Reality TV star and former model Anna Nicole Smith was pronounced dead Thursday after being taken to a Florida hospital, a law enforcement source told CNN.
Smith, 39, collapsed at a south Florida hotel, according to news reports.
"I can confirm that she is deceased. It's as shocking to me as to you guys," Smith's attorney, Ronald Rale, told Reuters. "I don't know anything further. [Her lawyer and husband] Howard [K. Stern], obviously, is speechless and grieving."
TMZ.com had reported that Smith collapsed at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, and was rushed to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood just after 2 p.m. ET.
According to reports, Smith was found unresponsive in her hotel room.
Smith was involved in a paternity suit regarding the parentage of her daughter, Danielynn, as well as other disputes, including some regarding a house she stayed at in the Bahamas around the time she gave birth.
Earlier this week, Smith was included in a class-action lawsuit against a company, TrimSpa, for which she had worked as a spokesperson. TrimSpa makes a product it claims leads to substantial weight loss. The lawsuit alleges the marketing of the product, TrimSpa X32, was false or misleading.
Smith's son, Daniel Wayne Smith, died at age 20 just days after the birth of Smith's daughter. Pathologist Cyril Wecht said a lethal dose of methadone and antidepressants caused cardiac dysrhythmia, leading to his death.
-- A Los Angeles judge orders the body of Anna Nicole Smith to be preserved pending a February 20 hearing on the paternity dispute surrounding her five-month-old daughter, lawyer says.
(that poor baby girl )
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-- There is no evidence to suggest that a crime occurred in the death of Anna Nicole Smith but case remains open, Seminole, Florida, police chief says.
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*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Christina Ghimenti PawPrint Boxers