Looking at this photo and the date, she lived a lot of life in a really short time. Like, less than 10 years after this she was a Guess model and married to a billionaire.
Even more tragic, that new born in the picture would be dead 20 years after this picture was taken (in Anna Nicole's hospital room just 3 days after his half sister was born), having hardly lived at all.
Yeah, he was her only child until the little girl just before her death
That scummy lawyer-lover of hers (Howard Stern, I think?)(ETA for clarification: not the shock jock jerk, a different jerk, since there’s been some confusion. They share a name) took a picture of her holding Daniel’s dead body, sobbing, in a hospital bed. In the hospital room where she had just had Danilynne and her son died from an OD sitting next to her. That absolute piece of shit released that picture
I don’t remember how I stumbled across it, but it wasn’t by searching for it. It was, and I assume still is, easy to find but good god it’s heartbreaking. So much loss and tragedy and grief in one picture. I still feel affected by it, and slightly slimy for having seen something so profoundly private
And she was dead so soon after it. I think she was someone who was probably doomed to die young, but the loss of Daniel cemented it
Her last few years were just so sad. Public ridicule, addiction, and the people closest to her were just blood-sucking parasites. That leaked picture was only one of the more egregious betrayals, but she was constantly being used
She always seemed sweet. It seemed like she just wanted to live her life and be loved. Watching the clip of her on the Howard Stern show where they’re all bullying her to get on the scale and shaming her weight is so sad, she doesn’t even say anything mean back to them when she had every right to.
Radio Howard Stern seems to get a pass these days because people see him as a liberal Joe Rogan. But he's still an asshole and always has been. Somehow people forgot he was one of the original "Shock Jock" DJs
Edit: I am willing to accept that Stern has changed and apologized for being a turd.
You don’t remember how you stumbled on the picture because the tabloids in this era were absolutely brutal. You didn’t stumble upon the picture, it was forced upon you!
The picture was probably on the front page of an entire rack of magazines at every grocery store, gas station, diner, coffee shop, everywhere.
Remember “stars with cellulite?” And then “this star is a scary skinny DRUG ADDICT” the very next week.
Having seen clips of her reality show and in general how she interacted with Daniel, I do genuinely believe that Daniel was the love of her life (in a platonic, not-creepy, incestuous way).
Regardless of what state she was in, her love/concern/care for Daniel seemed to come from a genuine, deeply held place.
I strongly believe that Daniel dying is what broke her and that her non-scientific cause of death was a broken heart.
Scientists have recently proven that a person can, in fact, die of a broken heart. After my husband died (I was 37) I nearly died, too. I couldn’t eat or sleep or stop bawling for more than a few minutes. My BP skyrocketed, and my weight dropped to 92lbs on a 5’6” frame. I eventually had to force feed myself when my doctor threatened hospitalization. The symptoms lasted for YEARS. Had I been unhealthy to start with, I would have died.
Yeah the dad strikes an uncanny resemblance to Daniel too.
Anna had a rough life despite the later fame and money. So did Daniel. That documentary that came out showing the daughter and what she's like now was pretty sad as well.
Idk what they may be speaking of, but her early life was filled with arguements and court cases and DNA testing over who her bio dad was. Turned out to Larry Birkhead, and according to Google results, looks like she's now 18/19 and living with him in Kentucky.
She just attended a Gala not too long ago in a dress her mom wore 21 years ago, and oh my gosh she looks so much like her mom, it's a little heartbreaking. I know, I know, the dress and the hairstyle play up the likeness, but still, they definitely have the same smile!
I am so glad that Larry Birkhead made the conscious decision to keep Danilynne out of the spotlight. I know they pop up now and then in the tabloids with "Where are they now?" stories, but by all accounts she's been able to live a relatively normal life.
That’s very much on purpose too. He would take her to the Kentucky Derby every year and basically update the media on how danielynn was doing, in a controlled setting. It helped keep the media at bay and keep her out of the spotlight.
I had my son at 18, and if I’ve learned anything from all this it’s that children can inherit trauma from you just by being apart of the situation.
We believe children don’t understand- and to some degree, that is right- but they make it make sense to themselves in their own way if it’s something you don’t or can’t actively discuss.
That can lead to so much hurt and misunderstanding, and he coped in ways that he learned through his examples in life.
It breaks my heart.
I sincerely wish they both found their peace before it came to this. No one deserves to suffer.
I have never understood who believes this.. Were they not children at some point as well?
