Notable People
Dannilynn and Larry Birkhead posed for photos together at a Gala leading up to the Kentucky Derby. The teen looks just like her late mother, Anna Nicole Smith.
Dannielynn and Larry Birkhead have attended the Kentucky Derby together for years. While the father and daughter pair are pretty private, even on social media, Larry uses the famed horse race to update fans on how the daughter he shares with the late Anna Nicole Smith is doing. This year, Dannielynn showed off one of her late mother’s gowns.
Dannielynn Birkhead wears Anna Nicole Smith’s dress to the Kentucky Derby
Dannielynn and Larry Birkhead were present at the Barnstable-Brown Gala on May 2. The father and daughter are staples at the event. Birkhead shared photos from the event on Instagram. In the caption, Birkhead shared that Dannielynn picked her dress because it belonged to her mother and is “super cool.” Dannielynn is currently 18 and looks remarkably like her late mother. Anna Nicole Smith wore the gown to the same gala 21 years earlier.
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A post shared by Larry Birkhead (@larryanddannielynn)
The Birkheads will also be at the racetrack for the full race. Larry shared photos from today’s festivities, too. While Dannielynn has opted for a different dress for the daytime event, she is wearing her late mother’s jewelry.
Dannielynn Birkhead was at the center of a custody battle 17 years ago
Dannielynn Birkhead lives a mostly quiet, private life now, save for her yearly appearance at the Kentucky Derby. As an infant, she was at the center of a widely publicized custody battle. Following her mother’s sudden death, multiple men claimed paternity of the infant. Smith’s attorney, Howard K. Stern, who was listed on the birth certificate, insisted Dannielynn was his. DNA testing was carried out and confirmed that photographer Larry Birkhead was Dannielynn’s biological father. In April 2007, Birkhead was awarded full custody of Dannielynn.
Initially, experts suggested that whoever gained custody of the infant would also control a massive trust due to Smith’s controversial marriage to J. Howard Marshall. That turned out not to be the case. Dannielynn did not inherit anything from Marshall’s estate. The courts ultimately ruled that she was not entitled to a portion of the late billionaire’s estate. Dannielynn has lived with her father in Louisville, Kentucky ever since.
