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.

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.