During the 1990s, Anna Nicole Smith was one of the most talked-about and contentious celebrities.
She became well-known by modeling for Playboy magazine, which led to her being named Playmate of the Year. She later worked as a model for clothing companies like Guess and H&M.
She unfortunately lost her fame and money, as has happened in many other cases.
One of the most talked-about and contentious celebrities of the 1990s was undoubtedly Anna Nicole Smith.
After modeling for Playboy magazine, she gained notoriety and was even named Playmate of the Year in 1993. She then worked as a model for companies like Guess, H&M, Heatherette, and Lane Bryant.
Unfortunately, as we’ve seen time and time again, her celebrity and wealth turned out to be her undoing. However, Dannielynn, her daughter, continues to carry on her memory and legacy.
Vickie Lynn Hogan gave birth to Anna Nicole Smith in 1967. Her mother and aunt were mostly responsible for raising her as she grew up in Houston, Texas. When Anna was still a newborn, her father apparently made the decision to get up and leave.
Friends have spoken about Anna’s challenging upbringing and described it as quite challenging. Virgie, her mother, was very strict.
“Vickie’s childhood life was tough. [Her mother] was very… forthright and very strict,” longtime friend Jo McLemore told ABC News.
Anna, a high school dropout, fell in love with Billy Smith, a 16-year-old dropout. They got married fast, and Anna gave birth to her first child not long after. When Anna was just 18 years old, Daniel, her son, was born.
Sadly, the union with Billy wasn’t very long-lasting. Without a degree or a career, Anna Nicole became a single mother raising a son. She eventually found work as a dancer at a pub. The young, blond bombshell from Houston suddenly drew the attention of the powerful Playboy Magazine as a result of a series of events.
After working on multiple picture projects with Playboy, Anna Nicole rose to prominence in the modeling world.
She was signed by William Morris, one of the most praised talent agencies in the United States.
Modeling jobs poured in thereafter, and Anna Nicole appeared in advertising campaigns all over the world. She made huge headlines when she posed in lingerie for the Swedish clothing company H&M. In fact, that specific campaign caused quite a stir.People described Nicole Smith as a potential traffic hazard – drivers simply lost focus when they saw her pictures on billboards along the highways.
At the peak of her career, Anna Nicole Smith was one of the most recognized people globally, and the newspapers couldn’t get enough of her. For her part, Anna seemed to love the attention.
“I love the paparazzi. They take pictures, and I just smile away. I’ve always liked the attention. I didn’t get very much growing up, and I always wanted to be, you know, noticed,” she once told the Washington Post.
But of course, the life of a mega celebrity had its dark sides.
Her high-profile relationship with petroleum tycoon J. Howard Marshall was the beginning of her downfall. The 63-year-old age difference between Anna and her elderly husband raised many eyebrows – a lot of people were of the belief that Anna was only interested in Marshall because of his fortune.
The couple married in 1994, but just six months after the ceremony, Marshall became ill. He died in 1995 at the age of 90. The loss took a heavy toll on Anna.
A photograph of Anna Nicole Smith and J. Howard Marshall II sits next to Marshall’s casket. (Photo by Greg Smith/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
”After my husband passed, it was really, really hard on me,” Smith told “20/20” in 2000.
”He knew me when I was nobody and that’s what people don’t understand, and I don’t wanna be called a gold digger because I’m not. I could’ve married him a week after we met, or two weeks after we met. I could’ve married him years before, and I didn’t. I didn’t. I went out and I made something of myself.”
In the following years, Anna spent a lot of her time in the courtroom. She fought with Marshall’s family over her husband’s will. The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2006.
