Anna Nicole Smith (Celebrity In Spotlight)

Vickie Lynn Marshall (November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007), better known under the stage name of Anna Nicole Smith, was an American model and television personality. Her highly publicized marriage to oil business executive and billionaire J. Howard Marshall, 63 years her senior, resulted in speculation that she married the octogenarian for his money,which she denied.Anna Nicole first gained popularity in Playboy, becoming the 1993 Playmate of the Year. She modeled for clothing companies, including Guess jeans. She starred in her own reality TV show, The Anna Nicole Show.

Smith's career took off after she was chosen by Hugh Hefner to appear on the cover of the March 1992 issue of Playboy, where she is listed as Vickie Smith, wearing a low-cut evening gown.Smith said she planned to be "the next Marilyn Monroe".Becoming one of Playboy's most popular models, Smith was heavier and larger than the typical Playboy model.Smith was chosen to be the 1993 Playmate of the Year. By the time of her PMOY pictorial, she had settled on the name Anna Nicole Smith.

Although her film appearances in The Hudsucker Proxy and Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult were highly publicized in 1994, little was done to further Smith's acting career. Her first starring role was as Colette Dubois, a retired spy seeking revenge for the murder of her husband, in the action/thriller To the Limit (1995).Smith next starred in the action/thriller Skyscraper (1997), which she also produced.In 2002, she debuted in her own reality TV series on the E! cable network, The Anna Nicole Show.The series focused on her personal and private life in the manner of other reality shows, such as the ratings hit The Osbournes.

Smith's next appearance on the big screen was as herself in Wasabi Tuna (2003), about a group of friends who kidnap her dog, Sugar-Pie, on Halloween. She appeared as herself again in Be Cool (2005), a crime/comedy about the film and music industries that stars John Travolta, Uma Thurman and The Rock. In Illegal Aliens she stars as "Lucy", which she also produced, a sci-fi/comedy about beautiful space aliens saving the earth from evil.On February 8, 2007, Smith was found unresponsive in room 607 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.Ultimately her death was ruled an accidental drug overdose of the sedative chloral hydrate that became increasingly lethal when combined with other prescription drugs in her system.