Anna Nicole Smith Struggled to Walk & Sit up in Her Last Days

Anna Nicole Smith got her big break in the early 1990s, became a Playmate of the Year, modeled for brands like Guess and H&M, and had magazine spreads in Vanity Fair and Italian Vogue, among others.

Her life took a drastic turn after losing her only son three days after delivering her only daughter. People around her said she never recovered from this loss.

She would barely eat, struggled to sit up, and had to lean on her partner to walk. When friends asked her to seek help, she ignored their pleas.

Anna Nicole Smith as a Maid of Honor at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on July 21, 2005 [left], Photo of Anna Nicole Smith on her bed [right] | Source: Getty Images, Youtube.com/Our History

Vickie Lynn Hogan was born on November 28, 1967, and later chose the stage name, Anna Nicole Smith. Before she turned two, her parents divorced, and her mother, whom she lived with, remarried.

Smith grew up with five half-siblings and dropped out of high school in her sophomore year. She then worked as a cook at a fried chicken shop.

While working, she met Billy Wayne Smith, her first husband. Her mother revealed that she was initially mad that he showed no interest in her and vowed to get him to marry her. In 1985, they married, and she had a son the following year.

Anna Nicole Smith at the 1993 Video Software Dealers Association Convention on July 11, 1993, in Las Vegas | Source: Getty Images

When her son, Daniel, was only six months old, she got tired of her job and took another job as a stripper. When her mother objected to the nature of her second job, she left home and asked her mother to take care of her son.

Daniel stayed with his grandmother for six years until Smith got her big break. In 1993, a year after her big break, Smith and her husband divorced.

Anna Nicole Smith on the balcony of a Hollywood apartment on January 31, 1998 | Source: Getty Images

ANNA NICOLE SMITH'S SECOND MARRIAGE

Shortly before her big break, while performing at a Houston strip club, she met billionaire oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall, in his late 80s.

Her mother described him as a 'sweetheart' but was shocked by the age difference because he was old and was in a wheelchair.

A year after Smith divorced her first husband, she, 26, married Marshall, 89, at the White Dove Wedding Chapel.

Portrait of Howard Marshall | Source: Getty Images

For the wedding, which took place on June 27, 1994, Smith wore a low-cut heavy satin gown and had her son as a ring bearer. While it was her second marriage, it was Marshall's third marriage.

The couple got married, and there were only 11 people in attendance. A champagne-and-chocolate-cake reception followed the ceremony.

After the reception, Smith, who loved her husband for what he did for her and her son, kissed him goodbye as she was off to Greece.

Anna Nicole Smith at the 1994 Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) Convention on July 26, 1994, in Las Vegas | Source: Getty Images

Marshall and Smith reportedly never consummated the marriage, but they had a bond, and after over a year of marriage, Marshall died in August 1995.

The cause of his death was natural, bringing an end to their marriage and leaving her with a lengthy legal battle against his family to access his estate.

Anna Nicole Smith at the memorial service for her husband J. Howard Marshall on August 8, 1995, in Houston | Source: Getty Images

MEETING HER NEXT PARTNER

After Marshall's death, Smith sued for half of his estate after she claimed that he had promised her half of his property and promised to set up a trust for her.

His son, E. Pierce Marshall, who inherited almost the entire estate, contested the will. Shortly after, Smith filed for bankruptcy in California, and Pierce filed a defamation claim against her bankruptcy claims.

Smith's agency, William Morris, later dropped her, and when she signed up for representation with a small legal firm, she met one of the partners, attorney Howard K. Stern.

Anna Nicole Smith and Howard Stern at the U.S. Supreme Court on February 28, 2006, in Washington | Source: Getty Images

In 2006, a federal bankruptcy judge awarded Smith $449 million, plus $25 million in damages from Pierce, but the amount was reduced to about $88 million by the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

Pierce took the case to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and in 2011, the case was back in the U.S. Supreme Court again. After a 20-year battle, the courts closed the case, with Smith's heir getting nothing.

Anna Nicole Smith at the 2004 World Music Awards on September 15, 2004, in Las Vegas | Source: Getty Images

In 2006, Smith announced her pregnancy and moved to the Bahamas with her photographer, Larry Birkhead, her entourage, lawyer, and partner, Howard K. Stern.

Smith and Stern exchanged their vows in a commitment ceremony on a cruise boat in the Caribbean. A Baptist minister had performed the ceremony.

Anna Nicole Smith and Howard Stern at the World Music Awards on September 15, 2004, in Las Vegas | Source: Getty Images

SMITH LOSES HER FIRST CHILD

On September 7, 2006, Smith gave birth to her daughter, Dannielynn Hope, at a Nassau hospital, and three days later, her son came visiting.

While visiting his mother and baby sister, 19-year-old Daniel died in his mom's hospital bed, lying next to her. Smith was distraught, and during his funeral, she tried to jump in his coffin.

After two autopsies, they ruled Daniel's death as an accidental overdose due to a combination of three drugs, Methadone, Zoloft, and Lexapro.

Anna Nicole Smith and her son Daniel at the G-Phoria - The Award Show 4 Gamers | Source: Getty Images

ANNA NICOLE SMITH'S LAST DAYS

In the last months of her life, Smith, who had not recovered from the loss of her son, was too weak to walk or sit up. The only time she could drink anything, she drank from a baby bottle.

When she arrived at her hotel with her partner, Stern, and her psychiatrist friend, Dr. Kristine Eroshevich, she complained of pain in her backside, said that she felt cold, and had chills.

Her temperature increased to 105-degrees Fahrenheit, and when her friends asked her to go to an emergency room, a hospital, or call 911, she firmly refused.

Anna Nicole Smith at a fans meet and greet at The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on November 20, 2004 | Source: Getty Images

Shortly before she gave birth, she had spoken with her ex-boyfriend, Birkhead. He said it was a difficult conversation for both of them because she asked him not to fall in love again after discovering he was going on a tour with a female country artist.

Like her son, Smith died of an accidental overdose at a hospital in Hollywood. Her staff found her unconscious in her room on February 8, 2007, and after they performed CPR, they took her to the hospital, where she died at 39.

Dannielynn Birkhead and Larry Birkhead at the 142nd Kentucky Derby on May 07, 2016 | Source: Getty Images

HER ONLY SURVIVING CHILD

After Smith's death, Stern and Eroshevich were found guilty of conspiracy, but they had not intended to break the law when they bought medication for Smith using aliases.

Stern and Birkhead vied for custody of her daughter and several other men. Birkhead won the case after a DNA test proved his paternity.

Dannielynn has lived with him ever since, and when she turned six, she appeared in a Guess campaign to honor her mother. Birkhead has kept her out of the spotlight and revealed that Stern became a supportive friend after the paternity test.

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