Chapter 1: What is discussed at the start of this section?
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Welcome back to Write Answers Mostly, a podcast on what you didn't learn in history class but you really wanted to. I'm Claire Donald. And I'm Tess Palomo. Rammies, welcome back to Dark Hollywood Month. Buckle up, kids. Buckle up, kids, you guys, this episode today. I mean, I've been wanting to cover her for so long. Truly for years. For years. And this is the perfect opportunity.
Anna Nicole Smith, her story puts the dark in dark Hollywood. I will tell you that. Tess, what do you know about Anna Nicole Smith? Honestly, I just really know that she was married to a super old man. Yeah. Who looks like he was on Death's Door. Yeah. You know, like not to offend. And then I know that she had the reality show that I didn't watch. It was on E? It was on E.
I remember seeing clips, and it was definitely a show that my mom was like, this is not something you should be watching. Well, really, it wasn't a show that anyone should have been watching, and we'll talk about it. But that's really all I know. I can picture her on the cover of People and Us and In Touch so clearly, like that mole. And I know a little bit about her son. Did you say that mole?
That mole. Oh, her mole. Yes. Very Marilyn Monroe vibe.
Yes.
And her son. Yeah. And a little bit about that. But everything else, I'm like, who the hell is this woman? And why did you do this? Well, it's such a good question, Tess. Yeah, I feel like she, if you were a 90s kid and early 2000s kid, you couldn't go to the grocery store without seeing Anna Nicole Smith kind of everywhere. Yeah, she really was. She was everywhere.
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Chapter 2: How did Anna Nicole Smith's childhood influence her later life?
Yeah, I don't think that she told him. And she has her son, Daniel Wayne Smith, on January 22nd, 1986 at 18 years old. Damn. When Daniel was six months old, Anna was like, you know what? This town is too small for me. Like, I'm done. I'm done here. There's nothing left for me. I'm going to go chase my dreams. I'm going to go be a famous model and make a name for myself. So she goes to Houston.
And at first she tries to get some steady work. She gets a job at Walmart. She gets a job at Red Lobster. But she's only making about $60 a week. And she is struggling to pay the bills as a single mom. Yeah. Houston has so much money at this time. And it still does. All the oil money. Oh, of course. So all the oil fields there. With that money comes a lot of powerful men.
And with a lot of money and powerful men come a lot of strip clubs. Yeah. There were so many strip clubs in that area. So Anna walks into the strip club called the Executive Suite and everyone just like immediately notices her. Again, she's like quite striking. She's 5'11". Yeah, yeah. All the men notice her. The girls working there notice her. Everyone's like, who is that gorgeous woman?
And this woman, Missy, who goes on to be a friend and I love her.
Okay.
Later on. Okay. Goes up to her because she was like, oh, I can tell that everyone's just going to eat her alive. I'm going to go take her under my wing. Yeah. And Missy said that Anna was just very sweet and very naive and that she was just shaking watching the girls up on stage. And she was like, I don't know if I'm going to be able to do that. It must be so intimidating like before you do it.
Can you imagine? Truly no. And so Anna was like, I don't know if I will be able to do that. So she does her audition, but she can't dance. Yeah, she doesn't give me dancer. No. Well, Tess, her dancing was described as an emu trying to fly. I could totally see. She's kind of awkward and lanky, so beautiful, but just doesn't know how to be in her body. No, but you know what she does know how to do?
Get the attention of men. well, that's really all you need at a strip club, right? Exactly. She was like, listen, I might not be able to dance, but I can like charm a man like you've never seen before. And she did. Within a week or two, she was a pro. Yeah. So her ultimate goal was to save up money and make a home for herself and for her son, Daniel. And she's definitely making more
And that $60 a week that she was making at Walmart, which like Walmart, don't be cheap. Guys, come on. We know you have money. Yeah, we do. However, there was something that was keeping her, that was holding her back from making as much money as she could at a shirt club. She needed the boobies. She needed the boobies.
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Chapter 3: What role did Anna Nicole Smith's modeling career play in her rise to fame?
Three years he asked her to marry him. Wow, he's almost... Oh, my God. So they got married when he was 90? When he was 89. Oh, my God. And at that point, it's like, you know, it's like, I'm going to... Yeah. You know, it's just an arrangement. It's an agreement. Okay, so that is the thing. And, like, again, we will be talking about their relationship further, but, like...
