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Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me just dropped on Netflix, and the new documentary delivers never-before-seen footage of Anna Nicole Smith's path to fame, looking back at her life through the people closest to her at the time of her death.
Anna Nicole Smith—who was a massively successful model, actress, and television personality in the ’90s—modeled for Playboy and Guess. She also notably married J. Howard Marshall, a billionaire oil tycoon, before his death in 1995. In 2007, Anna Nicole died tragically of a drug overdose at just 39 years old—five months after giving birth to her daughter, Dannielynn.
Dannielynn isn't featured much in the new Netflix doc, so you might have a few questions about what she's up to now. Here's everything to know about Anna Nicole Smith's only daughter, Dannielynn Birkhead.
How old is Anna Nicole Smith's daughter, Dannielynn?
Dannielynn Birkhead was born on September 7, 2006 in Nassau, Bahamas. Initially, she was born as Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern.
Anna Nicole announced the news via her website and claimed the father was her lawyer, Howard K. Stern. However, she informed Larry Birkhead, an entertainment photographer, that he was the father via a text message prior to her death, per The Daily Mail. Birkhead then found out about the actual birth of his daughter through Anna Nicole's online announcement.
There was some debate about who Dannielynn's father was.
At the time of Anna Nicole Smith's death in February 2007, the general public believed that Howard K. Stern was Dannielynn's father—in fact, her birth certificate initially listed his name, according to Cleveland 19. Considering he was Anna Nicole's partner at the time of her death, Stern also believed he was Dannielynn's father.
Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith's Death
Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith's Death
However, Birkhead was determined to get custody of his daughter, particularly after Anna Nicole's overdose. And in April 2007, a court-ordered DNA test proved that Birkhead was indeed Dannielynn's father. Stern accepted the results and was cooperative, allowing Birkhead full custody.
"We're gonna do what we can to make sure that the best interests of Dannielynn are carried out," Stern said after the results were revealed, via PEOPLE. "And I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure that [Larry] gets sole custody. Larry can come over to the house and spend as much time with [Dannielynn] as he wants to right now."
Stern remains incredibly gracious of Dannielynn and Larry, and even stays in touch with them to this day. "[Stern] gives advice and reaches out to us. Some people may think it's weird, but he's a good friend and has been real supportive," Larry recently told E! News.
Dannielynn had a brother.
Anna Nicole Smith also had a son, Daniel. Unfortunately, Daniel died just three days after Dannielynn was born from a drug overdose. He was just 20 years old at the time, and passed away in a hospital room with his mother and Dannielynn present. He had come to visit his mother and meet his sister that same day.
Dannielynn goes to the Kentucky Derby every year with her dad.
Dannielynn and her father keep her mother's spirit alive through their annual trips to the Kentucky Derby and the Barnstable Brown Gala. The Gala is an exclusive pre-derby event, and is also where Larry first met Anna Nicole in 2003, per TODAY.
The father-daughter duo attended the gala and the derby many times together, and it seems to be a family tradition.
Dannielynn sometimes dresses like her mom.
Dannielynn's 2019 Kentucky Derby look closely resembles one Anna Nicole wore in 2004. Her father even pointed out the similarity in a now-deleted Instagram post, per Page Six.
It seems clothes are one way that Dannielynn stays connected with her mom. Larry told PEOPLE in May 2023 that his daughter has already added a few of her mother's old clothes to her wardrobe.
"There's some T-shirts and different things she fits in, but there's also some things that she'll say, 'Dad, no thanks, that's not my style,'" Larry, who saved some of Anna Nicole's clothes for Dannielynn, told PEOPLE. "There's also some things that would have to wait till later. Some things are a bit more revealing and low-cut."
Her dad runs an Instagram account for her.
Birkhead recently told E! News that Dannielynn loves Snapchat, but you can find her on her dad's Instagram account: @larryanddannielynn.
Although all of his posts are currently archived, Larry has posted sweet tributes to Dannielynn in the past. On her 16th birthday, he shared a photo collage of his daughter and sent a lot of love to her in his caption.
"Sixteen years ago my beautiful baby was born. That's if you want to feel really old. Many people thought the odds were stacked against you, but maybe that was geared more towards me than you," Larry wrote, per PEOPLE. "Through tragedy, turmoil and a couple of baby tantrums-today you shine bright and are so accomplished. So proud to be your Dad!"
Dannielynn lives in Louisville, Kentucky.
Although she and her dad travel a lot, Dannielynn calls Louisville, Kentucky home, so she's never too far from where her parents first met. She and her father own a 10,000-square-foot house, per E! News. Louisville is also Larry's hometown.
Anna Nicole's daughter lives a relatively normal life, attending high school and playing violin in her free time, per E! News. Her father even told the publication that she recently made honor roll.
Is she in the Anna Nicole Smith documentary?
No. Dannielynn does not show up in any of the interviews, and her father sent a statement to Entertainment Tonight that said he didn't want his family to take part in the project.
You can learn more about Dannielynn's mother and background in Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me on Netflix, out now.
Olivia Evans (she/her) is an editorial assistant at Women’s Health. Her work has previously appeared in The Cut and Teen Vogue. She loves covering topics where culture and wellness intersect. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, running, and watching rom-coms.
