Dannielynn Birkhead paid tribute to her late mother, Anna Nicole Smith, by attending a gala in a gown once worn by her mom.
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On the eve of the 2025 Kentucky Derby, Smith and Larry Birkhead’s 18-year-old daughter made a stunning appearance at the annual Barnstable Brown Gala. She wore a gown that held sentimental value—it was the same dress her mother had worn to the event back in 2004.
The floor-length black gown has a plunging neckline, crystal-embellished straps on the bodice, and a low back for a bold look.
“Dannielynn is wearing Anna Nicole’s dress that she wore 21 years ago to this same event. Life full circle,” Larry Birkhead wrote alongside a series of sweet snaps on Instagram. “She said she chose the dress because it was her Mom’s and ‘super cool.’ “
“This is the closest to a hug I can get from [my mom],” Dannielynn told a reporter on the red carpet at the event, per PEOPLE.
“It was emotional because the last time I saw that dress was on Anna,” Larry told the outlet.
The photographer first encountered the actress and model at the prestigious Barnstable Gala in 2003.
He also recalled to People that when Dannielynn “was a little girl, she walked over and she put her hand on the dress.” He added, “And now that she’s actually old enough to wear it, it just seems surreal that we’re at this moment.”
Anna Nicole Smith’s Teen Daughter Picked Out the Gown Herself
Meanwhile, Dannielynn picked her mother’s gown all on her own. Larry admitted to People that the gown is “a little edgier for her than most dresses she wears.”
“I think she’s doing a fashion experiment for herself,” he explained. “Also, I think it’s really meaningful for her to wear. I’m just glad she’s going through and starting to wear some of [Smith’s clothes] because she could literally pick out an outfit a day for the rest of her life and never wear the same thing twice with everything.”
Larry also disclosed that he spends more than $200,000 on storage fees to preserve all of Smith’s clothing and belongings for his daughter.