Inheritance Issues
Following the death of her husband, Anna Nicole Smith was intent on getting some of the inheritance. Marshall’s son, however, E. Pierce Marshall, was having none of it. She was looking for half of the estate, which was valued at about $1.6 billion.
Though she was not in the will, Smith claimed the elder Marshall had sworn her half of everything if she wed him. She and another of Marshall’s sons, J. Howard Marshall III, teamed up, as he had also been left out of the will after being since he was disowned by his father.
Taken to Court
The case stayed in the court system for years, with some courts ruling for Smith and others ruling against her. It made it all the way to the Supreme Court. Twice. The first ruling in favor said she should get nearly $450 million. The second ruling said the first had no right to make that ruling.
Another said Smith had to pay $1 million. Another said she should get $88 million. The Supreme Court didn’t rule on whether or not she deserved money, but decided she had the right to fight for it. Even at the point, she died, the case remained unresolved.
On the Big Screen
As huge as she got in the modeling world, it seems Anna Nicole Smith was never destined for the silver screen. Her first role was in The Hudsucker Proxy, sharing the screen with big names such as Tim Robbins, Paul Newman, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Later that year she was in Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult with Leslie Nielsen.
Though both films were somewhat popular, and she did a decent enough job, they didn’t really launch a film career for her. Her first major role was as Colette Dubois, a withdrawn spy, into the Limit. It was a flop at the box office and her last lead role in Hollywood.
On the Small Screen
In the late ’90s, Anna Nicole Smith showed up on a couple television shows. Perhaps the biggest roles were as a friend of Kirstie Alley’s character on Veronica’s Closet and a guest-starring role on Ally McBeal. Her biggest small screen appearance was on her own reality TV show, The Anna Nicole Show.
It focused on her life and the people in it, including her attorney, Howard K. Smith; her son, Daniel; her assistant; her poodle Sugar Pie; her interior decorator and her relative, a cousin, from down in Texas. When it debuted, it had the highest cable rating ever issued for a reality show.
Further Work
Though she appeared in a couple more bit parts, sometimes as herself, her major film work was pretty much done. She appeared in a few more films, pretty much all straight-to-video pieces. However, she did get some jobs as a spokesperson. For a time she pushed TrimSpa, a weight-loss program. Smith even gave it a little promotion on stage during the 2004 American Music Awards as she was introducing Kanye West.
Her garbled speech and odd behavior were a cause of concern for many. This, perhaps, was a sign of her more hidden problems. She also spoke for PETA, appearing in commercials for the organization.
Enter Dannielynn
On June 1, 2006, a video was posted to Anna Nicole Smith’s official website. In it, she was floating around on an inflatable raft. “Let me stop all the rumors,” she said. “Yes, I am pregnant. I’m happy, I’m very, very happy about it.” On September 7, 2006, her daughter was born.
Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern was born in New Providence, down in The Bahamas, with her father registered as Howard K. Stern, Anna Nicole Smith’s lawyer. They had been in a relationship for some time, it was later revealed. As happy as they were, tragedy would strike just three days later.