The toxic tabloid culture of the 2000s has been front and center in a slew of recent documentaries. Blonde bombshells like Britney Spears, Pamela Anderson and now, Anna Nicole Smith, are being portrayed in a new light — one that emphasizes the harsh realities of being a global sex symbol.
Smith, born Vickie Lynn Hogan, fled her hometown of Houston, Texas after being discovered by Playboy magazine. Smith became one of the publication’s coveted Playmates of the Month, which led her to book a spokesmodel contract with Guess jeans. After years of struggling with prescription drug addiction, Smith passed away in 2007 at the age of 39.
You May Also Like
Related Articles
The 2023 documentary “You Don’t Know Me” attempts to shed light on Smith’s private life. Ahead, learn more about the film’s plot, its reception and more.
When does the documentary come out?
“You Don’t Know Me” is available to stream now on Netflix. Subscriptions start at $9.99 a month.
What is the film about?
“You Don’t Know Me” features never-before-seen footage from Smith’s home video collection. The documentary also details little-known aspects of her private life, including her first marriage at age 17, as well as her romantic relationship with Missy Byrum, who she met while they were both working as exotic dancers in Houston.
Those interviewed in the documentary include Byrum, Playboy’s former photo editor Marilyn Grabowski and Pol Atteu, who authored the 2008 biography “Anna Nicole Smith: Portrait of an Icon.”
Who directed it?
“You Don’t Know Me” is directed by Ursula Macfarlane, who previously helmed “Untouchable,” a 2019 Hulu documentary about disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein.
“I want audiences to understand that Anna Nicole was a complex woman,” Macfarlane told Netflix. “She was someone who above all else wanted to be a good mother and a free-spirited exuberant woman who wanted to live life on her own terms. But her story is also a cautionary tale about how the desire for the American dream can swallow you up and spit you out, blurring your self-image and make you lose sight of your authentic self.”
How has the film been received?
“You Don’t Know Me” has received mostly mixed reviews. Critics have questioned the documentary’s contradictory messaging. “Although it offers a subtly stinging condemnation of celebrity voyeurism, it’s not enough to make that gut-punch land with force, and even seems guilty of the very same thing,” wrote Variety’s Courtney Howard.
Smith’s former boyfriend, photographer Larry Birkhead, also criticized the documentary. Birkhead is the father of Smith’s only living child, Dannielynn.
“We declined to participate as I did not want my daughter in a overwhelmingly poorly reviewed cesspool of a project about her mother, where some people were allowed to invent things and rewrite history,” Birkhead told Entertainment Tonight.