Anna Nicole Smith Dead At 39

(CBS/AP)  She was sometimes compared to Marilyn Monroe and now the two have something else in common, besides blond bombshell looks.

Anna Nicole Smith, a former Playboy playmate who found notoriety as she said "I do" to an octogenarian billionaire, was only 39 when she died Thursday at the Seminole Hard Rock Cafe Hotel and Casino in Florida.

Just three years older than Monroe when the actress' untimely death came in August 1962.

A lawyer who represented Anna Nicole Smith, Ron Rale, says the model was staying at the Seminole Hard Rock Cafe Hotel and Casino Thursday when she was found unresponsive and was rushed to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Fla., where she was pronounced dead.

WCBS-TV in New York reports that while searching Anna Nicole Smith's hotel room late Thursday afternoon, investigators found two key pieces of evidence: illegal narcotics and prescription medications.

A toxicology report will determine whether one of these drugs or a combination of both substances contributed to her death.

An autopsy is scheduled for Friday morning in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Sheriff's deputies were seen carrying out at least eight brown bags from Smith's hotel room, each sealed with red evidence tape.

Rale dismisses the idea that drugs might have been involved as "a bunch of nonsense." In an interview with the Miami Herald, Rale says he spoke with Smith Tuesday or Wednesday and she had flu symptoms and was grieving over the recent death of her 20-year-old son, Daniel.

Speaking at a news conference in Florida, Charlie Tiger of the Seminole police told reporters that a private female nurse discovered Smith's body at the hotel and that a bodyguard administered CPR at 1:45 p.m.

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Photos: Anna Nicole Smith
Photos: Anna Nicole: The Aftermath
Photos: Daniel's Funeral

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Tiger said police received confirmation of her death at 2:49 p.m.

Dr. Joshua Perper, who is to perform the autopsy, says if the death was from natural causes, the findings will probably be announced quickly but a final report could take weeks.

2The past year was turbulent for Smith. She was due in court at the end of this month in connection with a paternity suit filed by her ex-boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, who claimed to be the father of her infant daughter, Dannielynn.

Debra Opri, the attorney representing Birkhead in the paternity suit, tells the Herald that Birkhead 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."

An emergency hearing is scheduled for Friday in Los Angeles, to consider Birkhead's request for a DNA sample from Smith's body.

The baby was born on Sept. 7 in the Bahamas, days before her son Daniel, 20, died suddenly of a drug overdose.

A medical examiner hired by the family said Daniel had methadone and two antidepressants in his system when he died.

Bahamian authorities announced last month that there will be a formal inquiry into his death on March 27.

CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella reports that police are not treating Smith's death as a crime but they are interviewing people who were with her at the hotel.

"She checked in Monday at 8 p.m. as a guest. She was due to check out tomorrow [Thursday]," said Danielle Giordano, a spokeswoman for the hotel.

Another spokeswoman for the hotel tells the Miami Herald that Smith told hotel staff, when she checked in on Monday night, that she was sick.

WFOR-TV reports that Smith was in the room with a nurse when she started to experience "difficulty." The nurse reportedly called Memorial Hospital directly, and while she was on the phone, Smith's bodyguard entered the room and began to perform CPR.

Her partner, Howard K. Stern, told "Entertainment Tonight" that Smith had a high temperature Wednesday night. ET reported that the couple was shopping for a new boat in Florida.

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[luvdpatriots]

This is very sad...the poor gal has had such a turbulent life. Her son dies at age 20, no explanation (20 yrs. olds do not just die). Now she is gone....Where was that Stern guy when all this was going on......hummmmmmm

[amberj87]

COME ON PEOPLE! THIS IS SOMEONES DAUGHTER, SOMEONES SISTER, SOMEONES FRIEND, SIGNIFICANT OTHER, AND MOTHER!!! HOW CAN YOU ALL BE SO HEARTLESS AS TO TALK ABOUT THIS WOMAN? SO WHAT IF YOU DIDNT LIKE HER OR THOUGHT SHE WAS DUMB! THE FACT IS THAT THIS WOMAN STRUGGLED WITH THE LOSE OF HER SON, AND THIS MAN TRYING TO CAUSE MORE STRESS WITH A PATERNITY TEST! YOU DONT HAVE TO BE SMART TO FEEL PAIN AND MOURNING! GIVE HER A BREAK! IM SURE THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE ON THIS MESSAGE BOARD WERENT IN HONORS CLASSES! BUT NOBODY JUDGES YOU! STOP THIS! GOD HAS PLAN FOR YOU ALL! AND HE NEVER LIKES UGLY! SO STOP THIS CRUDNESS! THATS THE PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE TODAY, NO COMPASSION, NO SYMPATHY! JUST, TRY TO IMAGINE IF IT WAS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY..

[marcodele]

Sam: Its a daughter. The whole mess is sad. I'm not an Anna Nicole fan, but I hate to see anyone self destruct.

[samthetvcat]

This is so sad - like clearly Anna Nicole had substance abuse problems and a bunch of legal problems but I can't imagine what it must have been like for her to lose her son - he seemed like a sweet kid. I wonder if she had some post-partum depression too. And I wonder who's going to get her son now.

[dredre2k]

Yikes! Poor thing,... her son's death might have caused her to gradually go over the edge. I hope she didn't overdose. Rest in peace Anna! I always loved her antics.

[apdepetris]

I guess the paternity test will probably go ahead now. They will need to determine exactly who the babies father is to see who she will go to (I assume there isn't anyone else to take care of her). I'm not a big fan of Anna Nicole, but this is still a very sad story. I wouldn't be surprised if she OD'd either. Her life has been such a mess these past few months.

[marcodele]

Thank God we still have W to keep dumbing down Amurka.

[gunownerdan]

Anna's contribution to the "dumbing down" of America has reached an end. R.I.P. Anna Nicole.

[pagirl6]

it does say "intubate" (which is correct) not "incubate"

the header also does state that she died

as revolting as i found this lady to be, it is still sad.

[trace1206]

Come on people, as a complete airhead that she is as she displayed that behavior on the video clips the media showed of her and her son when they were reporting his death it is very sad for her infant daughter to lose her mom. So be gentle in your comments. Even though I cannot stand her at all. Think of her baby daughter.