Ex-Playmate goes to Supreme Court

Anna Nicole Smith arrived at the Supreme Court dressed in black

Former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith has appeared before the US Supreme Court in her long-running legal bid to inherit her late husband's fortune.

Smith married Texan oil baron J Howard Marshall II in 1995 when she was 26 and he was 89. He died a year later, leaving an $1.6bn (£900m) estate.

His widow, a diet company spokeswoman, has been fighting his son for a share of his money ever since.

An initial decision to award her half of his fortune was overturned in 2002.

Smith met her future husband as she was working as a stripper in a club, and she has always maintained that it was a marriage based on love.

She has since become the star of her own reality TV show, with her behaviour fascinating many viewers.

A bit of a stir

Those who queued for hours saw a demure-looking Smith, dressed in black and wearing sunglasses, arrive swarmed by photographers. She later left through a side door and sped away in a black car.

The BBC's Daniela Relph in Washington said few events at the sober court have caused as much of a stir as this.

Marshall left his wife two homes, and millions of dollars in gifts, clothes and jewellery, but Smith claims he also promised her half of everything he owned.

A federal judge awarded her $450m (£256m) in 2000, but this was reduced on appeal to $88m (£50m).

One of Marshall's two sons continued to contest the award, which was thrown out entirely in 2002 in the Texas state courts.

The justices of the Supreme Court must now decide if she can make another claim on her late husband's estate.

The case hinges on the technical issue of the conditions under which federal courts may hear claims that involve state probate proceedings.