Well Fed Productions

by **Chantel** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 9:31 am

Anna Nicole Smith dead
Friday Feb 9 09:00 AEDT
By ninemsn staff and wires

Anna Nicole Smith has died after collapsing in a south Florida hotel room from what appears to be a drug overdose.

The 39-year-old was taken to a local hospital before being pronounced dead.

Her death was confirmed by her lawyer.

"I can confirm that she is deceased. It's as shocking to me as to you guys," Smith's lawyer, Ronald Rale, said. "I don't know anything further. [Her lawyer and husband] Howard [Stern] obviously is speechless and grieving."

The Broward County Medical Examiner has been dispatched to the hospital to retrieve Smith's body, TMZ.com reports.

Fire rescue workers gave Smith CPR in her hotel room before she was taken to hospital, said Michael Bloom, president of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Hotel staff say they were alerted to the situation when Smith's nurse called reception at 5.38am AEST.

Police are still "processing" the scene at the hotel, where Smith had reportedly stayed three times before.

The sudden death of Smith came just five months after her 20-year-old son Daniel died in the Bahamas.

People Magazine reports that Smith's five-month-old daughter, Dannielynn Hope, is currently in the Bahamas being cared for by the mother of Shane Gibson, a high-ranking Bahamian official who is a close friend of the family.

The reality TV star and former Playboy playmate lived a bizarre life that included her performing as a topless dancer and marrying an octogenerian oil tycoon shortly before he died.

The millionaire's death started off a legal feud between his stepson and Smith, who claimed she had a right to his estate.

That was just one of several legal battles Smith has faced, before her death she had been ordered to have her daughter Dannielynn undergo a paternity test as part of a lawsuit by an ex-boyfriend, Larry Birkhead.

Birkhead sued Smith in October, demanding she have the paternity test because he believed he was the father of the girl.

AP reports that Debra Opri, the attorney who filed Birkhead's paternity suit, said he "is devastated. He is inconsolable, and we are taking steps now to protect the DNA testing of the child. The child is our number one priority."
Earlier this week Smith was sued for her affiliation to the diet pill company TrimSpa which allegedly uses "false or misleading" advertising.

Wayne Munroe, her Bahamian lawyer who has overseen the past months during which Smith was coping with the aftermath of her son's death, said "from my professional exposure to Anna Nicole, I can say she was always personable, down to earth and driven. All in all, a joy to have as a client."

Anna's former publicist David Granoff told MSNBC that he was "sad, but not shocked" by Anna's death. He said there was "just no spark in her anymore."