NASSAU, Bahamas - The death of Anna Nicole Smith reverberated Thursday throughout her adopted home of the Bahamas, where the reality TV star's recent troubles had held particular fascination for her neighbours.
Her death at a Florida hotel prompted concern for her baby daughter, who was born in the island chain in September, just three days before her adult son died in her hospital room there.
"That is so sad. First son, then mother -- just a few months later,'' said Walter Rolle, 42, the manager of an outdoor market in Nassau. "I guess we feel we got to know her since she was living here.''
Smith, a former playboy centrefold and celebrity magazine fixture, came to the Bahamas in July and kept a low profile until the Sept. 10 death of her 20-year-old son Daniel triggered a wave of publicity and a minor political scandal.
Opposition legislators accused the government of showing favouritism to Smith by quickly scheduling an inquest into the death and expediting her application for permanent residency.
Smith was also embroiled in a paternity dispute with a former boyfriend. Her five-month-old daughter's birth certificate lists Smith's most recent companion, lawyer Howard K. Stern, as the father. An ex-boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, was waging a legal challenge, saying he was the father.
People who dealt with her in the Bahamas remembered her fondly.
"From my professional exposure to Anna Nicole, I can say she was always personable, down to earth and driven. All in all, a joy to have as a client,'' said Wayne Munroe, her Bahamian lawyer.
The tourism minister, Obie Wilchcombe, said Smith's time in the Bahamas boosted the island chain's international prominence.
"What is interesting is we got feedback from as faraway as Asia once she moved here, and it was positive. Many people seemed to learn more about the Bahamas because of Anna Nicole Smith,'' he said.
"I'm shocked. Of course I am interested. She lived here,'' said Antoinette Butler, 32, who was reading updates about Anna Nicole's death online in her office at the Chamber of Commerce. "What I want to know now is who is going to take care of that poor baby?''
An inquest into Daniel Smith's death has been scheduled for late March in the Bahamas. A private medical examiner concluded that he died from a lethal combination of methadone and two antidepressants.
