What Life Is Really Like For Anna Nicole Smith's Daughter Now

The story of Anna Nicole Smith is a tumultuous and tragic one. As her friends recounted on "20/20," the model and reality television star lived two different lives. On camera, she was the quintessential blond bombshell: voluptuous, charismatic, and vulnerable. Off camera, "she was back to Vickie Lynn [Anna Nicole's given name]," said one of her closest friends, Frankie Rodriguez. "I [am] very fortunate to have met and gotten to know Vickie Lynn ... Whatever she was doing, it was making everybody watch."

On September 7, 2006, Anna Nicole welcomed daughter Dannielynn Birkhead into the world. Three days after she gave birth to Dannielynn, Anna Nicole's son, Daniel Wayne Smith, died from an accidental prescription drug overdose. Anna Nicole died from lethal prescription drug interactions just months after her son.

When she was just a few months old, Dannielynn ended up at the center of a contentious paternity case that concluded with a DNA test verifying that Anna Nicole's ex-boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, was the baby's father and would be granted sole custody of his biological daughter. Though her story began under heartbreaking circumstances, Dannielynn Birkhead is now living a relatively normal life with her father and gradually getting to know her late mother through those who were closest to her.

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Dannielynn Birkhead's biological father, Larry Birkhead, had to fight for custody following Anna Nicole Smith's death. Howard K. Stern, who was Smith's partner up until her passing, was named as Dannielynn's father on her birth certificate, but Larry insisted this was an error. A custody battle between Larry and Stern ensued. Per ABC News, following death, Larry stated, "I have the will power and the determination to know my daughter."

After the court ordered a DNA test, Larry was thrilled when the results affirmed that Dannielynn was his daughter. Larry stood outside the courthouse after getting the news, telling reporters, "I hate to be the one who told you this, but: I told you so" (via People). "My baby's gonna be coming home pretty soon," he continued. In fact, just a month before the fateful results were announced, Larry had told reporters he was already setting up a nursery for his daughter.

Once Larry was declared Dannielynn's father, he and Howard didn't totally go their separate ways. Instead, Howard offered Larry support. "The minute after the paternity test was over ... he's helping me change Dannielynn's diaper, [showing me], 'This is how you feed her,' ... it's been nonstop since then," Larry told "20/20." 

Anna Nicole Smith became a bona fide household name after she began modeling for Guess Jeans. Shortly after her Playboy debut in 1992, Smith met with Paul Marciano, the founder of Guess, and landed a job as the new face of the brand's ad campaigns. "I was crazy about shooting her. She had such a magnetic personality," Marciano said in a 2017 interview with Paper Magazine. Smith was even considered for the part of Tina Carlyle in 1994's "The Mask" — a role that ultimately went to Cameron Diaz.

At the age of 6, Dannielynn Birkhead followed in her mother's footsteps and modeled for Guess' children's line, helping to launch a Guess ad campaign that was the first of its kind. In a statement, Marciano said Dannielynn was "a second-generation Guess girl, which makes this campaign a first for us" (via USA Today). Marciano added, "Dannielynn has the same playful spirit that her mother had on a set."

On "Good Morning America," Larry Birkhead addressed the criticisms regarding Dannielynn's involvement in the campaign. "Dannielynn has always looked up to her mom's image ... this is kind of Dannielynn's way of paying tribute to her mom in her own special way," he said, adding that, for Dannielynn, the shoot "might be her only connection with her mom."

After watching Dannielynn Birkhead's mother struggle in the public eye, Larry Birkhead has always wanted a different path for his daughter. Following the Guess campaign, Larry subsequently turned down any other modeling or acting gig offers that might've floated Dannielynn's way. "I didn't care about it, so I'd say no she's not interested. She's just a regular kid," Larry said on "Today" in 2016.

Anna Nicole Smith's daughter grew up far away from Hollywood. "I made a conscious decision a long time ago to move to Kentucky,” Larry shared on "Today." "It takes away the chase, it takes away the curiosity, it takes away the false stories." In a 2017 chat with "Inside Edition," he noted that he's always been a hands-on dad who's worked hard to not only keep her life normal, but manage day-to-day tasks like making lunches and helping with homework. "I think here in Kentucky is as normal as you can get. She loves school. She loves her friends," he said. "I just hope that she dreams big and accomplishes a lot."

That same year, Larry told Us Weekly that Dannielynn was interested in starting a YouTube channel like many of her friends, but he was a little iffy on it. "I still have to warn her that, you know, your friend might have a YouTube account, but if you have a YouTube account that's different, because people know who you are," he said. Dannielynn also has a relatively limited social media presence, but she and her dad do share an Instagram account.

