Where is Anna Nicole Smith’s lookalike daughter Dannielynn Birkhead now? The 16-year-old is dubbed the ‘people’s princess’ of the Bahamas, modelled for Guess like mum, and goes to the Kentucky Derby
It’s been over 16 years since Smith’s passing and she is survived by her daughter, Dannielynn Birkhead, who remains largely out of the spotlight.
Smith’s daughter had lost both her mum and older brother to drug overdoses by five months old. Birkhead was also at the centre of a paternity battle as an infant. Today, the 16-year-old lives with her dad, Larry Birkhead, and annually attends the Kentucky Derby.
So, let’s see where she is today …
Anna Nicole Smith announced she was pregnant with her second child in June 2006
Smith gave birth to her daughter, who she named Dannielynn, on September 7, 2006 while still in the Bahamas. At the time of Dannielynn’s birth, Smith’s lawyer Howard K. Stern was listed as the baby’s father on the birth certificate. He maintained his paternity claim in subsequent interviews.
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Smith’s 20-year-old son Daniel died three days after Dannielynn’s birth
On September 10, 2006, Dannielynn’s older brother Daniel died while on a trip to visit his mother and newborn sister in the Bahamas. He was 20 years old.
“Anna Nicole is absolutely devastated by the loss of her son. He was her pride and joy and an amazing human being. Please do not make any press inquiries at this time so that Anna Nicole can grieve in peace,” Smith said in a statement posted to her website at the time, per People.
His cause of death was later determined to be an accidental drug overdose, according to Reuters.
Smith died in February 2007
Less than five months after her son’s death, Smith collapsed in a Florida hotel room and was rushed to the hospital. She died there on February 8, 2007. She was 39 years old.
Her cause of death was later determined to be an accidental drug overdose.
A DNA test proved that photographer Larry Birkhead was Dannielynn’s father
After a legal battle with Stern that lasted for months, a DNA test proved that photographer Larry Birkhead was Dannielynn’s father.
“I hate to be the one who told you this, but: I told you so,” Larry said in a press conference outside a courthouse in the Bahamas in April 2007, according to People. “I’m the father.”
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Stern had custody of the baby girl at the time. People reported that Stern hugged Larry at the press conference after the matter was settled. “We’re gonna do what we can to make sure that the best interests of Dannielynn are carried out,” Stern said, per People. “And I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure that he gets sole custody.”
Larry chose to raise Dannielynn in Kentucky
Larry is a Louisville, Kentucky native and chose to raise his daughter in his home state. He met Smith at the Kentucky Derby in 2003, so he takes Dannielynn there every year.
Dannielynn modelled for Guess in 2013
“Dannielynn has always looked up to her mum’s image and I think that this is kind of Dannielynn’s way of paying tribute to her mom in her own special way,” Larry said in an interview with Good Morning America.
“To see her mum’s picture next to hers as a Guess girl and say, ‘Hey, I was a Guess Kids girl, my mummy was a Guess girl,’ that might be her only connection with her mum,” he continued, according to ABC News.
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“Dannielynn has the same playful spirit that her mother had on set,” said Guess creative director Paul Marciano in a statement to People in 2013.
The public kept up with Dannielynn’s growth
In a 2017 interview with Inside Edition, Larry opened up about how he tries to ensure his daughter lives a normal life. The public keeps up with Dannielynn’s upbringing largely through her appearances at the Kentucky Derby every year.
Birkhead commented on trying to shield his daughter from news reports (and erroneous information online) about the legal battle between Smith’s estate and the estate of Smith’s late husband, oil billionaire J. Howard Marshall, which would determine whether Dannielynn would receive any money from Marshall’s estate.
“We saw a video on YouTube that she was one of the 10 richest kids in America,” Birkhead told Inside Edition. “Then she wanted to go to the mall. And I’m like, ‘No, it’s not that. Trust me, it’s not that.’”
According to Inside Edition, Smith’s lawyers lost their last legal move to get money from the late oil tycoon’s estate in 2014, seven years after Smith’s death.
Larry said that Dannielynn is called the “people’s princess” in the Bahamas
“When Dannielynn was little and I used to bring her here, the people used to come out screaming, ‘The people’s princess Dannielynn is here,’ cause it was such a big deal about her birth here, and they embrace her and they come up and ask for pictures and stuff all the time,” Birkhead told Us Weekly.
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He also took her to see the courthouse that determined her paternity.
Over the years, Dannielynn’s never been afraid to take fashion risks at the derby
Dannielynn turned 16 in September 2022. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, she revealed she got a puppy as well as concert tickets to see Kiss as birthday gifts from her dad.
Of course, the father and daughter also attended the Kentucky Derby once again on May 6.
- A new Netflix documentary Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me outlines the story behind the late Playboy and Guess model Smith and her life through exclusive video footage before her tragic death
- Smith is survived by her daughter Dannielynn Birkhead, who grew up with her dad, photographer Larry Birkhead in Kentucky – and he gave her Kiss concert tickets for her 16th birthday