The death of a centerfold

Natalie Morales • Profile

She rose from a tiny Texas town to become one of the most well-known women in the world.

But for many, Anna Nicole Smith will be remembered for being over the top, out of control, often seeming precariously close to a very public implosion.

And then on Thursday afternoon, that implosion finally came, in a suite at a Florida hotel and casino.

With her unexplained death at age 39, the comparison to Marilyn Monroe that Anna had courted her whole life seems more apt than ever.

But Anna Nicole was an extreme version.  If Marilyn was "a candle in the wind," Anna was more like "a matchstick in a hurricane."

Anna Nicole’s life was marked by a series of dramatic transformations—unlikely triumphs followed by painful setbacks. All in a quest for attention that ultimately brought as much heartache as it did satisfaction.

Paula Froelich, New York Post: I think she got what she wanted. she got the fame, she got the money and then she got there and she just kind of said, “now what?”

Tonight, the latest on the questions surrounding her death, exclusive information about where her baby girl could be now... and the whole story of Anna Nicole Smith from those who worked with her, those who grew up with her, and those who were with her during those times when everything was falling apart.

She grew up Vickie Lynn Hogan in Mexia, Texas, raised by her single mom, a deputy sheriff.

Gail Harrison, Anna’s first cousin and friend: We struggled, our whole family did. We weren’t what you would call “dirt poor” but we were not what she became.

Anna dropped out of high school and found work at Jim’s Krispy Fried Chicken. She found love with the fry cook, Billy Smith, who became her first husband. She was 17. He was 16. Their son Daniel was born a year later.

Harrison: He was her pride and joy. You could look at thousands of pictures and you could tell how she loved him and he loved her too.

The marriage didn’t even last until Daniel’s second birthday. Anna was now a young single mom with little money and little education to fall back on. But Anna was about to make her first big transformation.

She moved to Houston, started sending out photos to modeling agencies and magazines. To pay the bills, she worked in a strip club.

Harrison: A lot of people didn’t approve but it was her life, it was her choice.

That’s where she met oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall the second. If opposites attract, the pull between Howard and Anna must have been powerful. She was 23. He was 86.  She was barely making ends meet. He was worth 1.6 billion dollars. 

Harrison: I don’t believe she was after him for his money. I think it was a two-way street. She enjoyed his money and he enjoyed giving it to her.

Things were starting to look up for Anna’s career too. The small town girl with the big time body caught the eye of Hugh Hefner at Playboy magazine. She was a cover girl in 1992, a centerfold in 1993, and playmate of the year.

Ray Manzella, manager: A lot of people can be photographed and they can be beautiful. I think what Hefner had seen, is the amazing way that she could go after the camera. 

Personal manager Ray Manzella, had hoped to strike a deal with Anna Nicole.

Manzella: I mean, I think Marilyn Monroe even said it once. Something like “making love to the camera.” I mean, she owned that camera. 

The people at Guess? Jeans thought so too. She became the face—and body—for a major ad campaign.

The rising model married her wheelchair bound soul mate in a small ceremony at Houston’s White Dove Wedding Chapel in 1994.

Some called her “a gold digger.” She called herself “a woman in love.”

And Anna seemed to be thriving on her newfound celebrity.

But trouble at home would soon overshadow her burgeoning fame. Marshall died of pneumonia just 14 months after they said their “I do’s.” At the funeral, the widow wore white.

J.D. Heyman, People Magazine: Whether or not these publicity stunts helped her is an open question. They just went to this idea that she was an erratic person who would do anything for publicity.

Natalie Morales, NBC News: But was she did she drive the attention to herself or was it more the tabloids looking for that?

Heyman: Well, I think Anna had a very strange relationship with the media. She craved the attention.

It was around the same time that Ray Manzella noticed she had undergone another one of her transformations. And it wasn’t a good one.

Manzella: She had come into my office and I was shocked that it was the same person, because she had put on so much weight.

Weight problems and substance abuse would become an ongoing theme for Anna. During her marriage, she’d been hospitalized briefly for an overdose of alcohol, Vicodin, and Xanax.

And now, Anna was headed for the first of many long, downward slides.

MORE FROM DATELINE

Dateline Section Front

NBC's People of the Year: Read the interviews The Night Mary Jane Disappeared The Friday the 13th Mystery Mystery at Lost Dog Road Slideshow: Photos in the Bob Duke case When The Smoke Clears   Sneak peek: When The Smoke Clears Slideshow: The Christie Fleming murder Transcript: Dan Brown and Secrets Of The Lost Symbol Through The Pouring Rain Dateline Section Front   Add Dateline headlines to your news reader: