Details About Anna Nicole Smith's Son And His Tragic Death

Thanks to a string of scandals, Anna Nicole Smith lived a tragic life. However, of all the misfortunes surrounding the model, the greatest was arguably the death of her son, Daniel Wayne Smith. The former small town Texas girl and 1993 Playboy Playmate of the Year was known for enjoying all things glamorous. But fame did nothing to protect her from the horror of watching her son die at Doctor's Hospital in the Bahamas in 2006. 

At the time, the shock of losing Daniel was so great that Anna Nicole refused to believe he had really died. "I thought they were playing that game they play on TV ... Punk'd," she later said (via CBS News). Anna Nicole went on to wonder, "I don't understand why God took him and didn't take me."

Because of all the rumors and sensational details surrounding Anna Nicole Smith and her family, Daniel Wayne Smith's death made headlines. Questions surrounding his bloodwork and toxicology reports swirled through the news cycle. It was eventually determined that he died of an accidental drug overdose. His mother would die of the same causes just months later. Compellingly, though, due to Daniel's shy personality and disinterest in the spotlight, not a lot has been reported about his life. Despite his strong ties to a famous mother, Daniel did his best to remain away from public view. Only a few key details can clue us into the life Anna Nicole Smith's son led behind the scenes.

In 1984, when Anna Nicole Smith was just 14 years old, she dropped out of high school and began working as a waitress at Jim's Krispy Fried Chicken. Two years later, she developed a crush on fellow high school dropout and restaurant employee, Billy Wayne Smith. At fist, Anna Nicole was wild about Billy Wayne, but he barely seemed to notice her. Anna Nicole's mom remembered him as a "shy" guy, but the model recalled him as more of a conquest. "He drove me crazy. I chased him and chased him the way young girls do until I finally got him and married him. By then, of course, I wasn't interested," Anna Nicole admitted (via the Daily Mail).

Anna Nicole's relationship with Billy Wayne didn't last long. The pair tied the knot in 1985 and separated in 1987. They formally divorced in 1993. That being said, the couple was together for enough time to welcome a son, Daniel Wayne Smith, in 1986. Daniel only lived with his father for a few months, during which the relationship between his parents grew increasingly toxic. "I wasn't allowed to go out of the house or go to the store. He was so jealous," said the model. Because of this, Daniel was mostly cared for by his mom and maternal grandmother.

Due to his parents' divorce, Daniel Wayne Smith did not spend a lot of time with his father, Billy Wayne Smith. In fact, reports indicate the two were barely in contact throughout Daniel's early years. When he was just 6 months old, Daniel's mother, Anna Nicole Smith, left her young child in the care of his maternal grandmother in Houston, Texas. Later, when Anna Nicole was able to achieve more financial stability, she hired a nanny to help with Daniel's care.

Over the course of these transitions, Billy Wayne was barely able to have any contact with his son at all. "I wrote to Anna and sent presents to Daniel over the years, but I never heard anything back," Billy Wayne told Splash News Agency (via the New York Post). Apparently, the grieving father had to beg to attend Daniel's funeral. "Please let me attend my son's funeral," Billy Wayne said in the same interview. He later added, "[Anna Nicole and I] haven't spoken in a long while, and we've had our differences in the past, but I would ask her to let me and my family attend the funeral so we can pay our last respects." Although Daniel was ultimately buried in the Bahamas, his friends and family held a memorial service in Mexia, Texas in his honor. Billy Wayne was in attendance. 

Anna Nicole Smith did not always have an easy time navigating the implications of fame. Her marriage to 89-year-old billionaire J. Howard Marshall drew a lot of criticism, as did the intensive legal battles for his estate that followed. Comparing her to Marilyn Monroe in a piece for NBC News, journalist Natalie Morales once wrote, "If Marilyn was 'a candle in the wind,' Anna was more like 'a matchstick in a hurricane.'" 

Experts on Anna Nicole's life say that Daniel Wayne Smith helped his mother stay focused. "She did everything for her son and she needed to go to work because her son needed her. And I think having Daniel there kind of kept her straight and narrow, in the straight and narrowest way she could be," opined journalist Paula Froelich, per NBC News.

