Virgie Arthur, the mother of the late model and actress Anna Nicole Smith, is suing a plethora of people she says defamed her, court papers in Texas show.

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The defendants named in Arthur's lawsuit filed Monday in Harris County state court include the celebrity news Web site TMZ; the site's managing editor, Harvey Levin; her daughter's companion, Howard K. Stern; Stern's sister, Bonnie Stern; TV journalist Art Harris of The Bald Truth blog; and three Texas bloggers, the Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday.

Key to her lawsuit is a story that has run on TMZ.com in the past year with the headline "Virgie Has Son With Her Stepbrother," the Chronicle reported. The story implies the couple were step-siblings prior to their relationship, her lawyer, Neil McCabe, said.

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Smith died last year at the age of 39 and Arthur contends the story damaged her attempts to gain custody and visitation rights for her granddaughter, Dannielynn.