Anna Nicole Smith's life reads like a modern day Cinderella story. She was born in the small Texas town of Mexia (population 7,000), on November 28, 1967. She describes Mexia as a place where there's "nothing to do but go up and down the drag, talk, and drink beer." Her teenage years were spent working at Jim's Krispy Fried Chicken Shack, waitressing at the Red Lobster, and working as a cashier at Wal-Mart. In those days, the folks in her hometown knew her as Vicky Lynn Hogan, a "sweet girl" who idolized Marilyn Monroe.

Bigger dreams led her to Houston where she changed her name to Anna Nicole Smith and started dancing afternoons in a local club. During one of her shifts she met her husband-to-be, the older billionaire oil tycoon, J. Howard Marshall II. After his death and numerous court battles, Anna was awarded a $475 million dollar inheritance.

Standing 5'11" with voluptuous proportions (39-27-39) Anna has always attracted male attention. When she spied an ad in the local paper for a Playboy shoot, she decided to audition. Playboy featured her as their March 1992 cover girl, May 1992 centerfold, and ultimately their 1993 Playmate of the Year. Still, it wasn't until she was selected by Paul Marciano, Co-CEO and Creative Director of GUESS?, to succeed Claudia Schiffer as the new GUESS? Girl that Anna truly gained worldwide attention. She appeared in the GUESS? San Antonio, Miami and New York campaigns. Suddenly, the girl from Mexia was a big star constantly compared to '50s Hollywood glamour girls, including her idol Marilyn Monroe.

Movie roles followed in Naked Gun 33 1/3, To The Limit, Skyscraper, and The Hudsucker Proxy. In 2002, she made her debut in a new reality-based series on E! called "The Anna Nicole Show." The popular show documents the daily life of Anna, her attorney, personal assistant and son.

When asked, Anna credits the most influential person in her career as, "Paul Marciano, because he have me a chance when I did not know which way to go."