A Look Back At Anna Nicole Smith, One Year Later
Today marks one year since Anna Nicole Smith died of an accidental overdose of prescription medicine. Anna was 39 years old at the time of her death.
A mere six months prior to Anna’s death, the model-turned-reality star was blessed with a joyous occasion, the birth of her second child Dannielynn, only to face the worst moment any parent could ever face a mere three days later, the death of her son, 20-year-old Daniel.
Anna’s never been easy to pigeonhole or analyze as a media figure. She’s either engaged or disengaged. When Anna was engaged with the world, she was vivacious, stunningly beautiful and charismatic. When she was disengaged she seemed confused, unfocused and randomly distracted.
Even with this duality of characters within one person, anyone who was paying attention could tell Anna was deeply and fundamentally devastated by her son’s death. In her inimitable way, she was expressing her grief by simply disengaging with reality, and what we witnessed was Anna slipping away. It really should not have been a shock that Anna died so young, and so soon after her son’s death, she simply had given in and lost the will, her spirit died it seemed, and all that remained was the vessel. And yes Anna had spirit, something we sometimes forget as the media twists the public persona famous people put forth and the private selves they try and hide.
Someone who knew Anna well was author Ian Halperin. We had Ian on our Glosslip Radio show a couple weeks ago and while researching for that interview, I’d read somewhere he and Anna had had an intimate relationship while he was writing his book Hollywood Undercover. I *REALLY* wanted to dig into this aspect of his experiences, but I could tell he was guarded about his feelings and relationship with her, (unlike say every single other human being who ever spent even a minute with Anna).
Ian revealed exclusively to me, his feelings upon finding out Anna had died, and what he would like to people to remember about her posthumously, especially her beloved daughter Danniellynn.
I was devastated when I heard Anna died. The world lost a person with a big heart. Anna would have wanted Dannielynn to do something outside the entertainment business - like invent something cool or work with underprivileged youth. Anna was sick of showbiz and once told me “I’d never want my kids to go through the b.s. I went through. If I had to do it all over I’d definitely work a different job.”
I had a tryst with Anna Nicole and became close friends with her. I was extremely saddened the way the media portrayed her when she died. She was the furthest thing from the drugged out, desperate woman they made her out to be. In fact, Anna was a very spiritual being and wanted to get away from Hollywood forever. That’s why she moved to the Bahamas with Howard K. Stern, who she told me was the only person she ever trusted beside her son Daniel.
The last time I saw Anna we wrote some poetry together. She described Hollywood as being a town infested with “confused kids who have nothing better to do than fill their bodies with crack, smack and jack”. She told me she wanted to join a religious or spiritual group and also wanted to get her body cleansed. Anna was one of the nicest, most sincere people I ever met.
It’s sad that it took her death for a genuine portrayal of Anna to emerge. Beyond the characture of Anna as a ditsy, bubble-headed, bleach blonde; clearly a sensitive, kind-hearted and far more self-aware human lay beneath. What is also truly tragic about Anna’s death, is that despite the grave warning the public received on the dangers of mixing prescriptions meds, the entertainment community lost yet another member with the death of Heath Ledger.
Let’s make 2008 a tragedy-free year. This type of death is preventable, so let’s exercise common sense Hollywood.
Pink Stripe WordPress Theme Designed by Joni Mueller &
Great post Dawn!
I enjoy your contributions to Shaun’s show on BTR.
I listen to the podacst of each show while slugging away at work. Keep up the good work!
Matt
Comment by Matt in Canada — February 8, 2008 @ 1:44 pm
Thanks Matt. K and I try our best. Shaun’s show is really great, I feel honored to be a regular guest.
Comment by D — February 8, 2008 @ 2:34 pm
Such a tragic figure, such a cautionary tale.
The best way we can respect her memory is to learn from her life.
Comment by k — February 8, 2008 @ 3:40 pm
A side of her very few people know about, which is sad, because she rarely appeared that way in the videos or her TV show.
Sadly, I guess part of that beauty described was being naive and trusting — something that enabled HKS to take advantage of her.
I really do believe as you say, that when Daniel died her heart really did break, and that’s why she died. One would ask “wouldn’t she want to live for her new baby” but I think Daniel was such a huge part of her life for so very long that she lost a very big part of herself when he died, and she just couldn’t live without him.
Comment by crazymom — February 8, 2008 @ 5:32 pm
I think the sadest part of this whole sordid affair is that one year later, the same people who contributed to her problems in life, continue to exploit her daughter and her memory. It’s incredibly sad.
Comment by noodlemonkey — February 12, 2008 @ 6:09 pm