One of the most famous deaths associated with Playboy is that of Anna Nicole Smith. Smith famously married billionaire businessman J. Howard Marshall a year before his death at the age of 90, and ended up in a lengthy legal battle with his children over the inheritance of his fortune. The Netflix documentary 'Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me' delves into the complicated life of the former Playboy Playmate. She was a larger-than-life character who was media gold back in the '90s and early 2000s, but the documentary shows another side to the blonde bombshell whose life ended so prematurely. Smith died of an accidental drug overdose in 2007 at the age of 39, less than a year after her 20-year-old son died under the same circumstances.
Mystery shrouds the gruesome ends that far too many Playboy Playmates seem to have met. To learn more about Smith's story and that of other ill-fated Playmates, check out this gallery and read about the tragic, bizarre, and often unexplained deaths of the celebrity models who were ultimately destined for disaster.
The reported cause of death was cited as an overdose on at least nine prescription drugs. She passed away six months after her own son died from drug-related causes.
It's thought that she was in contact with her former lover at the time, a fact that upset her husband, Ryan Jenkins. He quickly became the prime suspect.
The former Playmate (she was Playboy's Miss March in 2011) took her own life on April 15, 2020, at her Austin, Texas home, where she left a suicide note. Her family has shared that she had been struggling with substance abuse, and that the "shelter-in-place" order in Texas due to the coronavirus pandemic did not help, as it led to increased loneliness. Mattingly was only 33 years old.
The former Playboy model was found strangled to death at her Ardmore, Pennsylvania apartment back in August 2018. Police eventually arrested a man, Jonathan Harris, who was convicted of the charges.
The November 1992 Playboy Playmate was a business owner, author, CEO, and the first Playmate to come out as a lesbian. Her career was going up, until it suddenly plunged with tragic consequences.
On May 18, 2018, Adams killed herself by jumping out the window of a New York City hotel. Even worse, she took her 7-year-old son down with her. Reports suggest the murder-suicide was due to a strenuous custody battle with her ex.
Despite her looks, career, and relationships, or perhaps because of them, Monroe grew dependent on alcohol and prescription medications.
On August 5, 1962, the film star was found dead in her bedroom at her California home. Investigators were torn over whether it was an overdose or murder.
See also: Celebrities who died tragically young.
The endless list of tragic Playmate deaths
Anna Nicole Smith and Jayne Mansfield are just two famous examples
CELEBRITY Tragedy
Mystery shrouds the gruesome ends that far too many Playboy Playmates seem to have met. To learn more about the numerous ill-fated Playmates, check out this gallery and read about the tragic, bizarre, and often unexplained deaths of the celebrity models who were ultimately destined for disaster.