To support herself and her child, Anna worked as an exotic dancer at a Houston gentleman’s club. She made a name for herself as a model and landed a job modeling for Guess jeans. While at the club, 23-year-old Anna met J. Howard Marshall, an 86-year-old retired oil tycoon who quickly fell in love with her and proposed. Anna was flattered by the attention and began dating Marshall but held off on the marriage reportedly so she could focus on her career and make it on her own.
Modeling, Playboy, and Marriage
Shortly after becoming the star of the Guess jeans’ advertising campaign, Anna made her first appearance in the pages of Playboy in March 1992. In May of the same year, she was the centerfold for the magazine and was eventually named the 1993 Playmate of the Year.
She continued seeing Marshall during this time and married him in June 1994. Marshall was confined to a wheelchair and was in poor health, but Anna says they were very close and even tried to conceive. During her marriage, Anna Nicole Smith ventured into acting with roles in The Hudsucker Proxy and Naked Gun 33 1/3, both released in 1994. The career change was short-lived, however, due to Marshall’s death in late summer 1995, which left Anna devastated and alone.
Court Battles
Marshall’s heirs were less than happy about the prospect of sharing their inheritance with Anna. Marshall’s son E. Pierce Marshall filed a lawsuit against Anna claiming that she had no right to any of the estate since she was not mentioned in her deceased husband’s will. The court case raged on for close to a decade, involving both state and federal courts before finally landing in front of the United States Supreme Court, which ruled in Anna’s favor and allows her to continue fighting for the money. The case battle rages on, although Pierce Marshall passed away in June, 2006.
Reality Television Star and Diet Pill Spokesperson
Anna got herself back in the public eye for something other than money battles with her own reality show on E!, the entertainment channel. The Anna Nicole Show hit the air in 2002 and followed Anna and her handlers through their daily efforts of getting Anna more work and playing with her dogs. The show started out with strong ratings as curiosity seekers tuned it, but the audience soon dropped off. The show was cancelled in 2004.
In 2003, Anna was named spokesperson for TrimSpa, an herbal-based diet pill that reportedly helped Anna lose over 70 pounds. Although Anna seems to be a good example of the pill’s effectiveness, it has not been tested or approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Children
Anna gave birth to her second child, a daughter named Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, on September 7 in the Bahamas. Just three days later, her son Daniel came to visit his mom and new sister and died while sleeping in their hospital room. After several weeks and two autopsies, the official cause of death was listed as an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, including Zoloft and methadone.
Anna has announced that her daughter is the child of her long-time attorney, Howard K. Stern, although this is being challenged by her former boyfriend.
Anna and Stern held a commitment ceremony shortly after the baby’s birth but have not officially married.
0 comments:
Post a Comment