In some ways, even Anna Nicole seemed to agree with his assessment. When Daniel died, Anna Nicole printed a tribute to her beloved son on the funeral program. "My dearest son Daniel, you were my rock, you were the only one that could keep me solid," she shared (via People). "Why God took you way from me I do not understand. Perhaps some day I will. It is so hard to think of you, but I do every second."

Anna Nicole Smith and Daniel Wayne Smith were said to have been very close. According to at least one expert, Anna Nicole found a lot of her motivation in Daniel. Ursula Macfarlane, who directed the documentary "Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me," told Netflix that the celebrity model was a really dedicated parent. "She worked so hard to provide a good home for Daniel. A lot of people don't know she was a loving mom. It wasn't always easy for her, but she tried her best," Macfarlane shared.

According to a report by People, Smith's family friends observed a lot of love between Daniel and Anna Nicole. "Anna and Daniel were inseparable. Daniel was without question the most important person in Anna's life," said Anna Nicole's ex-boyfriend, Howard K. Stern, at a court hearing in 2007. Daniel was known to give his mother really meaningful gifts. As Anna Nicole once revealed in an interview with People, "The best present he ever gave me was this plaque he made that says, 'I Love You, Mom. Your son forever.'" A family friend also told the outlet that Daniel was particularly empathetic and loving. "He did whatever his mom said, whether it be doing the dishes or laundry. Come Friday or Saturday nights, he'd spend them watching movies with his mom and Howard [K.] Stern. They were glued together."

Dealing with a parent's fame can be really challenging, so much so that some celebs have children that no one knows about. Unfortunately for Anna Nicole Smith's son, Daniel Wayne Smith, there was no way for him to hide from the cameras. Throughout his early years, Daniel was photographed alongside his mother on numerous occasions. But while Anna Nicole seemed to glitter in the spotlight, Daniel appeared to shrink from it. 

On an E! News house tour filmed when he was 16 years old, Daniel was visibly uncomfortable with the cameras that crowded him. "So, do you not like being on camera," reporter Giuliana Rancic asked. Daniel responded by whispering, "I don't like it." When further pressed to provide an explanation, Daniel offered a one-word answer. "Shy," he whispered painfully.

In the same house tour, Anna Nicole seemed optimistic about the possibility of Daniel opening up more on-screen. "He's kind of shy about the cameras," she admitted. "So, he's starting to get into it ... But it takes him a little while to get used to it." Despite these positive words, Daniel could not have possibly seemed less interested in making any sort of television appearance. At one point in the session, Anna Nicole urged Daniel to hold his head up, but he raised his hand to cover his face. When he told his mom he was feeling nervous, she grinned and replied, "Aww, don't be nervous." Daniel appeared absolutely humiliated.

Unlike the nepo babies who had us cringing, Daniel Wayne Smith could not stand the spotlight. Nonetheless, he was thrust into the public eye at a very young age — a dynamic that often left him floundering. Making matters worse, people close to Daniel have said that all the ups and downs of his mother's career took their toll. 

According to "Train Wreck: The Life and Death of Anna Nicole Smith" by Donna Hogan, a Smith family friend, David Granoff, said Anna Nicole Smith used to tell everybody, "I'm going to die young." These sorts of declarations, unfortunately, hurt Daniel. As Granoff put it, "Well, that's fine for her. But for a kid having to worry about her all through the years — seeing her experience poverty, riches, poverty again, being in the limelight — I think depression hit him like a ton of bricks."

The truth was Daniel had sought help with issues surrounding his mental health. A pathologist by the name of Cyril Wecht told People that Daniel had been prescribed medication to help manage his symptoms. "About four to six weeks before he died, Daniel had been prescribed a small dosage of one of the milder antidepressants," Wecht revealed. At the time, it seemed that the medication was working out well for Daniel. "Everything was well under control," the pathologist added. Unfortunately, however, Daniel would never get the chance to continue treatment.

Anna Nicole Smith's son, Daniel Wayne Smith, may not have exactly been rowdy in front of the cameras, but he still agreed to appear on his mother's reality show, "The Anna Nicole Show." This, however, did not mean that he participated in any of the drama. Footage of the series shows Daniel hiding in the background with his hands shielding his face. While his mom thrived on-screen — creating fake vomiting sounds and embracing the idea of any sort of televised competition — Daniel apparently wished he were anywhere else.

