First look at Aussie actress Abbie Cornish as Anna Nicole Smith in upcoming biopic

An Australian actress is set to play the late Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith in an upcoming biopic.

Anna Nicole Smith died in 2007 from an accidental drug overdose. Picture: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Australian actress Abbie Cornish has slipped into the very famous shoes of Anna Nicole Smith, playing the late Playboy Playmate in the upcoming feature film, Trust Me, I’m A Doctor.

Cornish, who grew up in the Hunter Region of NSW, gave viewers a first look of her in character as she filmed in Toronto on May 2.

In the scene, the 41-year-old recreated Smith’s appearance at the 2005 Pride Parade in West Hollywood, California – complete with a silver cut-out dress and coloured beads.

“Playing Anna Nicole Smith is such a dream,” she said in a statement via Deadline this week, when the film was announced.

Late actress and model Anna Nicole Smith at the Pride Parade in LA in 2005. Picture: Phil McCarten/Getty Images

Abbie Cornish, seen here in character, will play the iconic Playboy model in the upcoming biopic Trust Me, Im A Doctor. Picture: TheImageDirect.com

Cornish nailed her portrayal while filming in Toronto, Canada, on May 2. Picture: TheImageDirect.com

“I am honoured to have been chosen by our amazing producers and talented writer/director, Thane Economou. And I am so excited to work with our incredible cast and crew. I am blessed to stand alongside the charismatic and gifted [co-star] 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.”

Trust Me, I’m a Doctor is based on the memoir of Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, a LA-based physician who was implicated in the death of Smith from an accidental overdose in 2007, aged just 39.

Cornish grew up in the Hunter Region of NSW. Picture: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Smith died in 2007 following an accidental drug overdose. Picture: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

The film is set in the early 2000s at the height of Smith’s fame and magazine tabloid culture, and it is told through the perspective of Dr. Kapoor (played by Penn), who found himself in the spotlight following her death.

Dr Kapoor 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.

Terminator star Linda Hamilton also stars in the film. Picture: Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images

Kal Penn plays the titular role in the film, portraying Dr. Sandeep Kapoor. Picture: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

However, a jury acquitted the pair in 2010 because there wasn’t enough evidence to convict.

Joining Cornish in the film is The Terminator actress Linda Hamilton, who will play Dr. Kapoor’s lawyer Ellyn Garafalo, and Penn, who is best known for his role in Harold & Kumar.

“We all know the tragic story of the iconic Anna Nicole Smith, but very few of us – myself included – knew much about her young doctor: flamboyant, old school, blurring the lines between patient and acquaintance, and ultimately arrested and charged following her death,” Penn said in a statement to Deadline.

“It’s a wild story brought to life in an especially tremendous script.”

Originally published as First look at Aussie actress Abbie Cornish as Anna Nicole Smith in upcoming biopic