When Anna Nicole Smith passed away in 2007, fans remembered her as a well-loved, eccentric, and troubled star who had married an aging oil tycoon too close to his death. Her life and passing were a fascinating subject to anyone who had heard her name or her story.
She also left behind her daughter Dannielynn, which created a media storm as her true paternity was revealed. Anna Nicole had lied and covered up who her daughter's father was, though the truth came out after her passing.
But there was one person who knew her long before her rise to fame, though he never made it into the spotlight by her side. Anna Nicole's first husband was the father of her son Daniel Smith, and in fact, his was the name that Anna had always gone by.
Anna Nicole was born Vickie Lynn Hogan, but she later chose a stage name with the help of Paul Marciano, the head of Guess. But she didn't have to go far for inspiration; she used her ex-husband's last name.
The story started long before that, though. One of many forgotten facts about Anna Nicole is that she had dropped out of school at age 14. The star-to-be was working at a fried chicken restaurant when she met Billy Wayne Smith.
The two got married in 1985, and Vickie gave birth to her son in 1986. Do You Remember seemingly got the year of Daniel's birth wrong, but they claim that by 1991, Anna Nicole was working at a club in Houston. That's where she met J. Howard Marshall II, whom she later married.
And by that time, it seems, Anna Nicole had already left Billy behind. The two weren't divorced until 1993; about a year and a half later, Anna Nicole married Marshall.
After that, it seemed Billy Smith had only been a blip on the starlet's radar. Despite still being legally married to her husband, a younger Vickie Lynn Smith didn't seem too keen on home life.
Many journalists highlight that Anna Nicole's mom took care of baby Daniel while she was working, which leads fans to believe that the young mom had split from her husband long before their actual divorce.
Details are hard to come by, however, although there are early photos of an awkward Vickie Lynn with Billy and their infant son. Billy made another appearance in the star's life, however, when their son passed away in 2006.
While Anna Nicole was in the Bahamas with her young daughter, Billy and his family had a memorial service for Daniel in Mexia, Texas. Daniel was ultimately buried in the Bahamas, however, begging the question of whether she and Billy were in touch then.
Today, Anna Nicole's ex is 53, and he hasn't been mentioned since the memorial for Daniel, and he apparently didn't attend Anna Nicole's funeral in the Bahamas.
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