A US federal appeals court panel rejected a bid by the late Anna Nicole Smith’s lawyers to reconsider its ruling that gave her none of the fortune from her late billionaire husband.

The estate of the late Anna Nicole Smith has been hit with a new lawsuit by a Texas law firm over unpaid legal bills.

Anna Nicole Smith, the pneumatic blonde whose life played out as an extraordinary tabloid tale - Playboy centrefold, jeans model, bride of an octogenarian oil tycoon, reality-show subject, tragic mother – died yesterday after collapsing at a hotel. She was 39.

Former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith is going to the US’ highest court in her fight over the fortune of her 90-year-old late husband.