Anna Nicole Smith famously loved the Kentucky Derby, and Dannielynn Birkhead and her father, Larry Birkhead, have made a point of attending the event every year. In fact, it was at the famous Barnstable-Brown Gala where Larry, a photographer for the event, first caught Smith's eye. "She's waving at me and ... blowing kisses and I mean, she knew how to work the camera," he recalled on "20/20." The two hit it off after their initial encounter and were in an on-again, off-again relationship for a few years before a pregnant Smith moved to the Bahamas with Howard K. Stern and gave birth to Dannielynn.

Year after year, the notoriously private father-daughter duo attends the Kentucky Derby together. The two share an annual tradition of matching outfits that began when Dannielynn was just 3 years old. "She's my good luck charm," her father told E! News in 2015. "She picks all the winners."

Larry Birkhead has long been committed to keeping Anna Nicole Smith's memory alive for Dannielynn Birkhead. As he told OK! Magazine back in 2007, "I show her pictures of Anna all the time, and she grabs them! I show her photos of Anna on my BlackBerry, and she kisses the phone and tries to put it in her mouth" (via E! News).

The father-daughter duo continue to celebrate her memory. In 2017, Larry told Us Weekly went to the Bahamas for what would have been Smith's 50th birthday. "This trip back for Dannielynn is kind of special because she doesn't really know a whole lot about the place where she was born," he said. The two visited where Smith was buried, the hospital where Dannielynn was born, and the courthouse where Larry was determined to be her father. A couple years prior, Larry told Entertainment Tonight, "We go back all the time and we go to [Smith's] grave. We visit and I tell Dannielynn stories about her mom." 

Dannielynn also has special keepsakes from her late mother. In the aforementioned "Inside Edition" special, Larry shared a painting Smith made for her daughter when she was pregnant. "To my baby who is in my belly right now," reads a note on the piece. "Seven-and-a-half months. I love you. July 31, 2006." The painting was on display in Dannielynn's bedroom.

In a 2019 interview with the Daily Mail, Larry Birkhead and Dannielynn Birkhead opened up about the latter's interest in theater. She had already been taking the class for about a year at the time of the interview. "I got an email from a teacher and she said Dannielynn gave one of the most believable performances of the whole, whole entire school," her father said. Dannielynn confirmed her enthusiasm for the subject: "It's really cool like to act as a character, not yourself. Portraying a new person is fun," she told the interviewer.

While Larry has his reservations about his daughter getting into the entertainment industry, he's supportive of her interests and dreams. "If she wants to do something like that when she's older ... we'll see when we get there," he told the Daily Mail. He's also taken Dannielynn to a number of stage productions in NYC over the years, including Hugh Jackman's show "From New York, with Love." The father-daughter duo attended the show in 2025, and afterward, Dannielynn had a chance to introduce herself to the star of the production. "She was extremely excited and a bit in disbelief, when she got to actually meet him after all," Larry wrote on Instagram. "Thanks Hugh for your kindness and making dreams come true!"

Larry Birkhead became a single father to Dannielynn Birkhead after Anna Nicole Smith died and he gained full custody. As of this writing, he has not been in any public relationships following Smith's passing, though he has apparently entertained the idea of getting back out there. Ahead of the release of the 2013 special "Life After Anna Nicole: The Larry & Dannielynn Story," Larry told E! News that his daughter, who was 7 at the time, was evidently eager to see him find someone. "On the show, Dannielynn tries to hook me up," he said. "So we'll see. You'll have to see. But she is a matchmaker more than I am!"

In a 2017 chat with ET, Larry said that Dannielynn had recently suggested he try dating one of the Kardashian-Jenner women. After listing a few of the daughters, she suggested he strike up a relationship with Kris Jenner. "I [asked why she'd] say that and she goes, 'I remember she had a frozen yogurt machine in her house,'" he recounted. Larry also shared that she'd urged him to try to strike something up with her friends' moms. "It's cute when she tries to push me out of the house and get me to date and do things," he said. 

In 2021, Larry Birkhead took Dannielynn Birkhead to Anna Nicole Smith's hometown in Mexia, Texas, for a "20/20" special (via People). There, the father and daughter met with Jo McLemore, who was Smith's childhood best friend, and they went to Jim's Krispy Fried Chicken. As teenagers, Smith and McLemore worked at the restaurant together. "One of the memories I have of her is we'd sit here together and stare out the window and just watch traffic go by," McLemore recalled.

Larry had a major reveal in store for Dannielynn as part of their visit to Mexia. For years, the single dad had been saving some of Smith's prized possessions in a storage locker for Danielynn. Amongst the heirlooms were family photographs, red carpet gowns, and the dress Smith wore when she married oil entrepreneur J. Howard Marshall II. In the "20/20" special, Dannielynn was surprised and overjoyed at the opportunity to feel closer to her late mother.

