model turned actress anna nicole smith
was an iconic head-turner from the
moment she catapulted to stardom in the
1990s having appeared in a number of
popular ads for the guest fashion brand
she was also 1993's playmate of the year
and her rise to fame was followed by
acting roles as well as a stint in a
reality tv series the star from a small
town in texas was born vicky lynn hogan
in 1967 and she grew up poor when she
was just 17 years old she married her
first husband billy smith who was a cook
at the fried chicken restaurant where
she worked they had a son named daniel
in 1986 but the marriage ended in
divorce smith's big break in show
business came after she sent photos of
herself to hugh hefner a move that led
to her appearance in playboy magazine
next she transitioned into the film
world nabbing a few roles in movies such
as naked gun 33 and a third the final
insult and the hudsucker proxy as her
star rose smith was compared to the
likes of classic beauties such as
marilyn monroe and jane mansfield she
also made headlines when she married 89
year old oil tycoon j howard marshall ii
in 1994.
i went over to see him
and he got a little twinkle in his eyes
and
he asked me
to dance for him
marshall died soon after the wedding and
smith spent years waging court battles
for a share in his estate in the early
2000s smith's career moved toward
reality television and product
endorsements she remained a tabloid
fixture something she actually enjoyed
even once telling the washington post i
love the paparazzi
they take pictures and i just smile away
i've always liked attention i didn't get
very much growing up and i always wanted
to be noticed her fondness for becoming
tabloid fodder continued in 2006 when
she gave birth to a daughter named danny
lin this was followed by widespread
media speculation over danny lynn's
parentage as a number of men claimed to
be the father a paternity test would
eventually confirm larry burkhead
smith's ex-boyfriend as the father smith
seemed unstoppable at the height of her
stardom and for more than a decade that
held true until tragedy struck in
september of 2006 her 20 year old son
daniel died of an accidental drug
overdose the following february in 2007
the 39 year old star was found
unconscious in her room at the seminole
hard rock hotel and casino near
hollywood florida she was later
pronounced dead at a local hospital and
the results of an autopsy the following
month determined she had died of an
accidental prescription drug overdose
the autopsy revealed that smith had nine
prescription drugs in her system as well
as a non-prescription drug and several
supplements when anna nicole smith died
some suggested that she was so
heartbroken over her son's death that
she took her own life but seminole
police chief charlie tiger soon put that
rumor to rest at a news conference
announcing smith's autopsy result he
said we are convinced based on extensive
review of the evidence that this case is
an accidental overdose with no other
criminal element present still the sheer
number of drugs in her system was hard
to ignore she had ingested a lethal drug
cocktail that included a dozen different
medications either before or at the time
of her death joshua purper the broward
county medical examiner at the time also
confirmed that in addition to the
prescription and non-prescription
medications smith had three
antidepressant or anxiolytic drugs in
her system toxicology reports also found
human growth hormone and chlorohydrate a
sleeping drug the combination of this
massive amount of drugs essentially shut
down her respiration and circulation
systems perper said she didn't suffer
she went to sleep but the most
disturbing fact about smith's death is
that her autopsy revealed she'd been
receiving shots of either a human growth
hormone or b12 vitamins prescription
drugs or some combination of the three
and when a needle punctured an abscess
in her buttock bacteria was allowed into
her bloodstream that caused a high fever
shortly before her death perper believes
if smith had received treatment for the
fever and infection she probably would
have lived if you or anyone you know is
struggling with addiction issues help is
available visit the substance abuse and
mental health services administration
website or contact samhsa's national
helpline at 1-800-662-4357
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