in favor of Smith; Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the majority 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.[23] On June 20, 2006, E. Pierce Marshall died at age 67 from an "aggressive infection". His widow, Elaine T. Marshall, now represents his estate.[24] The case has been remanded to the 9th Circuit to adjudicate the remaining appellate issues not previously resolved.In an interview on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Smith was asked what her "Playmate diet" consisted of. She instantly replied, "fried chicken". In October 2003, she became a spokesperson for TrimSpa, which helped her lose a reported 69 lb (31 kg).[30]
In November 2004, she appeared at the American Music Awards to introduce a musical performance and attracted attention because of her slurred speech and behavior. During her live appearance, she threw her arms up and exclaimed, "Like my body?".[31] Smith murmured other comments and alluded to TrimSpa. The incident became comic material for presenters throughout the rest of the program.[32]
The following day, her appearance was featured in the media. Tabloids speculated that Smith was under the influence of pills or some other controlled substance. Her representatives explained that she was in pain due to a series of grueling workouts.
In March 2005, at the first MTV Australia Video Music Awards in Sydney's Luna Park, she spoofed Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction by pulling down her dress to reveal both breasts, each covered with the MTV logo.[33]
Smith has also been featured in advertisements for the animal rights group PETA. Spoofing Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" segment in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a 2004 ad states "Gentlemen prefer fur-free blondes."[34] Due to her support of the anti-fur movement, in particular her criticism of Canadian seal hunting, PETA began a petition in memory of Smith to the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to end the annual tradition.[35] In another ad the following year, Smith posed with her dogs in a campaign against Iams dog food for their alleged cruelty to animals, as well as the manufacturer Procter and Gamble, and sister company Eukanuba.
Smith announced on June 1, 2006, in a video clip posted on her official website that she was pregnant. "Let me stop all the rumors," she said, while floating on an inflatable raft in a swimming pool. "Yes, I am pregnant. I'm happy, I'm very, very happy about it. Everything's goin' really, really good and I'll be checking in and out periodically on the web, and I'll let you see me as I'm growing."[37]
Though her announcement did not provide any details, in an interview with Larry King on CNN's Larry King Live after her daughter's birth and her son's death, Smith's longtime personal attorney Howard K. Stern said that he and Smith had been in a secret relationship for "a very long time" and that, due to the timing of the pregnancy, he was confident that he was the father of the baby.[38] Her ex-boyfriend, entertainment photojournalist Larry Birkhead, steadfastly maintained that he was the baby's father and filed a lawsuit to establish paternity.[39] Smith's daughter, Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, was born September 7, 2006, at Doctors Hospital in Nassau, Bahamas. The Bahamian birth certificate recorded the father as Howard K. Stern.
On April 10, 2007, a Bahamian judge ruled Larry Birkhead, a former boyfriend, as the father of Dannielynn.[49] DNA tests had established Birkhead as the father, with 99.99% certainty. Commenting on the revelation, Birkhead stated, "I hate to be the one to tell you this but, I told you so. I'm the father...My baby's going to be coming home pretty soon."[50] Birkhead subsequently applied for an amended birth certificate listing him as the father, which paved the way for him to obtain a passport for the baby and him to leave for the United States. Howard K. Stern did not contest the DNA results or the ruling.[51] Subsequent to the ruling, Birkhead returned to the United States with the baby.[52] Virgie Arthur's appeal of the ruling was later denied and she was ordered to pay costs.
Smith's 20-year-old son, Daniel Smith, died on September 10, 2006 in his mother's hospital room while visiting her and his newborn sister.[54] After the coroner labeled the death "reserved," Smith hired forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht to perform a second autopsy.[55]
His death certificate was issued on September 21, 2006, so that he could be buried.[56] While Smith remained in the Bahamas with Dannielynn and Stern, Daniel's family in the United States, including his father, Billy Smith, gathered with friends on October 7, 2006, in Mexia, Texas, for a memorial service. Daniel was buried at Lake View Cemetery on New Providence, Bahamas, on October 19, 2006, almost six weeks after his death.[57][dead link] According to Howard K. Stern, Smith's longtime companion, she was devastated over her son's death. "Anna and Daniel were inseparable. Daniel was without question the most important person in Anna’s life," Stern told Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin during his testimony in the legal battle after the model’s death. "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,'" Stern testified. "She was ready to go down with him."[58] Howard K. Stern revealed 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," he added.[59][60]
Dr. Wecht announced on Larry King Live that the autopsy he performed 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.
On September 28, 2006, Smith and Howard K. Stern exchanged vows and rings in an informal commitment ceremony aboard the 41-foot catamaran Margaritaville off the coast of the Bahamas. She wore a white dress and carried a bouquet of red roses, while he wore a black dress suit with white shirt. Although they pledged their love and made a commitment to be there for one another before a Baptist minister, no marriage certificate was issued and the ceremony is not legally binding.[61]
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.[16]
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."[62] The photos of their ceremony were sold through Getty Images to People Magazine for around $1,000,000.
