Dannielynn, 18, shares the touching reason for wearing her late mother’s clothes

Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter Dannielynn recently revealed the reason she wears her late mother’s clothing.

On the eve of the Kentucky Derby, the 18-year-old teenage daughter of the late model attended the annual Barnstable Brown Gala in a gown that Smith previously wore to the same event in 2004.

Joining her dad Larry Birkhead at the soirée, she posed for photos in the sentimental, black gown with crystal-embellished straps and a low back.

At the Barnstable Brown House in Louisville, Dannielynn explained why she likes to wear her mother’s clothing and shared the heartbreaking reason she decided to wear that specific dress.

Her mother passed away at the age of 39 in 2007 when Dannielynn was just a five-month-old newborn baby.

While walking the red carpet at the event, the teenager teared up as she spoke about her late mother and the special meaning of the dress she was wearing.

‘This is the closest to a hug I can get from her,’ she told Access Hollywood on Friday.

On the same day, Dannielynn’s father took to Instagram and shared a photo of them together at the event.

‘Dannielynn is wearing Anna Nicole’s dress that she wore 21 years ago to this same event. Life full circle,’ Birkhead wrote in his caption. 

‘She said she chose the dress because it was her Mom’s and “super cool.”‘

She also channeled her mom by wearing her blonde hair up in the same bouncy updo with loose tendrils framing her face. 

At the gala, Birkhead, 52, also shared his reaction to seeing his daughter wearing the dress for the first time. 

‘It was emotional because the last time I saw that dress was on Anna,’ he told People on Friday. 

He added that when Dannielynn ‘was a little girl, she walked over and she put her hand on the dress. And now that she’s actually old enough to wear it, it just seems surreal that we’re at this moment.’ 

Birkhead and Smith met at the Barnstable Gala in 2003. 

When Dannielynn was just three years old, she attended her first Kentucky Derby with her father. 

Since then, the father-daughter duo have made the Barnstable Gala and the Kentucky Derby into their annual tradition. 

On Sunday, Dannielynn was the spitting image of her late mom as she rocked the star’s jewelry at the Kentucky Derby.

She wowed in a pale green strapless tulle dress by Mac Duggal, accessorized with a gold pendant necklace, gold watch, stacked bangles, and a feather-trimmed fascinator — all pulled straight from her mom’s personal collection.

In his Instagram post, Birkhead revealed the sentimental connection, writing: ‘Jewelry: Anna Nicole archive.’

He also joked about his Derby-day makeover, adding, ‘She made me cut my hair because she said I looked like a low-rent Keith Urban! Ouch Betting on a great time and good weather for a special family tradition.’

The touching tribute came just hours after Dannielynn turned heads at the Barnstable Brown Gala, where she dazzled in one of her mom’s iconic backless, floor-length dresses.

The teen picked out her mother’s dress to wear to the event and her father believes that ‘she’s doing a fashion experiment for herself. Also, I think it’s really meaningful for her to wear.’ 

Birkheadcontinued, ‘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.’ 

He currently is storing clothes that belonged to Smith in case his daughter wants them in the future. 

‘She’s just now starting to get into the curiosity of some of the fashion and things in her mom’s world.’ 

Dannielynn has attended the Barnstable Brown Gala with her father since she was a little girl. 

Last year, the pair flashed cheerful smiles while stopping by the event – and the teen donned a stylish Gianfranco Ferre dress which had previously been worn by Janet Jackson. 

And in 2023, Smith’s daughter sweetly paid homage to the model by wearing a Guess shirt that had black and white images of the late star. 

She additionally wore a black, layered tulle skirt as well as a thick belt with a shimmering silver bow embellishment on the front. 

During a past interview with DailyMail.com in 2019, Birkhead opened up about raising his daughter after Smith lived a life in the spotlight.  

Smith welcomed her daughter to the world in September 2006 — less than one year before her tragic passing. 

After her death, multiple individuals stepped forward to claim that they were Dannielynn’s father — including Birkhead. Following DNA tests, it was revealed that Birkhead was her biological father. 

‘People always say, “Is she going to be an actress? Is she going to be a model?” And I never push her in a certain direction,’ he stated. 

‘Actually, I get calls all the time and I say, “No, she’s not interested in doing that kind of stuff.” Right now she’s just being a kid.’

Birkhead — who resides in the state of Kentucky with his daughter —also shared at the time: ‘She surprised me because last year she took an acting class.

‘I got an email from a teacher and she said Dannielynn gave one of the most believable performances of the whole, whole entire school. So, if she wants to do something like that when she’s older…we’ll see when we get there.’ 

She also welcomed a son named Daniel in 1986 with ex-husband Billy Wayne Smith. 

However, at the age of 20 in September 2006, Daniel passed away in Smith’s hospital room due to an accidental drug overdose. Days earlier, Smith had given birth to daughter Dannielynn. 

Larry explained, ‘[Dannielynn] knows just really that her mom was famous and she knows about Daniel. I try to incorporate both of them because sometimes Daniel gets forgotten.

‘We try to talk about him and I shared a birthday with him, so we always celebrated together.’

He added, ‘You know, I tell her stories about them and I try to not make it heavy, because she’s just now becoming a teenager and I think some of that stuff will come…’ 

And while also speaking with DailyMail.com in 2023, Birkhead was asked if his daughter did anything that reminded him of Smith – whom he first met in 2003. 

‘Yeah she can spend my money like her mom. And she loves to do that,’ he humorously stated. 

He later expressed, ‘I’ve created such a foundation for that I’ve given the tools to say, look, this. Life is normal now.

‘I’m very picky and selective. She’s very grounded and very humble. She is not one of these entitled celebrity kids. She’s gone to a public school all her life. That’s what she chose. She said I want to go to public school and not to private.’

Birkhead further gushed, ‘Dannielynn is on the honor roll and she makes great grades. She is taking college level classes. Anna would be very, very proud of her. I know I am.’