Ever heard that old saying about those who burn twice as bright burn out twice as fast? There are many celebs this saying could apply to, but few more than Anna Nicole Smith. She went from a relatively unknown person to an overnight celebrity. However, shortly after she had largely passed out of our pop culture consciousness, she accidentally overdosed and died.
Given the sudden death of someone who had led such a tumultuous life, we didn’t think Anna Nicole Smith’s story could get much sadder. But the tale of how she lost her wealth–basically, a tale of her financial rise and fall–is the embodiment of modern tragedy.
Don’t believe us? Keep reading to discover the entire sad story of how Anna Nicole Smith lost her wealth!
The original rags to riches story
At first, the story of Anna Nicole Smith was an inspiring one. She had already dropped out of high school by age 18 and was a single mother trying to raise her child by working at a strip club. While at this job, she met the 86-year-old billionaire Howard Marshall. This was her future husband, though they didn’t get married right away.
In fact, they didn’t get married until 1994, when Smith was a celebrity in her own right. By then, she was Playboy’s Playmate of the Year, had her own reality show, and even made cameos in major films like Naked Gun 33 ⅓: The Final Insult. Given her own self-made success and the fact that she was married to a billionaire, it looked like Smith had her entire life ahead of her.
Unfortunately, her tragedy was just beginning.