17 May 2023 , 19:17
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Anna Nicole Smith, who was born Vickie Lynn Hogan, was an American model, actress, and television personality.
The blonde beauty, who was famed for starting her career as a Playboy magazine centerfold in May 1992, died when she was just 39.
It wasn't until the mid nineties though – after her marriage to billionaire James Howard Marshall, who was 63 years her senior – that Anna shot to superstardom and garnered worldwide fame.
But her rise was met with demise when she was found unresponsive on February 8, 2007, with her death ruled as an accidental drug overdose of the sedative chloral hydrate.
Anna Nicole's daughter Dannielynn lives in Kentucky with her dad (Getty Images for Churchill Downs)
Anna Nicole shot to fame in the 1990s (Getty Images)The sedative that Anna had taken had become increasingly toxic when it was combined with other prescription drugs in her system - specifically four different benzodiazepines.
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But before her tragic death, Anna had not long welcomed her second-born child, a baby girl.
Anna Nicole welcomed daughter Dannielynn in 2006
Anna welcomed Dannielynn in 2006, just months before she died (WireImage)
The blonde beauty was a mum to two children (Getty Images)On June 1, 2006, Anna announced she was pregnant, with her daughter Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern - as she was originally named - born on September 7 of that year.
Just mere days after Dannielynn was born, Anna's 20-year-old son, Daniel Wayne Smith, died on September 10.
Daniel died while he visited his mum and newborn baby sister, with an autopsy finding that he died from an accidental drug overdose.
Anna welcomed her son with Billy Wayne Smith, whom she wed in 1984 before finding fame, while the father of Dannielynn wasn't clear at first.
Embroiled in a paternity row until death
Anna Nicole's death came months after her son died from an accidental overdose (WireImage)In an interview on Larry King Live after the death of Daniel's death, an attorney, Howard K. Stern, said that he and Smith had been in a relationship for "a very long time", and claimed he was the father of Anna's daughter.
Entertainment photographer Larry Birkhead also claimed that he was the Dannielynn's father and filed a lawsuit to establish paternity, despite the birth certificate from the Bahamas, where the baby was born, stating Howard as the father.
DNA tests were then ordered to determine who the biological father of Anna's daughter was, with the paternity row spiraling as Anna dealt with her son's passing.
Reports say that Anna suffered from depression, mental health issues and drug abuse in the wake of her son's death, which would end up contributing to her own untimely death.
Anna sadly died in February 2007, just months after welcoming her daughter, with the paternity row still ongoing.
Anna Nicole Smith's tragic cause of death explained ahead of Netflix documentary
Just days after her passing, Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband, Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, said that he had had a 10-year-long affair with Smith and could potentially be the father of her daughter.
While Alexander Denk, a former bodyguard and chef, also claimed that he had an affair with the beautiful blonde and could be the father.
In April 2007, a Bahamian judge ruled that DNA tests had established photographer Larry as the father of Anna's daughter.
The Playmate's last will and testament
Anna Nicole's last will and testament was filed years before she had a daughter (Netflix)Anna had filed her will in July 2001 - before her daughter was born, or her son had died - with her leaving everything to Daniel
It is reported that Anna's last will and testament indicated her personal property valued at $10,000 and real estate property valued at $1.8 million, with a $1.1 million mortgage, at the time of her death.
With Larry raising Dannielynn, Anna's daughter had the potential to inherit several million dollars from the estate of Annie Nicole Smith’s second husband, billionaire James Howard Marshall.
But despite years of gruelling legal battles that went all the way to the Supreme Court and continued long after Anna had died, her daughter Dannielynn ended up with nothing, according to the statement at the end of Netflix's Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me film.
Where is Dannielynn today?
Dannielynn looks just like her mum, and has followed in her modelling footsteps (Getty Images for Churchill Downs)Dannielynn resided in Kentucky with her father since moving back to the US from the Bahamas when her biological father was confirmed as Larry.
Following in her mum's footsteps, Dannielynn started modelling at just six years of age, with her appearing in a campaign for Guess Kids in 2013.
At the time, co-founder of the brand, Paul Marciano, said: "Dannielynn has the same playful spirit that her mother had on a set."
Dannielynn Birkhead wants a Hollywood career on her own termsDannielynn shares an Instagram account with her father, which was wiped of photos ahead of the Netflix film being released.
Sharing a snap of the sea, Larry penned: "Waiting for some of the waves to pass... then will return."
Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me dropped onto Netflix on May 16 and is available to stream now.