On February 8, 2007, Smith was found unresponsive in room 607 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Tasma Brighthaupt, a friend of Smith who was a trained emergency nurse performed CPR for 15 minutes until her husband, Maurice "Big Moe" Brighthaupt, Smith's friend and bodyguard[72] took over CPR. He had frantically driven back to the hotel after being notified by his wife of Smith's condition.[72] According to Seminole Police Chief Charlie Tiger, at 1:38 p.m. (18:38 UTC) Maurice Brighthaupt, who was also a trained paramedic,[73] called the hotel front desk from her sixth floor room. The front desk in turn called security, who then called 911. At 1:45 p.m. the bodyguard administered CPR until paramedics arrived and she was rushed to Memorial Regional Hospital at 2:10 p.m and pronounced dead on arrival at 2:49 p.m.
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.[74][dead link][75]
After Smith's death, various legal battles began regarding her will, the paternity of her daughter and her final resting place, which resulted in the delay of her burial. Smith was buried March 2, 2007 at Nassau's Lakeview Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum in a plot adjacent to her son, Daniel. Daniel's father reportedly wants his son exhumed and reburied in his home state of Texas.
On April 10, 2007, a Bahamian judge ruled Larry Birkhead, a former boyfriend, as the father of Dannielynn.[49] DNA tests had established Birkhead as the father, with 99.99% certainty. Commenting on the revelation, Birkhead stated, "I hate to be the one to tell you this but, I told you so. I'm the father...My baby's going to be coming home pretty soon."[50] Birkhead subsequently applied for an amended birth certificate listing him as the father, which paved the way for him to obtain a passport for the baby and him to leave for the United States. Howard K. Stern did not contest the DNA results or the ruling.[51] Subsequent to the ruling, Birkhead returned to the United States with the baby.[52] Virgie Arthur's appeal of the ruling was later denied and she was ordered to pay costs.
Smith's 20-year-old son, Daniel Smith, died on September 10, 2006 in his mother's hospital room while visiting her and his newborn sister.[54] After the coroner labeled the death "reserved," Smith hired forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht to perform a second autopsy.[55]
His death certificate was issued on September 21, 2006, so that he could be buried.[56] While Smith remained in the Bahamas with Dannielynn and Stern, Daniel's family in the United States, including his father, Billy Smith, gathered with friends on October 7, 2006, in Mexia, Texas, for a memorial service. Daniel was buried at Lake View Cemetery on New Providence, Bahamas, on October 19, 2006, almost six weeks after his death.[57][dead link] According to Howard K. Stern, Smith's longtime companion, she was devastated over her son's death. "Anna and Daniel were inseparable. Daniel was without question the most important person in Anna’s life," Stern told Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin during his testimony in the legal battle after the model’s death. "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,'" Stern testified. "She was ready to go down with him."[58] Howard K. Stern revealed 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," he added.[59][60]
Dr. Wecht announced on Larry King Live that the autopsy he performed 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.
On September 28, 2006, Smith and Howard K. Stern exchanged vows and rings in an informal commitment ceremony aboard the 41-foot catamaran Margaritaville off the coast of the Bahamas. She wore a white dress and carried a bouquet of red roses, while he wore a black dress suit with white shirt. Although they pledged their love and made a commitment to be there for one another before a Baptist minister, no marriage certificate was issued and the ceremony is not legally binding.[61]
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.[16]
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."[62] The photos of their ceremony were sold through Getty Images to People Magazine for around $1,000,000.
On February 8, 2007, Smith was found unresponsive in room 607 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Tasma Brighthaupt, a friend of Smith who was a trained emergency nurse performed CPR for 15 minutes until her husband, Maurice "Big Moe" Brighthaupt, Smith's friend and bodyguard[72] took over CPR. He had frantically driven back to the hotel after being notified by his wife of Smith's condition.[72] According to Seminole Police Chief Charlie Tiger, at 1:38 p.m. (18:38 UTC) Maurice Brighthaupt, who was also a trained paramedic,[73] called the hotel front desk from her sixth floor room. The front desk in turn called security, who then called 911. At 1:45 p.m. the bodyguard administered CPR until paramedics arrived and she was rushed to Memorial Regional Hospital at 2:10 p.m and pronounced dead on arrival at 2:49 p.m.
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.[74][dead link][75]
After Smith's death, various legal battles began regarding her will, the paternity of her daughter and her final resting place, which resulted in the delay of her burial. Smith was buried March 2, 2007 at Nassau's Lakeview Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum in a plot adjacent to her son, Daniel. Daniel's father reportedly wants his son exhumed and reburied in his home state of Texas.
