Abbie Cornish Transforms into Anna Nicole Smith

The first look at the highly anticipated Anna Nicole Smith biopic has been unveiled, with Australian actress undergoing a stunning transformation to play the late Playboy model.

Newly released images show the 43-year-old actress recreating one of Smith's most memorable public appearances, lounging across the back of a convertible during the 2005 West Hollywood Pride Parade

The film, called Trust Me, I'm a Doctor, will be released in October and centres on the complex dynamics within Smith's inner circle, with a particular focus on her relationship with Kapoor in the years leading up to her tragic death.

Abbie was the spitting image of the late bombshell as she slipped into a platinum blonde wig, flashed Anna Nicole's trademark cheeky smile and perfectly captured her glamorous, larger-than-life persona. 

The Australian-born actress' transformation was remarkable, with the Australian actress channelling Smith's signature platinum blonde locks, cheeky grin and bombshell glamour so convincingly she was almost unrecognisable.

Kapoor was charged with eight felonies following Anna Nicole's accidental overdose in a hotel room in 2007.

The exclusive first-look images, published by Variety, also feature Penn reflecting on the moment he first saw Cornish in full costume.

'She really embodied Anna Nicole in a very striking way. She was a completely different person,' the actor, who briefly met Smith before her death, told the publication.

'It definitely brought me back to that time. Abbie is excellent. She's phenomenal in this role.'

Cornish recently described taking on the role as 'just incredible' while appearing at the Taormina Film Festival in Sicily last month.

When the project was first announced, the Australian star said she was 'beyond excited' to portray Smith in the film, which is written and directed by Thane Economou and adapted from Kapoor's memoir Trust Me, I'm A Doctor: My Life Before, During and After Anna Nicole Smith.

The biopic is scheduled for release in October and boasts an impressive supporting cast, including Linda Hamilton as Kapoor's lawyer Ellyn Garofalo and David Julian Hirsh as Smith's boyfriend at the time of her death, attorney Howard K. Stern.

Cornish, who first found fame in Somersault opposite Sam Worthington before starring alongside Heath Ledger in Candy, also reflected on her own unexpected journey into acting during her appearance at the Italian film festival.

'I won a modelling competition and an agent had sent me to an acting audition and I was lucky enough to get that role and I completely fell in love with acting,' she told the crowd.