Anna Nicole Smith dead at 39

By: Karl Schneider
Date: Thursday, February 08, 2007
Source: AP

Anna Nicole Smith was pronounced dead Thursday in a South Florida hospital after she was found unconscious by a private nurse and bodyguard.

"I can confirm that she is deceased. It's as shocking to me as to you guys," Smith's attorney, Ronald Rale, told Reuters. "I don't know anything further. [Her lawyer and husband] Howard [K. Stern], obviously, is speechless and grieving."

Smith was a Playboy Playmate in 1993, a model with Guess and later became infamous for her marriage to billionaire J. Howard Marshall II.  She starred in various films including Illegal Aliens, Skyscraper, To the Limit and Naked Gun 33 1/3, but she was famous for her roller coaster life.

Smith's son, Daniel, passed away a few months ago under eerily similar circumstances, just after the birth of Smith's daughter.  Daniel reportedly died from a lethal dose of methadone and antidepressants caused cardiac dysrhythmia.  It will likely be some time before we know the cause of Anna Nicole Smith's death.

An initial autopsy is scheduled for Friday.


KJ's Take:  A sad sad end to a tragic few months.