How Anna Nicole Smith Lost So Much Of Her Money

Anna Nicole Smith was once one of the biggest rags-to-riches stories in Hollywood. Born Vickie Lynn Hogan in Texas, she dropped out of high school and quickly married, became a young mother at just 18 years old, and started working at a strip club. That was where she met her next husband, Howard Marshall, who was 86 years old at the time. However, it wasn't until she started making a name for herself that she married the billionaire in 1994. By then, Smith had scored Playmate of the Year and eventually became the face of Guess. Her star only grew as she got cast in "Naked Gun 33 ⅓: The Final Insult" and starred in her own reality show, "The Anna Nicole Show."

While Smith was married to Marshall, she learned to love the high life. As reported by Texas Monthly, during a trip to Harry Winston, the "Illegal Aliens" star racked up $2 million in jewels. When Marshall died in 1995, Smith was naturally expecting to get a part of his fortune, but unfortunately, she discovered that her late husband had left her out of his will. With the money gone and Smith trying to battle it out in court with Marshall's son over the estate, the late Playboy model eventually had to file for bankruptcy.

Anna Nicole Smith may have married one of the richest men in America, but she was left with nothing after Howard Marshall died. It appears she wasn't fiscally responsible, either, and filed for bankruptcy a year after her husband's death, according to CBS News. In the documents revealed by The Associated Press over a decade later, Smith was making hundreds of thousands of dollars in the entertainment industry but had failed to pay taxes and utility bills. The files also stated that Smith lost over $2 million worth of jewelry and was often out of it when the bankruptcy examiner interviewed her. "She could barely walk, her speech was slurred, she had to lie down in a darkened room as the light bothered her and she could not remember what she said from one moment to the next," the official stated.

After battling it out in court for years with Howard's son, Pierce Marshall, a judge granted Smith around $450 million in 2000. "I'm so excited. No one ever took care of me in my whole life, and this man did and I loved him for that. I hope it ends up like my husband wanted it to. I hope it ends up that I get everything that he wanted me to have," she told a Houston station, notes ABC News. Smith's legal woes didn't end there, however. Pierce continued to drag on the lawsuit, and amid the "Skyscraper" actor's windfall, she was hit with another one of her own as well.

After being awarded nearly half a billion dollars, Anna Nicole Smith got embroiled in another legal matter. As reported by ABC News, movie producer Vince Offer claimed Smith breached her contract with him in 1996 after ditching her role in "The Underground Comedy Movie" starring Joey Buttafuoco. "I couldn't sell this movie I made called Underground Comedy. I put all my own money into it and I sued Anna Nicole Smith because we lost $100,000 because she backed out the day before," Offer told CNBC.

Meanwhile, Pierce Marshall was still on his quest to get his family's fortune back. The court reduced Smith's award to $88 million in 2002, The Daily Record reported. The fight wasn't over yet, as Marshall vowed to appeal the ruling. The case was still ongoing when Smith died from an accidental overdose in 2007. According to some outlets, the late actor only had $1 million to her name at the time.