\n\n\n\nThe famous model and actress, circa 1993. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n
Since then, her little girl has lived mostly out of the spotlight, raised by her father with a sense of normalcy. But as she recently celebrated a major milestone, social media users marveled at her beauty, many struck by how much she resembles her iconic mother, Anna Nicole Smith.\n\n\n\n Anna Nicole Smith on \u201cThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno\u201d in 1992. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n Julianne Hough\u2019s ex-husband helped her heal her childhood trauma by allowing her to be \u2018a little girl\u2019\n\n\n\n Born Vicki Lynn Hogan, Anna was raised in poverty in Mexia, Texas. She dropped out of high school at 15 and took a job at a local chicken restaurant.\n\n\n\n In 2017, Larry Birkhead, who dated the late actress, opened up about their romantic but tumultuous relationship and revealed that when Anna talked about her childhood, they \u201cwere not the happiest of stories.\u201d \u201c[She was] poor, abused,\u201d he said.\n\n\n\n Anna Nicole Smith circa 1992. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n In her early twenties, after a brief marriage that left her raising her son Daniel alone, Anna began working as a dancer in Houston. It was there that she met James Howard Marshall, an 89-year-old billionaire oil tycoon.\n\n\n\n Anna Nicole Smith showing off the wedding ring given to her by billionaire J. Howard Marshall in 1994 in Las Vegas. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n Their 1994 marriage, when Anna was just 24, sparked controversy, with many accusing her of marrying for money. According to reports, the billionaire spent millions on Anna, showering her with gifts.\n\n\n\n However, the famous blonde credited James for providing her and Daniel with a stable life and taking care of them, something she deeply loved him for.\n\n\n\n Anna Nicole Smith and her son Daniel in Beverly Hills, California, in 1993. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n \u201cThat was no act. She genuinely has some kind of a deep love for him. Now, I don\u2019t know if it was the kind of, you know, physical type of thing, but it was what he did for her and what he did for Daniel, and that he changed her life,\u201d Larry revealed.\n\n\n\n Around this time, Anna\u2019s modeling career took off. She appeared in Playboy in 1992, quickly rising to fame as Playmate of the Year and securing a modeling contract with Guess.\n\n\n\n Anna Nicole Smith, circa 1992. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n Her Marilyn Monroe-inspired look made her a cultural sensation, and she began landing minor roles in Hollywood. \u201cShe was living the dream. Here she is, a little girl from Texas, went from working in a chicken shack to making movies with big stars in Hollywood,\u201d Larry shared.\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n However, following James\u2019 death in 1995, just 14 months after they said \u201cI do,\u201d Anna was left with nothing. Even after her passing, an ongoing legal battle to claim a stake in James\u2019 estate for her daughter was unsuccessful. Instead, his estate, estimated to be worth $1.6 billion, went to his son, E. Pierce Marshall.\n\n\n\n Anna Nicole Smith and her son Daniel, circa 1997. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n Amid her career\u2019s highs and lows, the iconic model struggled with dependency on prescription medication, which she used to manage pain from surgeries and other health issues.\n\n\n\n Anna Nicole Smith at the U.S. Supreme Court on February 28, 2006, in Washington, DC. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n In June 2006, the blonde icon announced her pregnancy publicly through a video on her website, leaving Larry concerned about the medications she was taking and their potential impact on their unborn child.\n\n\n\n On September 7, 2006, Anna gave birth to their daughter in a Bahamian hospital, filming and selling the footage. Just days after the bundle of joy\u2019s arrival, Daniel, who went on to become an actor and producer, came for a visit but tragically died in Anna\u2019s hospital room.\n\n\n\n Anna Nicole Smith and her son Daniel at an event in Los Angeles, California, in 2004. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n According to reports, the 20-year-old had accidentally overdosed on a combination of two antidepressants and methadone. Six months later, on February 8, 2007, Anna herself passed away in a Florida hotel room from an accidental overdose of nine prescription medications.\n\n\n\n A poster for Anna Nicole Smith, part of a makeshift memorial in 2007 following her death. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n In her final days, she reportedly suffered from the flu, a high fever, and a painful infection from repeated injections. Refusing hospital treatment, she spent her final hours in a suite filled with medication bottles, soda cans, and remnants of her attempt to self-medicate.\n\n\n\n Her untimely death at 39 marked the tragic end of a life lived in the spotlight, leaving behind her infant daughter, just five months old.