The former Playboy playmate collapsed Thursday afternoon and was found unresponsive in her room at the Hard Rock Seminole Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., says Los Angeles attorney Ron Rale, who represents Smith in an ongoing lawsuit regarding the paternity of her daughter. Smith was rushed by ambulance shortly after 2 p.m. to nearby Memorial Regional Hospital, where she died.

I can't say as I was ever a fan of Ms. Smith, but she was so high profile, it was hard to be unaware of her existence. All the drama around her life seemed unreal, like she was a character that had stepped from some bestselling novel - marriage to a dying billionaire, legal battles about the estate with his stepson, then the death of that 67-year-old stepson, the birth of a new child to Anna Nicole, then the death of her own son, and now Anna gone too.

There's a life lesson here somewhere, but I'm at a loss to express it, other than perhaps to realize that even in those moments when I'm depressed about my own life, I have to be aware that things could be much much worse.

Many stories and legends will doubtless ensue about Anna Nicole's life, especially because of the "live fast, die young" nature of her existence, combined with her beauty and resemblance to Marilyn Monroe .

Ultimately though, I am left with sadness for Anna, for her family, and for her now motherless daughter. I offer my sympathies to all those who genuinely cared about her.

Elonka

Anna Nicole Smith