After a Life of Controversy, Court Battles and Sadness, Anna Nicole Smith is Found Dead

Anna Nicole Smith, the controversial American model and actor best known for her marriage to a billionaire six decades her senior, died last night after collapsing in a hotel room in Florida. The 39-year-old former Playboy playmate of the month was found unconscious by her private nurse at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel near Fort Lauderdale. Smith, who had a history of drug problems, was taken to the nearby Hollywood Memorial hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Seminole's police chief, Charlie Tiger, said a bodyguard had tried in vain to resuscitate her with a heart massage. A post-mortem today is expected to determine the cause of death.

Smith had been staying at the hotel, which is owned by the native American Seminole tribe, since Monday with her new husband and lawyer, Howard Stern, who claims to be the father of her six-month-old daughter, Dannielynn.

Another of Smith's attorneys, Ronald Rale, told reporters: "I can confirm that she is deceased. It's as shocking to me as to you guys. Howard, obviously, is speechless and grieving."

Smith was no stranger to lawsuits during her lifetime. At the time of her death she was involved in a paternity suit with a photojournalist, Larry Birkhead, a former boyfriend, although Mr Stern is listed on Dannielynn's birth certificate as the father. Mr Birkhead last night filed an emergency injunction to try to gain custody of the child, who is said to be in the Bahamas, where she was born.

Dannielynn's birth was mixed with tragedy and mystery, when Smith's 20-year-old son Daniel died in her hospital room of an apparent drugs overdose the day after the birth last September.

Smith's most high profile court battle, however, was the feud with the family of her ex-husband, J Howard Marshall, over his multi-billion dollar fortune. She met the oil baron in 1991 when she was working as a stripper in a Houston nightclub and they married three years later, when she was 26 and he was 89.

The marriage lasted 13 months before Marshall died, sparking a lengthy and bitter fight with his family over the money. Smith said he promised her half of his fortune if she married him, and she was initially awarded $474m, a decision overturned when a Texas court decided that Marshall's son, E Pierce Marshall, was the sole heir.

In 2005, the case reached the supreme court, which ruled unanimously that she should be allowed to pursue her claim in a federal court. The issue was still outstanding at the time of her death.

Hugh Hefner, Playboy's founder, last night paid tribute to Smith, who he said was one of his magazine's most popular playmates. "I'm very saddened to learn about Anna Nicole's passing. She was a dear friend who meant a great deal to the Playboy family and to me personally," he said.

Smith's sister, Donna Hogan, also issued a statement. "We feel that the death of her son left her deeply saddened, a sadness she hid from everyone," she said. "As a mother of three children I am anguished by this tragic event and the fact that her new baby, Dannielynn Hope, is now without a mother."

According to unconfirmed reports last night, Smith, whose weight had fluctuated wildly during her career, had suffered a high temperature the night before. It is not known why a female nurse, who was privately employed, accompanied her during her holiday in Florida.

"The nurse in her room called the hospital operator at 1.38pm and we responded within minutes," police chief Tiger said. "At 1.45pm, a bodyguard administered CPR."

Mr Tiger added that detectives from the Broward County crime laboratory were examining her hotel room, but that there was no indication of foul play.

Smith was staying in Florida with Mr Stern, whom she wed in a civil ceremony in the Bahamas after her daughter's birth. The pair were reportedly looking to buy a boat together, but Mr Tiger said he could not speculate on the reason for their stay. "It's a beautiful hotel and a lot of people come here to relax," he said. "She was a frequent patron here."

Smith, whose real name was Vickie Lynn Hogan, was born in Houston on November 28 1967. Her parents divorced two years later and she was raised by her mother and an aunt.

Shortly after her Playboy career ended, she appeared in several movies, including Naked Gun: The Final Insult, in 1994 and To The Limit the following year.

Smith had acknowledged problems with drug addiction and checked into the Betty Ford Clinic for a spell in the mid-1990s.

Her career enjoyed a resurgence with the reality TV Anna Nicole Smith Show in 2002, but the show was cancelled after two years. In her final years, she also worked for Trimspa, a weight-loss treatment that she credited with her own weight dropping from 224lb to 140lb (16st to 10st).


Backstory

Anna Nicole Smith was born Vickie Lynn Hogan and grew up in the Texas town of Mexia. The model and actress, who capitalised on her resemblance to Marilyn Monroe, won fame as the face of Guess jeans and was named Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Year in 1993. The following year, she appeared in The Hudsucker Proxy and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. She was most famous for her relationship with the oil billionaire, J Howard Marshall, whom she met dancing at a Houston strip club. Eyebrows were raised when the couple married in 1994. She was 26 and he was 89. He died the next year and Smith began a battle with his family over his estate, valued by Forbes.com at $1.6bn (£810m). In May 2006 the US supreme court ruled that Smith could pursue her case in federal court. Her son, Daniel, 20, died in the Bahamas last year in what was believed to be a drug-related death.


Dan Bell