Nearly 11 years after the death of Anna Nicole Smith, Kim Kardashian posted a photo of the icon on Instagram with the caption, "muse." People quickly slammed the mother-of-three for praising the controversial star, but many may not know about Anna Nicole's history with her family. Let's take a look at the blonde beauty's relationship with Kanye West, shall we?

View this post on Instagram

Muse

A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on

Kim may be Kanye's greatest muse, but she wasn't his only. Anna Nicole also inspired Yeezy in his early years. In 2004, the rapper was such a fan that he made her the star of one of his music videos. Anna Nicole was at the height of her career at the time, while Kanye was just starting out as a recording artist. Her role as Ella May, the "ultimate trophy wife" in "The New Workout Plan" video, garnered a lot of attention — as did cameos by John Legend, Tracee Ellis Ross, and more.

Later that year, Anna Nicole went on stage at the 2004 American Music Awards to introduce Kanye. The blonde beauty gushed, "I was honored to be in our next performer's new video, and if I ever record an album I want this guy to produce and make me a beautiful duet because he's freakin' genius! Make some noise for my boy Kanye West!" Sadly, this appearance also marked the beginning of her downward spiral. She was disheveled, unorganized, slurring her speech, and was seemingly intoxicated as she spoke. Less than three years later, she died of a prescription drug overdose. The clip of Ye's intro was eventually used in a lawsuit against her friend and lawyer Howard K. Stern, which accused him of plying her with drugs.

Kim has always been a fan of Anna Nicole's. Months after her 2007 death, Kim appeared at a tribute party in West Hollywood. It makes sense that the 37-year-old would relate to the bombshell. She seemingly filled the void of international sex symbol that Anna Nicole left behind. Plus, any friend of Kanye's is a friend of Kim's, even if she never got to meet her. Regardless of the backlash, we think her post about the family friend is touching.