Amid the posthumous brouhaha, let's not forget the bombshell was one of us

Since Anna Nicole Smith's death last week, her tragic saga gets spicier every day. And while there are already way too many messy strands tied to the white-trash icon, Texas' own Marilyn Monroe had a well-documented queer streak.

In 1998, she made "Anna Nicole Smith: Exposed," where the bombshell and co-star Ahmo Hight created a steaming hot same-sex bathtub scene. Smith also received a co-directing credit for the video.

But even more interesting is the tale of former Winnsboro, Texas, resident Sandi Powledge, who says she had a three-year lesbian relationship with Smith.

According to "I Was Anna Nicole's Lesbian Lover," a Dallas Observer article that appeared Feb. 3, 2000, Powledge and Smith's affair began in Houston in 1991. The two met at a lesbian bar called The Hill. According to Powledge, their romance was rife with drama. But the good times seemed to outnumber the bad. Powledge even served as Smith's personal assistant.

On her back, Powledge has a tattoo of Anna Nicole's face a typical testament of devotion. The World of Wonder-produced documentary "Dark Roots" shows several of Smith's kin who also inked the former Playmate on their skin. Her Uncle Floyd has a nude rendition of Anna on his back, while her Aunt Kay has a more modest back image. Cousin Melinda Hudson has Anna's face on her leg.

Another interesting figure in Anna Nicole's Sapphic lore is her former nanny, Maria Antonia Cerrato. The full-time babysitter accused Smith of keeping her as a "love slave." In 1994, Cerrato was awarded $830,000 in a sexual harassment suit.

Daniel A. Kusner



This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition February 16, 2007.