Anna Nicole Smith: Another Media Casualty

Anna Nicole Smith was preyed upon and exploited by the media, her family and her so-called friends for as long as I could remember. Her bubbly and wacky behavior made her the butt of jokes, skits and ongoing media scrutiny. Not even the death of her son Daniel was cause enough to allow this woman a moment's peace and now she's gone.

She was born Vickie Lynn Hogan on November 28, 1967 in Houston, Texas. Although her life was less then glamorous, she was determined to make something out of herself; she was determined to be the next Marilyn Monroe.

In March 1992 she appeared on the cover of Playboy. She was one of the magazine's most popular models in 1993 she was named Playmate of the Year, an accomplishment that Anna was proud of and one that she would speak of for many years to come.

Anna wasn't as dumb as everyone thought she was, she turned her success as a Playmate into a spokes model contract with Guess Jeans. She also tried out acting, and although she had a few roles, nothing really big ever came of it.

In October 1991 Anna met billionaire J. Howard Marshall. In 1994 they married. From that point on Anna Nicole became a prisoner of the press, even more so after Marshall's death in 1995. The media circus was in full swing.

After Marshall's death Anna found herself in court, fighting for what she believed was her part of Marshall's billions, but she didn't have an easy fight ahead of her, Marshall's son was determined to see Anna Nicole without any of his father's money.

In March 2002, a federal judge issued a ruling awarding Anna Nicole $88 million, but In December 2004, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the March 2002 decision, but Anna continued to fight.

In 2002 Anna got in my opinion a much deserved break. She was given her own reality show on the E! Network, the Anna Nicole Smith Show.

Week after week viewers tuned in to watch Smith act as goofy as possible. Sometimes she appeared a little off balance, but to her defense, who hasn't? The show gave the world a glimpse of Anna Nicole the person, and it showed her interacting with the one true love of her life, her son Daniel.