Anna Nicole Smith's Daughter Is A Stunning Southern Belle At The Kentucky Derby
Anna Nicole Smith's life may have been short, but she made quite the impact and it won't be soon forgotten.
The model, whose real name was Vickie Lynn Hogan, was born to a poor family in Houston, Texas, but she made it a mission to leave the rags behind for the riches.
Her dream came true when she appeared on the cover of the March 1992 edition of Playboy magazine. She then landed several gigs with well-known brands like Guess and H&M, and suddenly catapulted to fame.
She eventually even landed her own reality television show.
Unfortunately, her life took a downturn somewhere along the way.
The stress of a long-drawn legal battle over her late husband's $1.6 billion fortune and the media frenzy took quite a toll on her. She turned to drugs to cope.
She reportedly went to rehab, and was working on getting her life back together when she got hit with an unforeseen tragedy.
In September 2006, just three days after the birth of his half-sister, Dannielynn Birkhead, 20-year-old Daniel died of an apparent overdose in his mother's hospital room.
On top of it all, Smith was facing a paternity and custody battle over her newborn daughter. The starlet stated that her attorney Howard K. Stern was the baby's father, and they even held a "commitment ceremony" complete with exchanging of vows and rings.
On February 8, 2007, the 39-year-old celebrity was found dead in her hotel room in Florida. Her death has been ruled as an accidental overdose with a cocktail of prescription pills.
A few months after her sudden passing, photographer Larry Birkhead was found to be Dannielynn's biological father following DNA testing.
"One of the things that no one has ever seen before is my actual DNA test that I got when I was holding it up outside the courtroom," Birkhead told Entertainment Tonight's Kevin Frazier.
"The judge said I couldn't show anybody at the time, I remember that moment well, so I had it rolled up. 'Yup, it says you are 99.99999999 percent.'"
Birkhead has been a doting dad since he got custody of his daughter. He's shielded her from the prying press and public so she can have a somewhat normal upbringing.
"I think [Anna and Dannielynn are] similar in a lot of ways," Birkhead explained. "A lot of times, I make decisions and think about what Anna would think, or what she would think I did that for."
"I just started trying to fly on my own and say, 'You got to make decisions here,'" he continued. "Although you might hear the voice in your head… just do the best you can, and I think that has been a pretty good formula."
The pair live away from the spotlight in Kentucky, but at least once a year, we're guaranteed a glimpse of Dannielynn when she accompanies her father to the annual Kentucky Derby. This year is no exception.
She started attending the event in 2010 when she was just three years old, and every year, we see her slowly blossom into a beautiful young woman.
Let's take a trip down memory lane and look at Dannielynn at the Louisville horse race through the years:
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
In 2017, Dannielynn and her father also attended the Barstable-Brown party, which is where he met Smith for the first time.
"Dannielynn b4 she raided the dessert room at the Barnstable-Brown Party where I met her Mom in 2003," Birkhead wrote on Twitter.
2018
Just like the previous years, 11-year-old Dannielynn attended the 144th annual race alongside her father, and they were both dressed to the nines.
The tween wore a white silk Southern Belle dress with blue hydrangea appliqués and completed the look with matching sandals, a white wide-brimmed hat and gloves.
Birkhead's blue checkered suit and pocket square perfectly coordinated with his daughter's outfit.
"Celebrating the @kentuckyderby with Dannielynn," he tweeted. "Thanks @itsnickgraham for my cool suit! Dannielynn’s awesome southern belle dress by Lesy boutique. Rain won’t spoil our awesome Derby day!