You hear this and you're like, and it is outrageous. It's crazy. But you go like, oh, it's so outrageous for her. But he knows what he's also... They're both getting something from each other. They both know exactly what they're doing.
Yes.
And they're receiving something that they both need or want. Exactly. And it's almost like less... It's almost like it would be crazier if she was 26 and he was like... Or not 26. How old is she now? She's 26. She's 26. Yeah. And he was like... I don't know. Even like 60. Yeah. Where you're kind of like, oh, it's a little bit. But we know that he's going to die in a few years probably.
And she's going to get some money. And he's like, I want to look at a nice thing in front of me. I actually think that she brought a lot of joy to him later in his life. I'm sure she did. And he was very adamant that he wanted to take care of her and her son. Yeah. And that's probably the only thing that matters to her right now. And she had never had a paternal figure.
Especially after being abused and assaulted during her childhood. Yeah. This is, like, I don't see anything wrong with it. Honestly, you know? Does it affect anyone else's life? No. At all? Are they hurting anyone? Would we do it? No. Again, like, why are we looking at her and being like, oh, you're disgusting, and not, like, looking at his intentions and being like, oh, you're disgusting then?
She has probably a very different life than she ever would have had without this opportunity. It's like an opportunity. Yeah. She's a single mom who's trying to take care of her son as well. Yep. So. But, you know, he is, again, 86 years old, and there is only so much that he can give to her. There's only so much time, too. Exactly. So she does have other relationships on the side.
She had many intimate and sexual relationships with men and women. At this time, she's going out with this bodybuilder guy. Good for her. Like, she's getting it all. She must look back and, like, these are the glory years of her life. I know. She definitely does. Well, yeah. Pre-fame. She definitely does. Yeah. So this bodybuilder guy was like, you're so beautiful, you should pose for Playboy.
And she was always like, I don't know. Because even though she worked at a strip club, And she will go on to pose for Playboy. She was actually quite uncomfortable with nudity. Yeah. And again, I think that people see her in a sexual way. And she does present herself quite sexually. So people are like, well, you should just be comfortable with sex and being naked no matter what.
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Chapter 4: How did Anna Nicole Smith and J. Howard Marshall's marriage unfold?
He was my savior. It wasn't a sexual baby, oh baby, I love your body type of love. It was a deep thank you for taking me out of this hole. Yeah. Yeah. Nothing to really say. Yeah. Yeah. So he keeps asking her to marry him. And it's at this point that she is starting to make a name for herself. Okay. And so she was like, yes, I will marry you. I'm like, just do it already. You know?
She's probably like, how much time?
I mean, truly.
You kind of got to do it within the next year or two, honey. She's like trying to make it last. Truly. Or like wait till the very last second, I'm sure. Uh-huh. So, Tess, they get married in 1994 at the White Dove Wedding Chapel in Houston with 11 people attending, including her eight-year-old son, Daniel, as the ring bearer. The wedding did not look chic for how much money he had.
Well, so that's the thing that Tess and I were looking at pictures last night, and you were like, does he have money? Yeah, because it looks like kind of a trash wedding dress. I know, but think about their date night spot was Red Lobster.
That's true.
They're a low-key couple. That's true. They don't have the best taste, maybe. People are always saying, Anna Nicole Smith, J. Howard Marshall, low-key. Just low-key. Just chill. Yeah. I don't know. Also, it seems like they didn't really have that many friends. She did not have a lot of friends in her life. When you're 86, 87, 89, how many friends do you really have? That's true. Yeah.
It dwindles. She had quite a lonely life. So the theme was all white everything with Marshall wearing a white tuxedo in his wheelchair. And Anna Nicole Smith walked down the aisle atop white roses. The wedding reception featured champagne and chocolate cake. And immediately afterwards, Anna Nicole Smith kissed J. Howard Marshall and told him, Bye, darling. I'm off to Greece.
She went to Greece for work or for fun? No, I think that she was... I think she was always kind of like... She's like, do whatever I want. Yeah, she's like, we're married now and... Yeah. Give him money for a nice Grecian vacation. And I think he was like, she keeps me young. Yeah, I think he's like, I like when you just do stuff like that. I think he really did. Impulsive little angel.
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