Everything I read about her reminds me of the day I met her….very memorably in the middle of nowhere.
And though you wouldn’t think someone like me would have anything in common with her—we actually did.
There’s my son, first of all. That’s him, a moment a teenage boy could never forget.
We were in Australia, at a remote resort in the Whitsunday Islands near the Great Barrier Reef, when we saw her on the beach one day. With no makeup, relaxing on a lounge, she looked so fragile and young and natural that I told my son it couldn’t possibly be Anna Nicole Smith.
The next day we found ourselves with her on a yacht, returning us to the airport and civilization. She was with her entourage, including Howard K. Stern, the video crew shooting her reality show (which I’ve never seen), and another guy whose identity I learned later.
( After she died, reading all the hoopla over who was the baby daddy, I went back to look at our vacation pictures. I had never seen a picture of her with Larry Birkhead; but it turned out I had one—that’s him next to her).
If it wasn’t surreal enough to meet her in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, what she’s doing in this picture is equally surreal. On her computer, she’s watching the video of my son and me skydiving in New Zealand, which we’d done a few days earlier. She jumped all over it, and decided on the spot that’s where she was going next. I hope maybe she really did.
Looking back, what strikes me most is how poignant this memory seems. Back then, before the world knew the sad details about her life, all I knew was the grotesque public persona. Up close on the water, I could even see common ground with a woman like me; we both had sons named Daniel, her face lit up when she talked on her cellphone to her son (and her dog) back in Los Angeles. You could easily forget what she was known for—if you didn’t look at her chest. Although how could you not?
And that’s the last thing we had in common—that our breasts had rocked our worlds—in very different ways.
Hers—I don’t need to explain. Mine–by incubating cancer and threatening my existence. The irony is, though I was the one with the life-threatening disease, I’m alive, while Anna Nicole wound up with a tragic early death.
I think of her as an extreme example that’s sadly representative of what’s so wrong with our culture. Also ironically, my lack of breasts led me to create Boobalas, designed to send a message to women: that unlike Anna Nicole Smith, our breasts and bodies should not define who we are. And having breasts shake your world isn’t always such a good thing.
This one’s a winner. The story reminds me of a photo a high school classmate included in her yearbook photo – she was around 13, at a Miami hotel (the Fontainbleau perhaps) and Jayne Mansfield in a bikini is standing right next to her, similarly situated to ANS and Daniel. One day you must tell me about skydiving. PL
Priceless photograph! Thanks for sharing it with us.
What a great story, I love it, and she does look so sweet in those photos. Sounds like a great trip even w/o the celebrity sighting 🙂
Your friend’s story is really funny, too. Our whole incident was so random. In retrospect, I bet I could have sold my shot to TMZ or the Enquirer. Haha
Not sure which one you mean— the second one could have been pricy if I had considered turning paparazzi. But I’m sure you mean the one with Daniel—one of my favorite photos of all time. Thanks!
Thank you–everything about this trip was amazing; this was just the capper. And she was sweet; very friendly; and unexpectedly natural–if you ignored the boobs and the entourage.
Whould you like to tell us something about Howard?
I have always liked Anna Nicole, and people would look at me as if I were crazy when I told them so. I watched all of her off the wall” reality shows, and some how understood her vulnerability. Most people just saw the crudeness, and sometimes her vulgarity.
She reminded me of the glamour of the 30’s-50’s movie stars, long since forgotten with the arrival of the “brat pack.”
I think she had talent, ( much in the way of MM) and it is too bad she was so emotionally distraught to share more of it with us.
Thank you so much for sharing, Darryle, hope you are well!
I would tell something if I knew anything. I had no idea who he was at the time; and he wasn’t chatty like the video crew and Anna herself. Thanks.
Thanks so much, Denise. I’ve never seen her show or anything she’s done. I had just seen pictures of her all done up, and read about her. So all I saw was the vulgarity, not the vulnerability which really came across in person. I suspect like other blonde bombshells, she must have identified with Marilyn, as you point out.
I can’t even imagine how your son felt getting this picture taken. Talk about bragging rights! It’s always so interesting to see larger than life people up close and personal. Entourage or not, they’re still just people. Great post.
Thanks so much, Susan. I’ve spent a lot of time around celebrities but this encounter was really random. So glad Daniel was with me–to appreciate the moment and get that picture. Priceless.
Thanks for siharng. What a pleasure to read!
it’s just plastic, even if they are big (DD i think)