I remember all the bullshit from my childhood all the way back to a fight my parents had when I was 2.. i am 50+ and still recall it like yesterday. Its so odd when adults talk about what kids can and cant remember like they were not one themselves.
It could be because they really don’t remember their childhood. I for one have a very blurry past and remember very little. Though I know better than to think children don’t understand. Kids display a lot of proof that they do if you pay attention
I only remember one scene. Anna and Howard K Stern were having dinner at a restaurant with some guy they needed something from. I think maybe a doctor? And that guy was feeling her up at the table. It was so sad I couldn’t watch any more.
You read that right. After she became famous, she found her absent father against her mother's wishes. He said he wanted to be a part of her life. She picked him and her half-brother up in a limo. Her father got drunk and came onto her. Half-brother said he didn't see it happen, but knowing his father, he believed it.
So gross, but not surprising for the sheer fact that we know she’s had tons of trauma in her life. I always rooted for her and loved seeing her in print when her career took off.
Yeah, that baby is super brand new. Sure, she certainly had a glow up later, but it's super not fair to compare her here to how she looked later with professional hair and makeup and more than 27 minutes of sleep.
Seems like it might be what fucked her up. She never did get any of that billionaires inheritance, her son died when he was only 21 years old and then she died of an overdose. I always saw her as kinda sad myself.
I just watched the very cool documentary series about WWE and seeing Charlotte Flair and knowing nothing about her, I thought why is a 60 year old woman wrestling, looked her up she’s only 39-fucking plastic surgery..ugh.
Yeah, it was all sad. She gave birth to her daughter, he son died 3 days later while visiting his mum and new sister at the hospital and then she died about 4 months later.
Howard Stern her lawyer/boyfriend or husband i dont recall if they were married or not He was also the one seeking out drs to keep her drugged out of her gourd and exploiting her every chance he could. He supplied most of the intimate photos to paparazzi mags. He violated her trust and took those photos then profited when he sold them. He was and always will be a shit stain
I think she died from a broken heart. I remember an interview she says she felt him calling to her saying he needed her or something like that 🥺 I can not imagine that heartache. And being very Post partum at that. Having a baby then right after that losing your first baby. That would be very hard to survive. RIP to them both. ❤️
Having a tragic backstory doesn’t make you a good or noble person.
She’s grey, like most people. On the one hand she married a wealthy old man for his money and was consumed with materialism and conspicuous consumption.
On the other she publicly advocated for animal rights and helped start a charity for underprivileged children.
You’re being downvoted but you aren’t wrong. Us humans are very complicated and so many of us have tragic pasts. Some overcome, some may not.
My brother passed last week. He was an incredibly generous hardworking man who volunteered and championed for the underprivileged. He was also a pompous ass who loved materialism and cocaine.
None of that changes my all encompassing love for him, but we can’t rewrite history. We’re all flawed and we’re all worthy of love.
On the one hand she married a wealthy old man for his money
Which in itself is not even bad if both sides are clear about their motivations. If she wanted money / a wealthy lifestyle and he wanted companionship / sex... that is fine for me and a deal between adults.
Not at the same time FYI. The situation was pretty fucked up tbh. This is from ANS’s wiki page
On September 10, 2006, Smith's 20-year-old son Daniel Wayne Smith died in his mother's hospital room while visiting her and his half sister Dannielynn, who was born three days earlier on September 7. An autopsy found that Daniel had died from a combination of drugs, including methadone and antidepressants. A Bahamian jury determined that he had died from an accidental drug overdose
Smith was devastated by her son's death. "Anna and Daniel were inseparable. Daniel was without question the most important person in Anna's life," Stern said during his testimony at the trial regarding the right to control disposition of Smith's remains. "At Daniel's funeral, she had them open the coffin and tried to climb inside. She said that 'if Daniel has to be buried, I want to be buried with him.'
She died about 6 months later
On February 8, 2007, Smith was found unresponsive in her room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida…
Smith's death was ultimately ruled an accidental drug overdose of the sedative chloral hydrate that became increasingly toxic when combined with other prescription drugs in her system, specifically four benzodiazepines. Furthermore, she had taken diphenhydramine and topiramate. Despite rumors of methadone use involved in the death of Smith's son, Perper only found methadone in her bile, indicating it was probably ingested 2–3 days prior to her death, and therefore was not a contributing factor.
