Anna Nicole Smith loses husband's millions

Former Playboy Playmate of the Year Anna Nicole Smith has been stripped of the $88 million (£45m) inheritance she gained from the estate of her billionaire husband J Howard Marshall.

A US appeals court overturned a 2002 judgment that the dying 90-year-old truly loved his then 26-year-old wife when he left her the money following a bitter court fight with the oil tycoon's son.

The judge ruled that the son had tried to rob Smith of her rightful inheritance by mounting a campaign of deceit and dishonesty.

Today, three judges in San Francisco reversed that decision, saying she was not mentioned in her husband's trust and will, after being given £3.1 million in

1994. Judge Robert Beezer said: "No provision for distributions of income or principal of the trust estate was made in favour of the settlor's spouse."

Marshall married Smith, a topless dancer who went on to host her own reality TV show, just 14 months before his death in 1995.