Another American Tragedy

If you live in North America and have access to a television, you are by now aware of the recent death of Anna Nicole Smith. Less than six months after the death of her 20 year old son, the former Playboy model, reality TV star, and weight loss spokesperson died in Florida at the age of 39.

During her life, it was easy to laugh at Smith - her fluctuating weight, her gold-digging marriage to a man 63 years her senior, and her surreal appearances in interviews and in her reality show gave comedians and audiences alike fodder for mocking her - but there was always an air of tragedy about her. If we are honest with ourselves, most of us would probably admit that we were not surprised to hear that the poor woman died alone in a hotel room.

The fact of the matter is that Anna Nicole Smith, like so many other celebrities, was not famous for much besides being famous. To be true, the young model that was declared "Playmate of the Year" in 1993 was blessed with an attractive face and figure. At the same time, she was cursed with an apparent dearth of any other talent. When combined with what seemed to be an addiction to fame, you have a recipe for another American tragedy.

I regret to admit that I was one of the many who derided her drug-addled interviews. I cringed at the pathetic drama surrounding the paternity of her newborn daughter. I made cruel comments the two times I watched her reality television show. Like pretty well the rest of North America, I forgot that beneath all of the drama and all of the pathos and all of the mess there was a very broken human being. I am ashamed that it took her death to show me the real tragedy of Anna Nicole Smith's life.