Anna Nicole Smith may have dropped out of high school at 15, but Dannielynn Birkhead was an exemplary student who made honor roll during her junior year. Though Dannielynn's father, Larry Birkhead, mostly keeps his family's life out of the spotlight, he couldn't help but celebrate the accomplishment on Instagram in 2023. "Dannielynn finished 11th grade and maintained honor roll through some challenging times we had taking care of my Mom before she passed away," Larry captioned a series of photos."I am so proud!"

In a 2023 chat with People, the doting dad shared that Dannielynn was thinking about her post-high school steps, including where she might go to college. As happy as Larry was to see his daughter succeed academically, he also struggled with the idea of sending her off to a university. "It's one of those things that all parents go through," told the outlet. "They don't want their kids to go off, but they know they have to." At the time of the interview, Dannielynn had not landed on a specific college yet, but Larry said she had expressed a desire to study forensics. "She takes a forensic class in high school, and she enjoys it, so she's starting to talk about that, which is great because I like to watch ''Dateline,'" he joked to People. "So we're on the same page with that."

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who may strike up a friendship with a public figure — or a child of a public figure — simply because of their connection to fame and celebrity. Larry Birkhead made it his job to make sure that Dannielynn Birkhead doesn't fall prey to people who didn't have her best interests at heart, and he is fiercely protective of his daughter. "I've always tried to protect her, not just from media and paparazzi, but even people we let into our circle," he said in an exclusive E! News interview. "It's hard," he continued. "When she was younger and had friends over, or went out, it was tough figuring out who was genuine." Larry also had to guard his daughter from agents who were keen on signing Anna Nicole Smith's lookalike daughter. With the exception of that children's Guess ad, he kept Dannielynne out of the limelight. 

Larry said that he felt like he had gotten good over the years at identifying which of his daughter's friends were the real deal, and which ones were opportunistic, or trying to use Dannielynn to get their own 15 minutes of fame. "She has great friends—but I've learned to keep one eye open," the actor shared. "It feels like I'm always on security duty, always scanning the room." In speaking to Us Weekly, Larry joked that his role ranges from "chauffeur" to "bodyguard," but that taking care of Dannielynn has always been his top priority, and he's proud of how she's turned out to be a "normal kid." 

In a 2024 Instagram post, Larry Birkhead announced that Dannielynn Birkhead finished high school. The proud papa posted a few photos he took with his daughter at the Barnstable-Brown Gala and wrote, "Looking forward to a fun Derby weekend with the newly graduated high school student!" Both father and daughter have been relatively tight-lipped about Dannielynn's college plans, though they did reveal she took a gap year between high school and college. They've also confirmed that she hopes to get into modeling and acting while she's in college. 

Larry, who has been vocal about protecting Dannielynn from the spotlight, told People he was on the fence about his daughter's decision to try her hand at the entertainment industry. "It's totally opposite of what I had envisioned," he said. "But at the same time, it's my job to be a supportive parent."

In a 2025 chat with E! News, Dannielynn shared that stage and screen superstar Hugh Jackman inspired her to give acting a shot. "I watch a lot of his movies for comfort, so that kind of translated to real life," she said. Larry said that he has cautioned his daughter about the pitfalls of the industry and trusts that she listened. "At the end of the day, she's 18 now, so I really don't have any say," he told People. "I mean, she listens to me, she trusts me in my guidance and everything," he added. "We're such a team."

When Dannielynn Birkhead rocked up to the Barnstable Brown Gala in 2025, she looked like Anna Nicole Smith's twin. Not only did she show up in the iconic black gown that her late mother wore more than two decades earlier to the Derby party, but she wore her hair in a similar updo. In an Instagram post, dad Larry Birkhead shared a photo from the event and wrote, "Dannielynn is wearing Anna Nicole's dress that she wore 21 years ago to this same event. Life full circle. She said she chose the dress because it was her Mom's and 'super cool.'" Larry also admitted that the moment got him in his feels. "It was emotional because the last time I saw that dress was on Anna," he told People.

Larry has spent a small fortune on keeping Smith's wardrobe in storage for his daughter in the event that ever wanted to explore her mom's style. "[I] just hope that she would appreciate some of these things someday," he shared with People. "She's just now starting to get into the curiosity of some of the fashion and things in her mom's world." The racy dress, with its plunging neckline, thigh-high slit and open back was a bit racier than anything Dannielynn has sported on the red carpet in the past, but as she told "Access Hollywood," it made her feel connected to her late mom. "This is the closest to a hug I can get from her," she said.