Billy Wayne Smith was Anna Nicole Smith’s first husband. They met at Jim’s Krispy Fried Chicken in Mexia, Texas, and married on April 4, 1985. Their son, Daniel Wayne Smith, was born in January 1986. After the marriage ended, Billy rarely appeared in the available news coverage. One documented appearance was at Daniel’s memorial service in Mexia in October 2006. This guide shows what the record proves, where it stops, and which online claims you should not trust.

Quick Facts About Billy Wayne Smith

Who Is Billy Wayne Smith?

Billy Wayne Smith is best known for one thing. He was married to a young woman who later became famous as Anna Nicole Smith. She was born Vickie Lynn Hogan.

Billy was not a public figure himself. Most of what the public knows about him comes from the story of that marriage. It includes their teenage wedding, the birth of their son, and the years after they split.

People search his name for three main reasons. They want to know who he was, what happened to Daniel, and where he is now. This guide answers all three. It also says clearly when the answer is “we do not know.”

Billy Wayne Smith’s Early Life and Background

Billy’s story starts in Mexia, Texas. That is where he worked as a teenager, and it is where he married.

The research shows he was a fry cook at Jim’s Krispy Fried Chicken. It also shows he was 16 when he got married. That is about all that sources prove about his early years.

We did not find reliable proof of his birthday, his parents, or his school. Some websites list these details. We did not repeat them because none of them were backed by a strong source. A short, true profile is better than a long one with guesses.

How Billy Wayne Smith Met Anna Nicole Smith

Billy and Anna met at work. Jim’s Krispy Fried Chicken in Mexia was the place where they both had jobs.

Anna worked as a waitress there. Billy cooked in the kitchen. According to the Texas State Historical Association, they were both teenagers when they met. The two started dating and soon became a couple.

It was a small-town love story. Neither of them was famous yet. At that point, Anna was just Vickie Lynn Hogan, a teenage worker at a chicken restaurant.

Billy Wayne Smith and Anna Nicole Smith’s Marriage

The Texas State Historical Association gives the wedding date as April 4, 1985. The wedding took place in Mexia, Texas.

Here is how old they were:

• Anna: 17 years old.
• Billy: 16 years old, according to TIME.

Some articles say the wedding happened “around 1985 or 1986.” The exact date is better. It is April 4, 1985, and it comes from a strong historical source.

Anna kept the last name Smith after the marriage ended. In a 2002 interview on Larry King Live, she said Smith was her first married name. She said Marshall was her second. Her second husband was J. Howard Marshall.

The Texas State Historical Association also says her professional name, Anna Nicole Smith, came from a name suggested by Guess president Paul Marciano.

Daniel Wayne Smith, Their Only Confirmed Child

Billy and Anna had one child that the research confirms. His name was Daniel Wayne Smith. We did not find reliable proof that Billy had other children.

When Was Daniel Wayne Smith Born?

Daniel was born on January 22, 1986, in Mexia, Texas. That was less than a year after the wedding. Both of his parents were still very young.

What Was Daniel’s Relationship With Anna Nicole Smith?

Anna was Daniel’s mother, and he stayed part of her life as she became famous. In 2006, he was visiting her in the Bahamas when he died. At that time, Anna had a newborn daughter named Hannah Rose Marshall Stern. She later became known as Dannielynn Birkhead. She was Daniel’s half-sister.

What Happened to Daniel Wayne Smith?

Daniel died on September 10, 2006. He was 20 years old. He died in the Bahamas while visiting his mother, according to People.

A jury later decided that his death was an accidental overdose. Anna Nicole Smith died five months later, in February 2007. This is a painful part of the family story. We have kept it short and factual on purpose.

Why Did Billy Wayne Smith and Anna Nicole Smith Separate?

Accounts differ on when Billy and Anna separated. The Texas State Historical Association places their separation in 1986. CBS and the Associated Press also report that Anna left Billy in mid-1986. Oxford’s American National Biography gives 1987. Oxford also says Anna later moved to Houston.

The sources we checked do not give a clear reason for the split. They also do not include a full public account from Billy. He never told his side in any reliable interview that we found.

That matters. Any website that claims to know exactly why the marriage ended is likely guessing. Be careful with that kind of claim, especially when no source is named.

One more thing is worth knowing. Sources differ on the separation date. TSHA and CBS/AP point to 1986, while Oxford gives 1987. The exact timing remains disputed in published accounts. We show both dates so you can see the difference.

When Did Billy Wayne Smith and Anna Nicole Smith Divorce?

This is where many websites get confused. Separating and divorcing are two different events. A couple can live apart for years before a court ends the marriage.

Here is the timeline from the sources we checked:

The Texas State Historical Association gives February 1993 for the divorce. We did not find a court record that shows the exact day it was final. So we do not give an exact day.