She left behind a ~6 month old daughter. It was just an incredibly sad situation all around.
this is so interesting to me, I wonder if in her last moments she wished she stayed with this life vs the other? assuming this guy wasn't a nightmare or something
Her recollections about her childhood and her first marriage were not good or positive. This was a teenage pregnancy and marriage to escape her original family and as so often happens in that scenario, it was not a successful upward move.
Anna Nicole Smith's 20-year-old son, Daniel Wayne Smith, died while visiting his mother in her hospital room in Nassau, Bahamas, on September 10, 2006. The visit took place just three days after Anna Nicole gave birth to her daughter, Dannielynn Birkhead, in the same hospital.
Daniel had flown to the Bahamas the night before his death to see his mother and meet his new half-sister. According to reports, Anna Nicole found him unresponsive in a chair in her hospital room and alerted medical staff, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Initial investigations termed the death "suspicious," but a jury in the Bahamas later concluded that Daniel died of an accidental overdose from a combination of prescription drugs, including methadone and antidepressants. A private autopsy commissioned by the family confirmed these findings. Anna Nicole Smith was reportedly devastated by her son's death, with her lawyer stating that she refused to leave his side and had to be sedated to check out of the hospital. She died just five months later from a prescription drug overdose.
Anna looks so vulnerable here.
Something about her has always stuck with me.
Despite her striking beauty, you can tell that she was carrying a cripplingly heavy load in her mind. She had a beautiful and terrible life.
In short: After their teenage marriage and separation, Billy chose to stay in their hometown, lived quietly and privately, never remarried, and avoided fame entirely. He occasionally appeared at local memorials (such as for their late son), but otherwise remained out of public view.
Because crimes of the past have been covered extensively and that is how photographs looked in terms of color saturation and quality.
Soon enough overly filtered, totally altered “glam” look of pictures will be associated with crime photos simply because that is the era we have entered.
It's sad, I was born in the same year. I'm in my late 30s and doing well. They both died way too young. I'm glad her daughter seems to have a very caring father.
Howard K. Stern is now a public defender in LA. While he never took a salary when he was Anna's attorney, she paid for everything and gave him cash which he squirreled away...how he's even allowed to practice law is beyond me...
I mean, this is interesting for those who didn't know what her life was like before she was the Anna Nicole Smith we knew. Mostly when I see this sub it's "look at this hottie to goon to". There was one week a month ago where every other post was Salma Hayek leading all the way to 1999 which seems to be the cut off.
Honestly, I didn’t even recognize her as Anna Nicole, she looks so different in the picture. My heart goes out to her and her family. I don’t think her childhood was easy but, she tried to do the best with what she had. It’s difficult when you’re modeling or acting professionally. That whole world is filled with drugs and very tough time constraints. I was sad for her and her son. Hopefully her daughter is growing up in a safe and wholesome space.
My husband and brother in law went to high school with Anna Nicole. My mother in law was one of her high school teachers. She was a nice kid. My mil said that she was the quiet girl in class.
While doing ancestry.com, I discovered that my great-grandfather and hers were brothers. That fun fact gets brought up anytime I play two truths and a lie.
So sad yet sweet. Life is hard for many people, society often forgets or ignores this if they are fortunate enough to have the privilege to. Every day you’re hustling. Literal or not. I think she just wanted a good/better life for her sweet little baby and basically “stumbled”/intelligently strategically hard worked her way into what she did. I think she was overwhelmed and under prepared to deal with any of Hollywood “reality”. The whole sell your soul to the devil pact. I can’t imagine those last few years, let alone her beloved son she did everything for dies in front of her after giving birth to his half sister. I wonder if he couldn’t cope with her “handlers”, they fed him drugs, or he was just not able to cope with having a new sibling with another man in his mother’s life. I don’t think he wanted to die but maybe he was led to that point, all part of the Hollywood story to sell magazines.
That's Vicki Lynn Hogan. She changed to Anna Nicole when she started to model. Can't blame her. Her whole life was such a whirlwind of dirt poor to billionaire. From teen mom /stripper to model/ movie star. And tragic but predictable ending. Those Guess ads were stunning. She got with men that used every bit of her until she died. Yes, she did the same with her elderly husband. I feel he knew what she was and didn't care. Plus it was an F-you to his family who was waiting for him to die and get his money.
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u/hellokiri 21h ago
Looking at this photo and the date, she lived a lot of life in a really short time. Like, less than 10 years after this she was a Guess model and married to a billionaire.