JERRY SPRINGER Co-Creator Thomas Set To Direct Anna Nicole Opera

Richard Thomas, co-creator of Jerry Springer the Opera, is set to direct a new opera based on the tragic life of blond bombshell and train-wreck Anna Nicole Smith.

The story will be written by Mark-Anthony Turnage and staged at Covant Garden in 2011.

The tale is bound to be a dramatic one as Smith's life was filled with a plethora of tabloid worthy controversy.

While working as a stripper Smith met and married elderly billionaire J. Howard Marshall. After Marshall's death Smith was caught up in a very public battle with her husband's son over money. She briefly starred in her own reality TV show during which her weight ballooned. She appeared publicly intoxicated numerous times and succumbed to several embarrassing public appearances. Tragedy encompassed the later years of her life, as three days after the birth of her daughter in the Bahamas Smith's son was found dead. Five months later Smith also passed away.

It is a sad story of a life lived in the tabloids and scrutinized by the public eye, but the creators feel that it is a story worth telling.