Some articles say the divorce happened in 1983. That cannot be right. The couple did not even separate until years after that.

Where Is Billy Wayne Smith Now?

Here is the honest answer. No reliable source tells us where Billy lives today.

The last solid report we found is from TIME in 2007. It said he was living in Mexia at that time. That was a long time ago. It does not prove where he lives now.

Here is what we know and what we do not:

Was Billy Wayne Smith Still Living in Mexia?

TIME said yes in 2007. That is the most recent report we found. Some articles imply he still lives there now. Old reports cannot prove that.

What Does Billy Wayne Smith Do for a Living?

We know he worked as a fry cook as a teenager. We did not find a reliable source for his work as an adult. Some websites mention oilfield or farm work. They do not give evidence, so we left those claims out.

Did Billy Wayne Smith Attend Daniel’s Memorial Service?

Yes. TIME reported that Billy was at the memorial service for his son. It was held in Mexia, Texas, and about 50 people came.

Contemporary news coverage places the service at First Baptist Church of Mexia. This was a hometown service for a hometown family.

This is different from Daniel’s burial. Daniel’s body was not brought to Mexia for the service. He was later buried in the Bahamas. The Texas memorial and the burial were two separate events. Some readers mix them up, so keep that in mind when you read other articles.

This report is one of the few times Billy appeared in news coverage after the marriage. His attendance at Daniel’s memorial confirms that he was present to mourn his son after their family had separated.

Billy Wayne Smith’s Age, Net Worth and Personal Life

Billy Wayne Smith’s Age

We know he was 16 when he married Anna on April 4, 1985. We do not know his exact birthday. Some websites give a birth year or a current age. We did not repeat those numbers because we found no strong proof.

Billy Wayne Smith’s Net Worth

We found no reliable financial records or published estimate that confirms Billy Wayne Smith’s net worth. His former wife became very wealthy later in life. The research gives no sign that Billy shared in that money.

Did Billy Wayne Smith Remarry?

We found no reliable confirmation of a second marriage. Some pages make claims about his later family life. One report used a friend’s Facebook post as its source. A post like that is not proof, so we do not treat it as fact.

Be Careful: Other People Named Billy Wayne Smith

This name is common. That causes mix-ups online. A search for his name can bring up people who have nothing to do with Anna Nicole Smith.

Here are some examples that appear in search results:

• A Billy Wayne Smith obituary from Arkansas in 2026.
• A Billy Wayne Smith obituary from Louisiana in 2025.
• A North Carolina arrest report about a man with the same name.
• A fundraiser page on Spotfund that uses the name.

None of these pages prove anything about Anna’s first husband. The Spotfund page mentions Anna Nicole Smith. Even so, it does not show that the person who set up the page is her former husband.

Do not use obituaries, police news, or fundraisers to learn about him. Only use sources that clearly name Anna Nicole Smith’s first husband.

Current Checks

Some facts about Billy could change if new reporting appears. Here is a short list to review over time:

Frequently Asked Questions About Billy Wayne Smith

Is Billy Wayne Smith still alive?

We did not find a reliable death report for Anna Nicole Smith’s first husband. We also did not find a reliable report that proves his current status. Other men with the same name have obituaries, so be careful. Those obituaries are not about him.

Where is Billy Wayne Smith now?

His current home is not confirmed. TIME reported in 2007 that he lived in Mexia, Texas. That is the latest solid report we found.

How old was Billy Wayne Smith when he married Anna Nicole?

He was 16, according to TIME. Anna was 17. They married on April 4, 1985, in Mexia, Texas.

Did Billy Wayne Smith have other children?

The research confirms one child, Daniel Wayne Smith. We found no reliable proof of other children. Daniel’s half-sister was born as Hannah Rose Marshall Stern. She later became known as Dannielynn Birkhead, and she is Anna’s daughter.

Why did Anna Nicole Smith keep the Smith last name?

In a 2002 interview on Larry King Live, Anna said Smith was her first married name. She said Marshall was her second. The name Smith stayed with her as she became known to the public.

Was Billy Wayne Smith involved in Anna Nicole Smith’s inheritance case?

We found no source that says he took part. The court case was about the estate of J. Howard Marshall, her second husband. Nothing we checked says Billy received money from it.

The Bottom Line on Billy Wayne Smith

Billy Wayne Smith is part of a short but well-known story. He was a teenage fry cook who married a waitress named Vickie Lynn Hogan. Their son, Daniel, was born in 1986. The marriage ended, and Anna went on to fame.

The record is strong for the early years. It is thin after that. We know he went to Daniel’s memorial service in Mexia. We do not know where he lives today. When a website gives you more detail than that, ask where it came from.

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