Anna Nicole Smith

Anna Nicole Smith

Anna Nicole Smith, 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, Anna Nicole 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.

A major turning point in Anna Nicole Smith's career was in 1992. It was then her 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 was heavier and larger than the typical Playboy model. Smith was chosen to be the 1993 Playmate of the Year. By the time of her PMOY pictorial, she had settled on the name Anna Nicole Smith.

Anna Nicole Smith secured a contract to replace supermodel Claudia Schiffer in the Guess jeans ad campaign in a series of sultry black and white photographs. Guess capitalized on Smith's strong resemblance to sex symbol Jayne Mansfield and put her in Jayne-inspired photo sessions. In 1993, before Christmas, she modeled for the Swedish clothing company Hennes & Mauritz (H&M). She was dressed in underwear and arranged in seductive poses. She appeared on big posters in Sweden and Norway.

A photograph of Anna Nicole Smith was used by New York magazine on the cover of its August 22, 1994 issue titled White Trash Nation. In the photo, she appears squatting in a short skirt and cowboy boots as she eats chips. In October 1994, Smith's lawyer initiated a $5,000,000 lawsuit against the magazine claiming unauthorized use of her photo and that the article had damaged her reputation. Her lawyer said that Smith was told she was being photographed to embody the "all-American-woman look", and that they wanted glamor shots. He further stated that the picture used was taken for fun during a break.

Although her film appearances in The Hudsucker Proxy and Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult were highly publicized in 1994, little was done to further Anna Nicole Smith's acting career. Her first starring role was as Colette Dubois, a retired spy seeking revenge for the murder of her husband, in the action/thriller To the Limit (1995).

Anna Nicole Smith next starred in the action/thriller Skyscraper (1997), which she also produced, as a helicopter pilot, Carrie Wisk, who lands on a high rise building and, upon learning it has been taken over by terrorists, becomes engaged in a deadly fight to save hostages.

Both films, and Anna Nicole Smith's performances in them, were critically panned. During the course of the litigation over her late husband's estate, her career stalled. Her legal battle, her increasing weight, and her reportedly bizarre behavior made her regular fodder for late night television comedians.

In 2002, Anna Nicole Smith 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.

The debut of the The Anna Nicole Show was the highest rated series on the network, but critics blasted it and ratings dropped with each successive week. However, it achieved a cult status among some, particularly college fraternities. The show was canceled in February 2004 due to "creative differences," but has retained some life in reruns and on DVD releases.

Anna Nicole Smith's next appearance on the big screen was as herself in Wasabi Tuna (2003), about a group of friends who kidnap her dog, Sugar-Pie, on Halloween. She appeared as herself again in Be Cool (2005), a crime/comedy about the film and music industries that stars John Travolta, Uma Thurman and The Rock. In Illegal Aliens she stars as "Lucy", which she also produced, a sci-fi/comedy about beautiful space aliens saving the earth from evil.

A film biography of Anna Nicole Smith's life is now in the works. The movie will document her rise from exotic dancer to her reality show/diet spokesmodel stardom (from her late teens until her February 2007 death at age 39). Willa Ford will star as Anna in the film.

In an interview on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Anna Nicole 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).

In November 2004, Anna Nicole Smith 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?". Smith murmured other comments and alluded to TrimSpa. The incident became comic material for presenters throughout the rest of the program.

The following day, her appearance was featured in the media. Tabloids speculated that Anna Nicole 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, Anna Nicole Smith spoofed Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction by pulling down her dress to reveal both breasts, each covered with the MTV logo.

Anna Nicole 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." 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. 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.