ANNA NICOLE SMITH

Inside the extraordinary life and tragic death of the model

- 

The name Anna Nicole Smith is synonymous with a larger-than-life bubbly blonde bombshell. Best known for her short-lived marriage to 89-year-old billionaire J Howard Marshall, which resulted in a lengthy legal battle over his estate, her life was marred by tragedy, before it was cut short prior to her 40th birthday.

But there's so much more to the former Playboy model than meets the eye. Indeed, it's no wonder so many films are being made about Anna Nicole's life, with such big names as our own Margot Robbie being thrown in the ring to play her.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Born Vickie Lynn Hogan on November 28, 1967, in Houston, Texas, Anna Nicole had a very working-class upbringing in small town Mexia, Texas, with single mother Virgie Tabers Arthur - a sheriff's deputy. Dropping out of school, she got a job at a fried chicken shop and, at 17, married co-worker Billy Wayne Smith. But their relationship was reportedly abusive and, after giving birth to son Daniel in 1986, Anna Nicole left with the six-month-old to pursue her dreams of fame and fortune.

A STAR IS BORN

In 1992, the aspiring model adopted the stage name “Anna Nicole” and posed for