Who was Anna Nicole Smith? In the brand new Netflix document, Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me, the director Ursula Macfarlane weaves a tragic web of complex and, at times, contradictory stories about Anna Nicole Smith’s life. Model.
It is a book that Doesn’t Know Me and documents the deconstruction of the public perception Smith has from small-town girl, Playboy friend, and Guess model, and finally, “gold digger” and ” white trash” from reality TV celebrity to American tragedy.
Trailer for the Netflix’s Anna Nicole Smith documentary.
The mother of Vickie Lynn Hogan Smith lived the bulk of her early years in the tiny Texan city of Mexia. After moving to Houston at the age of 19 to find a better lifestyle to help her son, Daniel, Smith worked as a stripper before making enough money to pay for a breast augmentation.
The surgery was instrumental in securing her fame and acclaim as she constructed her image as a bigger-than-life version of a hyper-feminine image. It also sealed her fate.
Back pain caused by her breast growth caused Smith to take prescription medications throughout the remainder of her existence.
While stripping out Houston, Smith met billionaire Texan oil businessman J. Howard Marshall, whom she was older than her.
In exchange for her business, Marshall looked after Smith and her son financially. Although Smith was frequently called the Gold-digger in the report on the couple In You Don’t Know Me, the relationship is portrayed as genuine and caring.
Smith was adamant about not marrying Marshall till she established her name. True to her word, she became an international star and got married three years later in Houston’s White Dove Wedding Chapel.
Smith’s superstar power
Like another famous blonde bombshell of her time, Pamela Anderson, Playboy magazine was the catalyst behind Smith’s success and fame. The magazine’s cover first featured Smith in February 1993; Smith was quickly appointed Playmate of the Month in May. She was then named the award for playmate for the entire year in 1993.
Smith was one of Playboy’s most famous models. She ap
Anna Nicole Smith in a still from You Don’t Know Me. Courtesy of Netflix
Playboy brought about other modeling jobs, including one of the most well-known fashion labels, Guess. Smith’s goddess-like image, which was splashed across H&M billboards for lingerie, was reportedly responsible for causing the occurrence of a number of accidents that occurred in Norway.
Smith’s story was also filled with tragedy. The documentary follows the long and unending trial concerning her husband’s fortune, her abrasive and sexist treatment in the media, her son’s fatal overdose in 2006 and her son’s death that year, and the end of her daughter in the year following in 2007, aged only 39.
Sometimes, the portrayal of the tragedy of Smith’s death in You Don’t Know Me is more dramatic than her achievements.
“Loved by millions, but only a few are loved.’
It isn’t easy to get an authentic understanding of the life and personality of Smith. A sexist media culture has heavily formed Smith’s reputation. Women in the spotlight are often criticized by media outlets like the British and American media, especially those who are able to live beyond the Western norms of female acceptance and desirability.
In a particularly memorable clip, American radio presenter Howard Stern requests Smith to weigh himself in public to entertain his listeners.
In the last few years, there has been a surge in reviews about the way in which women were treated given to women during the 1990s and the 2000s. The singer Britney Spears, along with the socialite Paris Hilton, have each had documentaries filmed of their life experiences (though Spears denounced some of the films made about her on Instagram).
