Anna Nicole Smith was a troubled, beautiful, influential star. She was most well-known for her Playboy and Guess modelling gigs, and later had her own reality show. Smith rose to fame when she married 89-year-old oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II. The starlet was just 26 at the time.
Marshall died soon after their marriage. However, due to claims that Smith just married the oil tycoon for his money, and Marshall not updating his will after their marriage, Smith had to fight tooth and nail for his fortune. The court allowed her to collect money from his estate.
This was not Smith's first marriage, however. When she was just 17 years old, she married Billy Smith, and the two had a son named Daniel in 1984. Billy and Anna soon separated, and Anna set her sights on the big city.
With her professional life rising rapidly, Smith was also enjoying a blessed personal life. In 2006, she announced she was pregnant with her second child, and on September 7, 2006, she gave birth to a baby girl named Dannielynn. Immediately, there was controversy surrounding the identity of the father. Smith's ex-boyfriend, Larry Birkhead claimed paternity. Smith stated that her attorney, Howard K. Stern, was Dannielynn's father. He was the one listed on her birth certificate, and he and Smith held a private "commitment ceremony" which was not legally binding.
But three days after her daughter was born, tragedy struck Anna Nicole Smith's life.
On September 10th, 2006, Daniel Smith died of an apparent drug overdose at only 20 years old. Anna Nicole was inconsolable, and while she was grieving she was caught in a media frenzy surrounding the identity of her newborn baby's father.
On February 8, 2007, Anna Nicole Smith was found dead in her hotel room. The cause of death was announced as an accidental overdose, as Smith was on nine different types of medication at the time. Smith's death only heightened the search for Dannielynn's father, as that person would be taking full custody of the child.
In April 2007, it was determined that photographer Larry Birkhead was indeed Dannielynn's father. Howard K. Stern did not contest the findings, and legal custody was given to Birkhead.
Birkhead, who makes a living through photography and occasionally real estate, took on the role of full-time Dad with open arms, and chose to keep Dannielynn's life out of the spotlight. The occasional picture surfaces, but for the most part it's all private.
That's why when Dannielynn and Larry attend the Kentucky Derby together every year, eyes are always on the young girl.
After this year's picture, I can't decided if she looks more like her mom or her dad.
Who do you think?
For the past seven years, Dannielynn and Larry have dressed to the nines to attend the Kentucky Derby, and this year was no different.
Dannielynn, now almost 11 years old, wore a stunning pink floral gown, while her dad donned a matching shirt and tie.
Birkhead also took to Twitter to post a sweet message about meeting Anna Nicole Smith for the first time.
Personally, I think she looks more and more like her dad every year! What do you think?