
Anna Nicole Smith

Oct. 18 2011, Published 3:42 p.m. ET
In 1994, when word got out that Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith married 89-year-old oil billionaire J. Howard Marshall II, the country wondered how a stripper from Texas went from rags-to-riches. Their marriage was brief however, as J. Howard died thirteen months later – with a fortune Anna Nicole received and then fought for in a long legal battle. When her son, 20-year-old Daniel, from a previous pre-fame marriage, died from ingesting a lethal mix of medications, Anna Nicole was hit hard with the loss. Anna Nicole was then hit with a paternity test from ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead. With the media’s renewed curiosity, it came as a shock to everyone on February 8, 2007 when Anna Nicole was found dead in her hotel room, a result of an overdose of prescription drugs. Since then, it has been discovered that ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead is the father of daughter, Dannielynn, and her lawyer and then-boyfriend, Howard K. Stern, along with two other doctors, were charged with illegally supplying Anna Nicole with the drugs that in turn facilitated her lethal dose.