At approximately 2 p.m. EST today, Anna Nicole Smith (born Vickie Lynn Hogan) left the realm of the boldfaced for a better, happier place, where script-shopping isn't a felony, and everyone's as high as you are.
But as we mourn the loss of gossip's long-suffering golden goose, we also wonder what's next. After nearly two decades of headlines, could this really be it? Don't bet on it. A few predictions for the coming months:
• Larry Birkhead, Howard K. Stern, and Smith's infant daughter, Dannielynn, become locked in what will ultimately become a 10-year battle for the nearly $90 million Smith was seeking from the estate of her late husband, J. Howard Marshall.
• When the National Enquirer holds its nose, AMI capo Bonnie Fuller publishes the "EXCLUSIVE!" open-casket camera-phone pics in the Globe. TMZ gets there first and the issue tanks.
• On the heels of a class action lawsuit, speculation about TrimSpa's role in Smith's demise pushes the company into bankruptcy.
• Sales of Carmen Electra's NV weight loss supplement soar.
• Lifetime starts production on a four-part mini-series starring The Hills Heidi Montag in a fat suit.
• Elton John releases "Candle in the Wind 2007" exclusively on iTunes.
PREVIOUSLY
• Anna Nicole Smith is Dead
• Battle of the Bulge: Anna Nicole vs. Carmen Electra
• Did Hospital Screw-Up Kill Smith's Kid?
• Anna and Howard's Wedding Windfall