\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n Anna Nicole Smith photographed in 2005 in Hollywood, Florida. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n After Anna\u2019s passing, Larry fought to secure custody of their daughter, Dannielynn. Competing against the model\u2019s former partner and lawyer, Howard K. Stern, he ultimately proved through a DNA test that he was Dannielynn\u2019s biological father.\n\n\n\n Once granted full custody, Larry dedicated himself to giving the little girl a life far removed from the chaotic world of fame that had defined her mother\u2019s life.\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n Larry and Dannielynn moved to a quiet community outside Louisville, Kentucky, where he sought to provide stability and protect her from the media spotlight.\n\n\n\n Holding onto a few of the baby clothes that Anna had lovingly purchased, he kept her mother\u2019s memory alive but focused on raising Dannielynn with a sense of simplicity.\n\n\n\n Dannielynn and Larry Birkhead arrive at the Launch celebration party for The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios Hollywood on May 17, 2008, in Universal City, California. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n In 2013, he allowed her to participate in a Guess modeling campaign, a nod to her mother\u2019s legacy. However, he turned down all other offers that followed, saying Dannielynn showed no interest in modeling and preferred a normal childhood over fame.\n\n\n\n \u201cShe doesn\u2019t show any interest in it. And some parents might say, \u2018Oh my gosh, you know, Anna Nicole was her mom? This is the gravy train. Let\u2019s roll with this.\u2019You know? But it\u2019s nothing that she wants to do\u2026she wants to be a kid,\u201d he shared.\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n Dannielynn and Larry Birkhead at the 141st Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 2, 2015, in Louisville, Kentucky. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n To support them, Larry found a livelihood in photography and house flipping, noting they received no support from Anna\u2019s estate. He often emphasized to Dannielynn the importance of integrity, teaching her values he hoped would keep her grounded.\n\n\n\n \u201cExcess is not always the best. Be careful who\u2019s around you. Be good, be caring. Give back. You don\u2019t have to be a star to shoot for the stars,\u201d he\u00a0told\u00a0her.\n\n\n\n Dannielynn and her father at the 138th Kentucky Derby on May 5, 2012, in Louisville, Kentucky. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n As Dannielynn grew up, her father made a conscious effort to shield her from the media. Though her curiosity led her to social media, particularly to creating YouTube videos, Larry remained \u201coverly protective.\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cDannielynn is more interested in wanting to be a YouTuber and make her own videos, so those are the types of things that she\u2019s interested in,\u201d he said.\n\n\n\n Dannielynn and Larry Birkhead at the Barnstable Brown Derby Eve Gala on May 3, 2019, in Louisville, Kentucky. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n \u201cI still have to warn her that, you know, your friend might have a YouTube account, but if you have a YouTube account that\u2019s different, because people know who you are,\u201d Anna\u2019s ex added.\n\n\n\n Fatherhood has been a blend of roles for Larry, who joked that he went from protector to chauffeur. \u201cIt depends on what the day is. But my job is dad and I think I\u2019ve done a pretty good job. She\u2019s adjusted to it and she\u2019s just a normal kid,\u201d he shared.\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n Dannielynn and Larry Birkhead at the 145th Kentucky Derby on May 4, 2019, in Louisville, Kentucky. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n Larry has also tried to preserve Anna\u2019s legacy within their home. Small mementos and tokens honoring her are scattered throughout their house, and he speaks with Dannielynn about who her mother was and the career she had.\n\n\n\n Though it\u2019s been over a decade since Anna\u2019s death, Larry has been open about the challenges of guiding Dannielynn through her mother\u2019s complicated legacy, especially in an age where social media can make such personal details widely accessible.\n\n\n\n Dannielynn Birkhead at the Kentucky Derby 150 at Churchill Downs on May 4, 2024, in Louisville, Kentucky. | Source: Getty Images\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n In September, Dannielynn celebrated her 18th birthday, a milestone the father-daughter duo shared on their joint Instagram account, where Larry wrote in part, \u201cDannielynn had a great time celebrating her 18th birthday with friends [\u2026].\u201d\n\n\n\n Following the milestone, social media users were quick to comment on her beauty, many noting how much Dannielynn looked like Anna.\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nThe Rise and Fall of Anna Nicole Smith\n\n\n\n
Anna Nicole Smith\u2019s Daughter\u2019s Life Away from the Spotlight\n\n\n\n