After a seven-week investigation led by Broward County Medical Examiner and Forensic Pathologist Dr. Joshua Perper in combination with the Seminole police and several independent forensic pathologists and toxicologists, Dr. Perper announced that Smith died of "combined drug intoxication " with the sleeping medication chloral hydrate as the "major component."[76] No illegal drugs were found in her system. The official report states that her death was not considered to be due to homicide, suicide, or natural causes.[77] The full investigative report has been made public and can be found online.[78] Additionally, an official copy of the autopsy report was publicly released on March 26, 2007 and can be found online.[79]
Ultimately her death was ruled an accidental drug overdose of the sedative chloral hydrate that became increasingly lethal when combined with other prescription drugs in her system, specifically 4 benzodiazepines: Klonopin (Clonazepam), Ativan (Lorazepam), Serax (Oxazepam), and Valium (Diazepam). Furthermore, she had taken Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) and Topamax (Toprimate), an anticonvulsant GABA agonist, which likely contributed to the sedative effect of chloral hydrate and the benzodiazepines.[80] Although the individual levels of any of the benzodiazepines in her system would not have been sufficient to cause death, their combination with a high dose of chloral hydrate led to her overdose. The autopsy report indicates that chloral hydrate was the "toxic/lethal" drug, but it is difficult to know if chloral hydrate ingestion would have killed her alone, since Dr. Perper indicated (in the March 26 press conference) that she had built up a tolerance to the drug and took more than the average person. He indicated that she took about 3 tablespoons, whereas the normal dosage is between 1 and 2 teaspoons. Despite rumors of methadone use due to its involvement in her son's death, Dr. Perper only found methadone in her bile, indicating that it could only have been ingested 2-3 days prior to her death and was not a contributing factor.[81] The autopsy report indicates that abscesses of buttocks (presumably from prior injections of vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) and human growth hormone), and viral enteritis were contributory causes of death. Tests for influenza A and B were negative.[82]
It was reported that 8 of the 11 drugs in Anna Nicole Smith's system, including the chloral hydrate, were prescribed to Howard K. Stern, not Anna Nicole. Additionally, two of the medicines were written for Alex Katz and one was written for Anna Nicole's friend and psychiatrist, Dr. Khristine Eroshevitz. Dr. Perper acknowledged that all 11 prescriptions were written by Dr. Eroshevitz herself.[83]
Ultimately her death was ruled an accidental drug overdose of the sedative chloral hydrate that became increasingly lethal when combined with other prescription drugs in her system, specifically 4 benzodiazepines: Klonopin (Clonazepam), Ativan (Lorazepam), Serax (Oxazepam), and Valium (Diazepam). Furthermore, she had taken Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) and Topamax (Toprimate), an anticonvulsant GABA agonist, which likely contributed to the sedative effect of chloral hydrate and the benzodiazepines.[80] Although the individual levels of any of the benzodiazepines in her system would not have been sufficient to cause death, their combination with a high dose of chloral hydrate led to her overdose. The autopsy report indicates that chloral hydrate was the "toxic/lethal" drug, but it is difficult to know if chloral hydrate ingestion would have killed her alone, since Dr. Perper indicated (in the March 26 press conference) that she had built up a tolerance to the drug and took more than the average person. He indicated that she took about 3 tablespoons, whereas the normal dosage is between 1 and 2 teaspoons. Despite rumors of methadone use due to its involvement in her son's death, Dr. Perper only found methadone in her bile, indicating that it could only have been ingested 2-3 days prior to her death and was not a contributing factor.[81] The autopsy report indicates that abscesses of buttocks (presumably from prior injections of vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) and human growth hormone), and viral enteritis were contributory causes of death. Tests for influenza A and B were negative.[82]
It was reported that 8 of the 11 drugs in Anna Nicole Smith's system, including the chloral hydrate, were prescribed to Howard K. Stern, not Anna Nicole. Additionally, two of the medicines were written for Alex Katz and one was written for Anna Nicole's friend and psychiatrist, Dr. Khristine Eroshevitz. Dr. Perper acknowledged that all 11 prescriptions were written by Dr. Eroshevitz herself.[83]
Before Anna Nicole's body was buried, it started decomposing at a faster-than-normal pace.[84] It has been cited that the drugs found in Anna Nicole's body in the autopsy, combined with the fact that because of the legal battles her body wasn't embalmed until over a week after her death (and only because of a court order to have her embalmed) as well as not being buried for nearly a month after her death in the warm Bahama weather, might have been factors in her body decomposing quickly. The family ended up having a closed-casket funeral.
Anna Nicole's will, drawn up in April 2001, named her son Daniel as the sole beneficiary of her estate, specifically excluded other children, and named Howard K. Stern as the executor. It indicated personal property valued at $10,000 and real property valued at $1.8 million (with a $1.1 million mortgage) at the time of death. A petition to probate Smith's will was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The petition to probate lists Larry Birkhead as a party with interest to Anna's estate
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