Aussie actress Abbie Cornish has completely transformed into iconic celebrity Anna Nicole Smith in a first look at the new feature film.
The 43-year-old will play the late Playboy playmate in an upcoming movie titled Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, which is based on a memoir by Dr. Sandeep Kapoor – an LA-based physician who was implicated in the death of Smith from an accidental overdose in 2007.
In a first-look image released today by the film’s production company Briarcliff Entertainment, Cornish is pictured with co-star Kal Penn, who plays the titular role of Dr. Kapoor.
The pair are seen recreating the real-life duo’s appearance at the West Hollywood Pride parade in 2005, where Smith famously lay over a convertible sports car while wearing a sparkly silver dress with cut-out sides.
In the photo, Penn is sat next to Cornish in character as Dr Kapoor, who at the time faced backlash for becoming too close with Smith and seemingly crossing a doctor-patient boundary.
Penn, who is best known for his role in the Harold & Kumar films, said he was lucky enough to have met Smith before her tragic death at 39, and from his observations Cornish perfectly portrayed the late star.
“She really embodied Anna Nicole in a very striking way,” Penn told Variety. “She was a completely different person. I briefly met Anna Nicole a handful of times way back when I was starting my career, and she was on a reality show. I never really had any conversations of any note with her but it definitely brought me back to that time. Abbie is excellent. She’s phenomenal in this role.”
He added that Cornish – who was born in the Hunter Region in NSW – made a conscious effort not to play Smith as a caricature, but rather she brought a “vulnerability” and “complexity” to the role.
Speaking to Deadline back in 2024 when she was first cast, Cornish admitted that playing the legendary figure was “such a dream”.
“I am honoured to have been chosen by our amazing producers and talented writer/director, Thane Economou,” she told the masthead.
“And I am so excited to work with our incredible cast and crew. I am blessed to stand alongside the charismatic and gifted Kal Penn and tell the tale of this moment in history.”
“There are so many layers and chapters to Anna’s life story that I look forward to embodying on screen with all of my heart and soul. Truly grateful.”
The film is set in the early 2000s at the height of magazine tabloid culture where Smith was front and centre. It is told through the perspective of Dr Kapoor, who found himself in the spotlight following her death.
The physician’s medical career came to a standstill in 2009 when he and Smith’s psychiatrist, Dr Khristine Eroshevich, were charged for allegedly providing excessive prescription drugs to the former model.
However, a jury acquitted the pair in 2010 because there wasn’t enough evidence to convict.