Posted on 02/08/2007 1:17:38 PM PST by NormsRevenge
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - Anna Nicole Smith, the former Playboy playmate whose bizarre life careened from marrying an octogenarian billionaire to the untimely death of her son, died Thursday after collapsing at a South Florida hotel, one of her lawyers said.
Smith, 39, collapsed and was unresponsive while staying at the Seminole Hard Rock Cafe Hotel and Casino, said the attorney, Ron Rale. She was rushed to a hospital.
"She checked in Monday at 8 p.m. as a guest. She was due to check out tomorrow," said Danielle Giordaano, a spokeswoman for the hotel.
Smith had been a tabloid staple even before she became Playboy's playmate of the year in 1993. Readers were fascinated by her bombshell good looks, her marriage to an elderly billionaire and subsequent court fight over his estate, her weight fluctuations, and last year, the sudden death of her 20-year-old son, Daniel Smith.
A former topless dancer, she made her name squeezing into Guess jeans. She resembled the late actress Marilyn Monroe, a similarity played up in her Guess magazine ads, billboards and department store displays.
In 1994, she married 89-year-old oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II, the head of oil-based Koch Industries, which is part of a family fortune worth at least $400 million.
He died in 1995, setting off a feud with her former stepson, E. Pierce Marshall, over whether she had a right to his estate.
A federal court in California awarded Smith $474 million in a complicated legal twist that began after she declared bankruptcy. That was later overturned.
But in May, the U.S. Supreme Court revived her case, ruling that she deserved another day in court in her battle with her former stepson.
The justices said only that federal courts in California could deal with her case despite a Texas state court ruling that Marshall was the sole heir to the estate.
Then, the stepson died June 20 at age 67. But the family said the court fight would continue.
Daniel Smith 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 had methadone and two antidepressants in his system when he died. Low levels of the three drugs interacted to cause an accidental death, Wecht said.
Meanwhile, the paternity of her now 5-month-old daughter remained a matter of dispute.
She was born Vickie Lynn Hogan on Nov. 28, 1967, in Houston, one of six children of Donald Eugene and Virgie Hart Hogan.
She married Bill Smith in 1985, giving birth to Daniel before divorcing two years later.
Sorry. There are plenty out there.
I usually pile them on most of the threads.
This one, I'm not doing it.
I share in your concerns that her decline was greatly hastened as you offer.
Yeah, good point. The inevitable MSM obsession with her death is predictable and pathetic.
"She was due to check out tomorrow..." but she checked out today.
Geraldo has pronounced it an overdose of methadone and also says there was methadone in the baby's system. Who's responsible for getting/giving her this drug?
ap article Update
--
Anna Nicole Smith collapses, dies at 39
Suzette Laboy, Associated Press Writer
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070208/ap_en_tv/anna_nicole_smith
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - Anna Nicole Smith, the voluptuous former Playboy centerfold who married an octogenarian billionaire and waged a legal battle for his fortune all the way to the Supreme Court, died Thursday after collapsing at a hotel. She was 39.
The blond bombshell who recently became tabloid fodder all over again after the sudden, apparently drug-related death of her 20-year-old son was stricken while staying at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and was rushed to a hospital.
Edwina Johnson, chief investigator of the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office, said the cause of death was under investigation and an autopsy would be done on Friday.
A private nurse called 911 after finding Smith unresponsive in her sixth-floor room, said Seminole Police Chief Charlie Tiger. He said Smith's bodyguard administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation about an hour before she was declared dead.
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 exaggerated curves, her little-girl voice, her ditzy-blonde persona, and her over-the-top revealing outfits.
The curvaceous Texas-born Smith was a topless dancer at strip club before she entered her photos in a search contest and made the cover of Playboy magazine in 1992, captivating readers with her Marilyn Monroe looks. 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, the head of oil-based Koch Industries, which is part of a family fortune worth at least $400 million. He died in 1995 at age 90, setting off a feud with her former stepson, E. Pierce Marshall, over whether she had a right to 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 in her battle with her former stepson.
The stepson died June 20 at age 67. But the family said the court fight would continue.
More recently, Smith's ballooning figure and up-and-down weight became a subject of public fascination. But she lost a reported 69 pounds and became a spokeswoman for TrimSpa, a weight-loss supplement.
She 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.
After news came of Smith's death, G. Eric Brunstad Jr., the lawyer who represented Marshall, said in a statement: "We're very shocked by the news and extend the deepest condolences to her family."
Smith's son, Daniel Smith, 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 had methadone and two antidepressants in his system when he died. Low levels of the three drugs interacted to cause an accidental death, Wecht said. Last month, a Bahamas magistrate scheduled a formal inquiry into the death for March 27.
Meanwhile, the paternity of her 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.
Debra Opri, the attorney who filed his 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 number one priority."
She was born Vickie Lynn Hogan on Nov. 28, 1967, in Houston, one of six children of Donald Eugene and Virgie Hart Hogan. She married Bill Smith in 1985, giving birth to Daniel before divorcing two years later.
"From my professional exposure to Anna Nicole, I can say she was always personable, down to earth and driven. All in all, a joy to have as a client," said Wayne Munroe, her Bahamian lawyer who has overseen the aftermath of her son's mysterious death in Nassau.
Nancy Grace and Greta van Sustern are already breathless over the thought of their respective shows tonight.
OK = Her SPIRIT is coyote ugly. Does that make you feel better?
Nancy Grace and Greta van Sustern
Fortunately, by choice, I no longer get either of their respective channels. ;-)
'Mother said Marilyn got more publicity than her 'talent' deserved, and I'll say the same to my children about this woman, if they ever ask."
Marilyn was an exceptional actress in 30 films and receiving 2 oscar nominations early on in her film career. She could do comedy or drama equally well. Don't listen to your mother. You need to see some of her work.
The parts of her adult life we were allowed to see were terribly sad. It's a shame she didn't get off the drugs and get some real happiness in her life.
The saddest part of this now is her 5 month old baby. She will never know her mother and will have her contested paternity all over the tabloids. She is going to have this legacy to overcome.
I totally agree with you. For people to make fun of and belittle someone after they have died is absolutely disgusting. May Anna Nicole rest in peace.
I'm not really in favor of the practice, but these "celebrities" create their own legacies. She will probably reap from the masses the reciprocal of what she contributed.
As someone who is adopted, let me say that the best thing that could happen to this girl is to be given to some normal people to raise.
She mad the mistake of getting between a very greasy lawyer and a very large sum of money.
Her New husband did it, he also killed her son, and he plans to inherit her fortune. I would even suspect that the baby is not his, and the baby should be put somewhere safe.
"Agreed. But how on earth could a court grant her the entire family fortune after being married for just a year."
Nothing in the law puts a time limit on a union for purpose of wills.
I suspect the creepy lawyer husband of hers Howard Stern
I smell murder disguised as suicide.
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