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Dannielynn Birkhead kept her late mother’s memory alive at her favorite event of the season, the 151st Kentucky Derby.
The 18-year-old daughter of Anna Nicole Smith and Larry Birkhead turned heads wearing one of her mom’s iconic looks for the annual race weekend in Louisville, Kentucky.
During an appearance at the Barnstable Brown Gala Friday, Dannielynn wore a glamorous black dress with sparkling diamonds across the back, a gown Anna Nicole first wore to the same event 21 years ago.
ANNA NICOLE SMITH’S DAUGHTER DANNIELYNN BIRKHEAD STEPS OUT IN A BOLD RED GOWN AT KENTUCKY DERBY
Anna Nicole’s daughter, Dannielynn Birkhead, paid homage to her late mother at a party before the Kentucky Derby. (Getty Images/Instagram)
Her father noted that the dress held sentimental meaning for him and his daughter.
“Kicking off @kentuckyderby weekend with Dannielynn,” Larry wrote on Instagram. “First up, The Barnstable-Brown Gala. Dannielynn is wearing Anna Nicole’s dress that she wore 21 years ago to this same event. Life full circle.
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“She said she chose the dress because it was her Mom’s and ‘super cool.’ Next up the Kentucky Derby races. We are glad to spend time with my niece Chloe (pictured). I am going to try not an embarrass them with my dance moves.”
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Dannielynn perfected her late mom’s signature blonde updo with help from stylists Ryan Austin and Janna Allgeier. Her signature red lip and bold eyes were credited to makeup artist Rick Bancroft.
Anna Nicole Smith wore the dress to the same event in 2004. (Jeff Snyder)
On the red carpet, Dannielynn talked about the dream halter gown and its connection to her mom.
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“I feel good in it,” she told Access Hollywood before admitting she was holding back tears. “I can’t know my mom, sadly, and this is one of the only reasons and ways I can. This is the closest I’ll ever be getting to a hug from her.”
The Barnstable Brown Gala, which benefits the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center at the University of Kentucky, is one of the most exclusive and star-studded Derby eve parties.
Taking part in the Kentucky Derby festivities is an annual tradition for Dannielynn and Birkhead.
Larry Birkhead and Dannielynn have a history with the Kentucky Derby. (Stephen J. Cohen)
The father-daughter duo have a tradition of attending the Kentucky Derby and have participated in the event since she was 3. (Tasos Katopodis)
Birkhead met the late Playboy Playmate at the Kentucky Derby in 2003, and despite keeping their relationship relatively private at the time, he’s continued to return to the historic annual event as a way to honor the past and continue creating new traditions with his little girl.
“We had a really great time, and it’s kind of been a tradition that we would go every year,” he previously told Fox News Digital of the annual affair at the Barnstable Brown Derby Gala.
“That’s where I met Anna Nicole Smith. And it’s something that I’ve taken my daughter back every year since. She’s old enough to kind of understand what it is.
Anna Nicole Smith was a regular at the Kentucky Derby. The Playboy Playmate died in 2007. (Mike Simons/Getty Images)
“Since I did meet her mom there, it started off just kind of me taking her back and showing her around and kind of letting her know the stories that, you know, this is kind of where I met your mom and things. And then it came to kind of people look for my daughter there because I really don’t let her do any public events. And, so, in all honesty, the Kentucky Derby is kind of the growth chart for Dannielynn.”
Smith died in 2007 at the age of 39, when Dannielynn was just 5 months old.
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Birkhead fought to establish his paternal rights when Dannielynn was born in the Bahamas in September 2006 and became a central figure in public court battles after Anna Nicole’s death Feb. 8, 2007, after multiple people attempted to claim paternity.
After a DNA test in April 2007, a judge declared Birkhead the father, and he has since raised his daughter out of the Hollywood spotlight and in his home state of Kentucky.
