HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Anna Nicole Smith, the Mexia-raised blonde whose life played out as an extraordinary tabloid tale – Playboy centerfold, jeans model, bride of an octogenarian oil tycoon, reality-show subject, tragic mother – collapsed at a hotel and died Thursday.

Ms. Smith, 39, was staying at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and was rushed to a hospital, where she was declared dead at 2:49 p.m. Edwina Johnson, chief investigator for the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office, said the cause of death was under investigation and an autopsy would be performed Friday.

AP file

Anna Nicole Smith

Five months ago, Ms. Smith's 20-year-old son, Daniel, died suddenly in the Bahamas.

His death was thought to be drug-related.

Seminole Police Chief Charlie Tiger said a private nurse called 911 after finding Ms. Smith unresponsive in her room. He said Ms. Smith's bodyguard administered CPR. Two sheriff's deputies later carried at least eight brown paper bags sealed with red evidence tape from the hotel room.

Joshua Perper, the medical examiner who will perform the autopsy, said that if her death was from natural causes, the findings would likely be announced quickly. He cautioned, however, that definitive results could take weeks.

"I am not a prophet, and I cannot tell you before the autopsy what I am going to find," he said.

Through the '90s and into the new century, Ms. Smith was famous for being famous, a pop-culture punch line because of her up-and-down weight, her Marilyn Monroe looks, her exaggerated curves, her little-girl voice, her ditzy-blonde persona, and her over-the-top revealing outfits.

Recently, she lost a reported 69 pounds and became a spokeswoman for TrimSpa, a weight-loss supplement. On her reality show and other TV appearances, her speech was often slurred and she seemed out of it.

"Undoubtedly it will be found at the end of the day that drugs featured in her death as they did in the death of poor Daniel," said Michael Scott, a former attorney for Ms. Smith in the Bahamas.

Another attorney, Ron Rale, said he talked to her this week and she had flu symptoms and a fever and was still grieving over her son. He dismissed claims that her death was related to drugs as "a bunch of nonsense."

Ms. Smith was born Vickie Lynn Hogan on Nov. 28, 1967, in Houston, one of six children. Her parents split when she was a toddler, and she was raised by her mother, a deputy sheriff.

She dropped out of school in the 11th grade after she was expelled for fighting and worked as a waitress and then a cook at Jim's Krispy Fried Chicken in Mexia. She married 16-year-old fry cook Billy Smith in 1985, giving birth to Daniel before divorcing two years later.

Ms. Smith's half sister, Donna Hogan, who wrote Train Wreck: Anna Nicole Smith Unauthorized, issued a prepared statement in which she said the family was "saddened and heartbroken. ... No matter what our differences have been over the years, Anna was still our blood and she will be missed terribly. She was a woman who was determined to get out of her small town in Texas and make a name for herself.

"She became an international star and was a good mother to her son Daniel."

That statement is in sharp contrast to the book, in which press reports quoted Ms. Hogan as saying: "Two days after [Daniel] dies, she's selling pictures of him to the tabloids, and I'm thinking, 'What a freaking waste of a human being my sister is.' "

Ms. Smith left Mexia for Houston and became a topless dancer before entering her photos in a contest and making the cover of Playboy magazine in 1992. She became Playboy's Playmate of the year in 1993. She was also signed to a contract with Guess jeans, appearing in commercials, billboards and magazine ads.

In a prepared statement, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner said, "I am very saddened to learn about Anna Nicole's passing. She was a dear friend who meant a great deal to the Playboy family and to me personally."

In 1994, she married 89-year-old oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II, owner of Great Northern Oil Co. In 1992, Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at $550 million.

In a 2005 interview with ABC, Ms. Smith recalled meeting him at what she called a "gentleman's club" in Houston. "He had no will to live, and I went over to see him," she said. "He got a little twinkle in his eyes, and he asked me to dance for him. And I did."

Mr. Marshall died in 1995 at age 90, setting off a decadelong feud with Ms. Smith's former stepson, E. Pierce Marshall, about his estate. E. Pierce Marshall died June 20 at age 67, but his family said the court fight would continue.

His widow, Elaine, who lives in Dallas, declined interview requests Thursday but issued a statement, saying: "Our family was shocked by the untimely death of Anna Nicole Smith. We wish to express our sympathies to her family in this difficult time."

Ms. Smith starred in a reality TV series, The Anna Nicole Show, from 2002 to 2004 on the E! network. She also appeared in movies, performing a bit part in The Hudsucker Proxy in 1994.

Ms. Smith's son died Sept. 10 in his mother's hospital room in the Bahamas, days after she gave birth to a daughter, Dannielynn.

A U.S. medical examiner hired by the family said Mr. Smith died accidentally of a combination of methadone and two antidepressants. Last month, a Bahamas magistrate scheduled a formal inquiry for March 27.

Meanwhile, the paternity of Ms. Smith's 5-month-old daughter remains a matter of dispute. The birth certificate lists Dannielynn's father as attorney Howard K. Stern, Ms. Smith's most recent companion. But Ms. Smith's ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead is waging a legal challenge, saying he is the father. An emergency hearing is scheduled for today in Los Angeles.

Debra Opri, the attorney who filed Mr. Birkhead's paternity suit, said Mr. Birkhead "is devastated. He is inconsolable, and we are taking steps now to protect the DNA testing of the child. The child is our No. 1 priority."

The legal complications of Ms. Smith's estate could take years to unravel, said attorney Christopher Cline, an estate planning specialist. He said he has never seen a case "with more moving parts."

Outstanding questions include not only the paternity of Ms. Smith's daughter, but whether she died with a will and how her death will affect the lawsuit pending against the Marshall estate.

The Associated Press and staff writer Diane Jennings contributed to this report.

Nov. 28, 1967: Born Vickie Lynn Hogan in Houston.

April 1985: Marries Mexia resident Billy Smith, whom she separates from less than two years later.

Jan. 22, 1986: Daniel Smith is born.

J. Howard Marshall

October 1991: Meets elderly oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall while working as a topless dancer in Houston.

March 1992: Makes her Playboy cover debut.

June 27, 1994: Marries Mr. Marshall.

Aug. 4, 1995: Mr. Marshall dies at age 90.

Sept. 27, 2000: A California judge issues a $450 million ruling for Ms. Smith against stepson E. Pierce Marshall, later upped to $474 million.

March 7, 2001: A Houston jury rules that E. Pierce Marshall is his father's sole heir.

May 24, 2001: A U.S. district judge in Los Angeles throws out the $474 million judgment.

March 2002: The same judge awards Ms. Smith $88 million of her husband's fortune, plus $44 million in punitive damages.

Aug. 4, 2002: The Anna Nicole Show, in which cameras follow her every day, premieres on E!.

October 2003: Becomes spokeswoman for TrimSpa diet pills.

Dec. 30, 2004: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns her $88 million inheritance.

May 1, 2006: The Supreme Court overturns the appeals court's decision, ruling she can pursue her late husband's fortune in federal court.

Dannielynn Stern

Sept. 7, 2006: Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern is born in the Bahamas.

Sept. 10, 2006: Daniel dies of an accidental drug overdose in the Bahamas.

Thursday: Ms. Smith dies in Florida at age 39.