Anna Nicole Smith was born Vicki Lynn Hogan November 28, 1967, in Mexia, Texas. After her father had abandoned her and her mother when she was a child, she was raised by her mother and aunt, commuting back and forth to each caretaker. At the age of 17, Anna (then Vicki) married Billy Smith, and that same year, they welcomed their son Daniel into the world. Time with Billy was short-lived, as young Anna, now a mother, headed to Houston to turn over a new leaf.
In order to pay the bills, she began working at topless bars in Houston, where she was actually more noticed for her rear than for her breasts (she did not have the breasts that men recognize today). But since she was not as rail-thin as the rest of the dancers, Anna did not work the coveted hours of topless clubs, rather she was scheduled in the afternoon shift. Regardless, Anna (who then used several pseudonyms such as Nikki and Robin, before finally sticking to Anna Nicole) was discovered by a photographer, and quickly realized that she can use her body as a career tool. Since her childhood dream was to become the next Marilyn Monroe (her idol), Anna was inspired to make more of a name for herself.
After a breast enlargement and some cosmetic surgery, Anna was ready for the big time, and ironically, headed in the same direction as Marilyn Monroe. She entered the Play.boy Cover Contest, and appeared on the cover of the magazine at the age of 24. 2 years later, she was crowned 1993's Play.mate of the Year, which although is an honor in itself, led Anna to bigger and better things. Thanks to her Play.boy appearance, Guess? president Paul Marciano, also responsible for the modeling careers of Eva Herzigova, Josie Maran and Shana Zadrick, saw Anna's potential and cast her as her a Guess? model.
She made her big screen debut in the 1994 slapstick comedy, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, followed by an appearance in The Hudsucker Proxy, starring Tim Robbins. If audiences didn't catch Anna in these films, they surely heard of her questionable marriage to oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II -- 60 years her senior -- on the 27th of June 1994. Anna had remained low-profile, until Marshall's death in 1995.
In 1996, the former Play.mate filed for bankruptcy, after a former female assistant sued her for sexual harassment (she would have had to pay $850,000). Although Marshall had left Anna with an inheritance, his heirs claimed that she could not receive what he left her, accusing her of mistreating him in his last few days and not marrying him for the right intentions. She was not mentioned in any of his wills, but she claimed that he offered her half of his money, to speed up her decision to marry him. Anna was rewarded $450 million after a court battle, to the chagrin of Marshall's son.
The television viewing public can now get a bigger glimpse of Big, as she's starring in her very own reality series, on E!. And judging by past Anna Nicole media coverage, we'll just eat it up -- cleavage and all.
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