Cause of Death - Finally Released: March 26, 2007
Vickie Lynn Marshall
(November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007)
Vickie Lynn Marshall (November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007), better known under the stage name of Anna Nicole Smith, was an American model, actress and celebrity. Her highly publicized marriage to oil business executive and billionaire J. Howard Marshall, 63 years her senior, resulted in speculation that she married the octogenarian for his money, which she denied. Following his death, she began a lengthy legal battle over a share of his estate; her case, Marshall v. Marshall, reached the U.S. Supreme Court on a question of federal jurisdiction.
Born and raised in Texas, Smith dropped out of high school and first married at the age of 17. She first gained popularity in Playboy, becoming the 1993 Playmate of the Year. She modeled for clothing companies, including Guess jeans. She starred in her own reality TV show, The Anna Nicole Show. In the months before her death, she was the focus of renewed press coverage surrounding the death of her son, Daniel Smith.
Early Life
She was born Vickie Lynn Hogan in Houston, Texas, the only child of Donald Eugene Hogan (born July 12, 1947) and Virgie Mae Tabers (born July 12, 1951), who married on February 22, 1967. Her father then left the family; he and Virgie divorced on November 4, 1969. Virgie’s oldest child, Vickie’s half-brother, is David Luther Tacker, Jr. (born 1966). Vickie Hogan was raised by her mother and aunt, Elaine (Todd) Tabers, wife of Virgie’s brother, Melvin Tabers.
Virgie, who worked as a law enforcement officer in Houston for 28 years, subsequently married Donald R. Hart in 1971. Their child was Donald Ray Hart, Jr. (born 1972). After Virgie married Donald Hart, Vickie Hogan changed her name to Nikki Hart. Virgie and Donald Hart divorced in 1983. Virgie then married Joe D. Thompson (1987, divorced 1991), James T. Sanders (1996, died 1996), and James H. Arthur (2000).
Vickie’s father Donald married Wanda Faye Atkinson in 1970 and had the following children: Donna Hogan (born 1971), Donald Ray Hogan (born 1973), and Amy Hogan (born 1975). Donald and Wanda were divorced in 1978. Donald married Carolyn S. Vandver in 1996.
Vickie attended Durkee Elementary School and Aldine Intermediate School in Houston. When she was in the 9th grade, she was sent to live with her mother’s younger sister, Kay Beall, in Mexia, Texas. At Mexia High School, Vickie failed her freshman year; she quit school during her sophomore year.
While working as a waitress at Jim’s Krispy Fried Chicken in Mexia, she met Billy Wayne Smith, who was a cook at the restaurant. The couple married April 4, 1985; she was 17 and he was 16. The next year, she gave birth to their son, Daniel Wayne Smith. She and Billy separated in 1987 and she moved to Houston with one-year-old Daniel. They were officially divorced February 3, 1993, in Houston.
Initially, she found employment at Wal-Mart, then as a waitress at Red Lobster. She then became an exotic dancer, and in 1991, began taking modeling and voice lessons. In October of that year, she saw an ad in the newspaper to audition for Playboy magazine…more
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