Streaming giant Netflix recently released a documentary about famous model and starlet Anna Nicole Smith. And its scandalous and tragic story is already causing a stir.
Directed by Ursula Macfarlan Anna Nicole Smith: You don’t know me based on the playboy The life of a model who rose to fame on screen in the ’90s with her attractiveness and panache. She is often compared to famous blondes in Hollywood history like Marilyn Monroe or Pamela Anderson.
The Netflix production’s narrative aims to give a humane perspective to the life and times of Smith, her rags-to-riches story caught between fame and tragic death at the age of 39.
Everything worth knowing Anna Nicole Smith: You don’t know me
Who Was Anna Nicole Smith?
Born Vickie Lynn Hogan in the small town of Mexia, Texas, Smith came from a humble background. In the documentaryHer mother, Virgie Mae Hogan, shared that the model has been beautiful since she was a child. It was later revealed that Smith claimed Virgie, a police officer, abused her as a child.
She got a job at a fried chicken restaurant and married a colleague at the age of 17. Unable to find happiness in her marriage, she decided at a young age to give birth to a child. As soon as her son Daniel was six months old, she took him to Houston.
Smith worked odd jobs and even worked as a stripper at a club called The Executive Suite to support her son. She found money and fame after meeting 86-year-old oil tycoon J Howard Marshall at a strip club. The two later married.
What does the documentary depict?
The Netflix documentary traces the rise and fall of Smith, from her hectic days to her untimely death from a drug overdose in 2007. It reveals who Smith really was through the wills of the people closest to her. It also sheds light on her marriage to Marshall, which led to the media branding her a gold digger.
The documentary also reveals the moody world of show business and its exploitative nature towards starlet-hungry, marriageable young starlets in the ’90s. It illustrates the dangerous consequences of being in the eyes of the paparazzi, especially back then.
Anna Nicole Smith: You don’t know me reviews
The documentary, which premiered on May 16, has received mixed reactions so far. Reviewers called the documentary “depressing”. diversity states, “Despite its efforts to present a comprehensive portrayal of this determined starlet, the film ultimately feels like a glossier, slightly less salacious iteration of an E! A true Hollywood story that will appeal to those who enjoy tragic stories about the rich and famous.”
Time The magazine claims that the documentary sensationalizes Smith’s personality rather than humanizes it.
The guard describes the documentary as attempting to be “compassionate” for the protagonist, but instead turning out to be “chaotic and harrowing”.
You can watch Anna Nicole Smith: You don’t know me Here.
(Source of hero and featured image: Netflix)