Mamamia

It's been 14 years since Anna Nicole Smith died. This is what her daughter's life looks like now.

Mamamia logo Mamamia 5/02/2021 01:12:40 Nama Winston
Dannielynn, Anna Nicole Smith are posing for a picture: It's been 14 years since Anna Nicole Smith died. This is what her daughter's life looks like now. © Getty ImagesIt's been 14 years since Anna Nicole Smith died. This is what her daughter's life looks like now.

To mark the 14th anniversary of model Anna Nicole Smith's death, her 14-year-old daughter Dannielynn Birkhead has visited the places her mother held dear.

Cameras followed the teen and her father, celebrity photographer Larry Birkhead, as they visited the most influential places in Anna Nicole's life for TV special Tragic Beauty.

Since Dannielynn was born, the young teen has never enjoyed a birthday with her mum. February 8, 2021 will mark 14 years since Anna Nicole's death from an accidental drug overdose in 2007.

Inside the years before Anna Nicole Smith's death. Post continues after video.

In the special, the pair will visit Mexia, Texas where Anna Nicole spent part of her childhood as well as various locations in Los Angeles.

"Dannielynn's a teenager now, and she doesn't really know a ton of things about her mom," Birkhead says in the trailer.

"As a dad who has a child whose mum's passed away, I thought, 'Why not go back to Anna's beginnings?'" To be really honest, I didn't know a whole lot about Anna - you know, her early years."

In 2020, Dannielynn's father confirmed his daughter was doing well, and honouring her mum's memory.

The 47-year-old told Daily Mail TV that he's tried hard to let his daughter lead a private life at their Kentucky home.

"I never push her in a certain direction. Right now she's just being a kid," he explained, when asked whether Dannielynn would go into modelling.

It would certainly be an obvious career path for the teen, who has inherited her mother's looks and acting skills. But unlike Dannielynn's quiet life as a teen, Anna Nicole coveted a different life.

A post shared by Larry Birkhead (@larryanddannielynn)

A post shared by Larry Birkhead (@larryanddannielynn) on Jun 28, 2019 at 12:23pm PDT

Dannielynn's mum, Anna Nicole Smith.

In 1982, a 14-year-old Anna Nicole dropped out of school. In 1985, when she was 17, she married Billy Smith, the cook at the fried chicken restaurant she was working in. Anna Nicole then gave birth to their child, Daniel, in 1986.

Five years later, working in a strip club, Anna Nicole met 86-year-old oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall. She commenced and continued an affair with him until her divorce in 1993.

It was the same year she won Playmate of the Year for Playboy.

The win was crucial to Anna Nicole's career. After that, she won high-profile, valuable contracts with H&M, and replaced Claudia Schiffer for Guess. She also acted in movies such as The Naked Truth, and had her own reality show, The Anna Nicole Show, in 2002.

Marshall and Anna Nicole married in June of 1994, amidst public accusation that she did so only for the money. This suspicion was further confirmed by the model herself, with her public assertions that she hadn't slept, or lived, with the billionaire - ever.

Daniel Wayne Smith, Anna Nicole Smith posing for the camera: Anna Nicole Smith and her son Daniel in 2004. Image: Getty. © Provided by MamamiaAnna Nicole Smith and her son Daniel in 2004. Image: Getty.

After 13 months of marriage, Marshall died in 1995. Until her death in 2007, more than a decade later, Anna Nicole fought his estate in court for a share of his wealth.

In September 2006, Dannielynn was born, and media identity and attorney Howard Stern, whom she was dating at the time, was listed on the birth certificate as the father.

On 10 September, 2006, whilst visiting his three-day-old sister and his mother in hospital, Daniel died of an accidental drug overdose.

Anna Nicole never recovered from the loss.

Anna Nicole Smith's death.

The mum-of-two died on February 8, 2007. She was 39.

According to investigators, Anna Nicole's final days were likely spent in a drug haze. At the time, Stern said she had suffered flu-like symptoms and was taking anti-viral medication.

Anna Nicole Smith wearing a purple shirt: The mum-of-two died on February 8, 2007. Image: Getty. © Provided by MamamiaThe mum-of-two died on February 8, 2007. Image: Getty.

Her personal nurse discovered her unconscious in bed that afternoon. She was pronounced dead shortly afterwards at hospital.

An autopsy later revealed that Anna Nicole had a combination of various medication in her system. These drugs were said to be the "major component" in her death: the cough medicine Benadryl, three benzodiazepines, Clonazepam, Lorazepam and Diazepam (Valium).

Anna Nicole's death left behind Dannielynn; but three men claimed her as their daughter. They were Stern, Smith's bodyguard Alexander Denk, and actor Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband Frederic Prinz von Anhalt.

In April 2007, a DNA test confirmed that it was, in fact, Birkhead who was the girl's father and he was awarded full custody.

How Dannielynn honoured her lost family members.

Birkhead revealed that sharing a birthday close to the late Daniel was a good way to incorporate his memory in the family.

To honour her mother, Dannielynn modelled for Guess in 2012, for the 25th anniversary of Anna Nicole's campaign.

Birkhead said it was a special moment.

"We took her to New York to show her the billboard - it's freezing cold," Birkhead shared with DailyMailTV.

"I said look up there! And she's like, 'Yeah, let's go'."

A post shared by Larry Birkhead (@larryanddannielynn)

A post shared by Larry Birkhead (@larryanddannielynn) on Jun 16, 2019 at 8:13am PDT

A post shared by Larry Birkhead (@larryanddannielynn)

A post shared by Larry Birkhead (@larryanddannielynn) on May 12, 2019 at 9:56am PDT

Dannielynn was proud, but she admitted it felt somewhat strange.

"It was kind of weird to see me in all of that, like giant billboard in New York. [but] it was actually really cool because now I get to know what it felt like."

Dannielynn may be a model like her mother after all - and an actor, too. The teenager has taken an acting class, which Birkhead said she excelled in.

The teen added, "It's really cool like to act as a character, not yourself. Portraying a new person is fun."

20/20: Tragic Beauty will air on February 5, 2021 in the United States.

For more on this topic:

Sign up for the "Mamamia Daily" newsletter. Your morning hit of the top news stories, to be consumed with a coffee in hand

vendredi 5 février 2021 03:12:40 Categories: Mamamia

ShareButton
ShareButton
ShareButton
  • RSS

Suomi sisu kantaa
NorpaNet Beta 1.1.0.18818 - Firebird 5.0 LI-V6.3.2.1497

TetraSys Oy.

TetraSys Oy.