Anna Nicole Smith's increasingly heartbreaking life came to a tragic end on Thursday. The model was pronounced dead after being taken to a Florida hospital, reports CNN. She was 39.
Her attorney, Ron Rale, has confirmed the sad news to MSNBC.
Smith was found unconscious in her room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood and was rushed to the hospital just after 2 pm ET. Paramedics performed CPR and incubated her at the scene, reports TMZ. She was pronounced dead after arriving at Memorial Regional Hospital.
Florida police chief Charlie Tiger confirmed the news at a press conference, saying "At approximately 1:45 pm today, the Seminole police department responded to the Hollywood Hard Rock Hotel in reference to a person needing medical assistance. The person, later identified as Anna Nicole Smith, was treated by paramedics and transported to the Hollywood Memorial Hospital. At 2:49 this afternoon, we were advised by hospital personnel that Anna Nicole Smith had died. The cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner and the Seminole police department will continue its investigation into this matter."
During the press conference, Tiger also confirmed that Smith's bodyguard administered CPR before the paramedics arrived. One of the first paramedics to arrive on the scene, Captain Fitzgerald, told a local NBC affliate that she was not breathing when they got there. Witnesses at the Memorial Hospital told CNN that Smith's body was covered in a sheet when she arrived.
Smith had been staying at the hotel with her partner, Howard K. Stern, and an unidentified woman, reports E! News. Her five-month-old daughter, Dannielynn Hope, was in the Bahamas with a close friend of Smith's at the time of the death, reports People magazine.
Before learning of Smith's death, lawyer Rale had told People, "She hasn't been well the past few days, she's had cold and flu symptoms."
Smith had been in the midst of a nasty paternity battle with former boyfriend Larry Birkhead. On Dannielynn Hope's birth certificate, Stern is listed as the biological father, but Birkhead was disputing his paternity claim. On Wednesday, a judge ordered Smith to submit the baby for DNA testing by Feb. 21.
Following news of Smith's death, an emergency hearing regarding the paternity case has been scheduled for Friday morning in Los Angeles. Birkhead's attorney has requested a DNA swab be taken from Smith's corpse, which Rale calls "the lowest form of behavior I've ever heard of," reports People.
Last September, Smith's 20-year-old son Daniel was found dead in his mother's hospital room, only three days after Smith had given birth.
Gallery: Anna Nicole's life in pictures
Video: Anna Nicole's obit
Past news on Anna Nicole Smith:
Smith's ex files paternity suit Paternity test ordered for Smith's baby Stern: I'm the baby's father Anna Nicole Smith "marries" Stern Smith slapped with second lawsuit Mystery surrounds Smith's son's death Drugs blamed for Smith's son's death Anna Nicole tried to revive son Anna Nicole's son dies Anna Nicole Smith calls out Carmen Electra Gallery: More pictures of Anna Nicole Smith
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