A 2006 piece in the New York Post described Daniel's on-screen appearances as quiet. "In courtroom appearances and scenes in 'The Anna Nicole Show,' Daniel Wayne Smith came off as a shy, young man, who wore braces on his teeth and seemed to share few personality traits with his over-the-top, boisterous mom," noted the article. People close to the Smiths have claimed that Daniel was also quite shy in person. 

Following Daniel's death, a real estate developer named Ford Shelley testified that the boy had been "afraid of his own shadow," according to CBS News. Shelley also claimed Daniel was so uncomfortable with his mom's public persona that he was "living in a shell" to try avoid the implications of her fame. "He wanted to break free. He loved his mother but didn't want to be known as her son," Shelly added in his testimony.

Just because Anna Nicole Smith and Daniel Wayne Smith had a good relationship does not mean they always saw eye to eye. The mother and son duo occasionally had their differences — especially as Daniel got older. Following his enrollment at Los Angeles Valley College in 2006, Daniel may have taken issue with Anna Nicole. 

In a police report obtained by People, the model alleged that Daniel had begun lashing out at her. "At first I thought it was drugs," she said. "But I later found out that he was seeing a girl." Apparently, things hadn't worked out between Daniel and his girlfriend. Anna Nicole went on to say that her son had been greatly affected by the break-up, catalyzing some more rebellious behavior.

Regardless of the reason, though, it seems that Daniel's time at school had impacted his worldview and his attitude. In some ways, this was to be expected. Family friends had long considered Daniel to be academically gifted. Ford Shelley, who knew Daniel reasonably well, even testified that the boy had been "brilliant," as reported by CBS News. In addition to his studies, Daniel was said to have enjoyed staying active and lifting weights. Being able to explore these interests in a new, camera-free environment was likely a gratifying experience for Daniel.

On September 10, 2006, Daniel Wayne Smith visited his mother, Anna Nicole Smith, at Doctor's Hospital in the Bahamas. Anna Nicole Smith's daughter, Dannielynn Birkhead, had come into the world two days before, and Daniel was thrilled to finally meet his little sister. As Anna Nicole's lawyer, Michael Scott, told the press in a statement (via People), "When Daniel arrived in the hospital room he went straight to his baby sister. He embraced his mother and sister and told them both that he loved them."

Ever a stellar son, Daniel even took the time to nurse his mom back to health. In the same statement, Scott revealed, "Daniel was very helpful to his mother and baby sister. On several occasions throughout the night, Daniel assisted his mother to the bathroom, as she was still in a lot of pain from her C-section." Hospital employees later revealed they had seen Daniel caring for Anna Nicole at all hours of the night.

Mere hours after meeting his little sister for the first time, Daniel curled up in the chair beside his mom's hospital bed. The duo fell asleep, but by the time Anna Nicole woke up the following morning, Daniel had already died. Toxicology reports later found that Daniel had misused methadone — a substance that can cause adverse reactions when mixed with anti-depressant medications, like the ones Daniel was taking. His death was ruled an accidental overdose.

It may seem like Old Hollywood was the era of the biggest tragedies, but Daniel Wayne Smith's 21st-century story says otherwise. Leading up to his death, Daniel despised the spotlight. After he died, rumors abounded — thrusting his name into the headlines time and time again. In 2017 — more than a decade after Daniel's death — Anna Nicole Smith's physician, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, wrote a memoir full of salacious gossip. 

Per Kapoor's book, "Trust Me, I'm a Doctor," Daniel and Anna Nicole stopped speaking in the months before Daniel's death. "Apparently, Daniel met a girl that spring, began dating her, and introduced her to Anna," Kapoor wrote. "The girl fell in love with Anna, and the two of them had a brief sexual relationship. It was downright Shakespearean." Kapoor alleged that this disagreement had created a deep rift between the mother and son.

In an interview with ExtraTV, the doctor then went on to claim that the pair had made up mere hours before Daniel died. "In a sense they did reconcile and they worked out those issues about this girlfriend ... they did work that out, but it worked out the day before he died," Kapoor told the outlet. Interestingly, it doesn't seem Kapoor provided any sort of written or photographic evidence to back up his story — meaning Daniel was the subject of unverified rumors posthumously.