Anna Nicole Smith's Real Name: Vickie Lynn Hogan

Quick answer: Anna Nicole Smith's original name is Vickie Lynn Hogan. She was born on November 28, 1967, and died on February 8, 2007, in Hollywood, Florida, at 39. She was a model and television personality who became widely known as a Guess model and as Playboy's Playmate of the Year in 1993 (Britannica).

Real name and early life

Britannica gives her original name as Vickie Lynn Hogan, born November 28, 1967, in Houston, Texas. The Library of Congress heading is "Smith, Anna Nicole," with the variant "Hogan, Vickie Lynn." Biography.com also records the original name Vickie Lynn Hogan and the same birth date, but lists the birthplace as Mexia, Texas, which conflicts with Britannica's Houston. Britannica says she moved to Mexia, about 1984, and later lived there; this page follows Britannica for the birthplace and notes the Biography.com difference. She married Billy Wayne Smith in 1985 and later kept the surname Smith as her professional name, Britannica says.

Career highlights

In the early 1990s she became a Playboy cover model and the face of the clothing brand Guess, Britannica says, and in 1993 she was named Playmate of the Year. Biography.com likewise places that Playmate of the Year title in 1993 and notes that she used the recognition to move into small film roles. Those credits included the comedy Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult and The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), with Paul Newman and Tim Robbins.

In 1994 she married oil executive J. Howard Marshall II. He died the following year, and she spent years in litigation over a share of his estate, a dispute that kept her in the public eye long after the marriage ended. From 2002 to 2004 she starred in the reality series The Anna Nicole Show, which, Britannica says, chronicled her day-to-day life. The series is the main television credit attached to her name for later searchers.

Death

Britannica says she died on February 8, 2007, in Hollywood, Florida, at 39, from an accidental overdose. Biography.com likewise describes the death as an accidental drug overdose in 2007.

Name notes for searchers

Vickie Lynn Hogan is the documented original name; she became known professionally as Anna Nicole Smith, a name that used the surname from her first marriage. Searchers looking for Vickie Lynn Hogan, Vickie Smith, or Anna Nicole in this context are usually aiming at the same person.