Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter Dannielynn Birkhead joined her father Larry Birkhead at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 4.
The 17-year-old Dannielynn and her father, 51, attended the 150th Kentucky Derby together in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday, posing for photos before they made their way to the racetrack. Dannielynn wore a bright red Badgley Mischka gown and coordinating Jane-Rose Zupetz fascinator while her dad sported a light gray suit and a purple tie.
“We are having a great time,” Larry exclusively told Us Weekly on Saturday. “Dannielynn is enjoying for one of [her] first years getting into the fashion of the Derby. She wore a dress that was Janet Jackson’s on Friday and got a major haircut because she wanted ‘another look’ for Derby Day.”
Larry also noted that his daughter “likes the horse Mystik Dan because of her name Dannielynn.”
On Friday, May 3, the father-daughter duo attended the Barnstable Brown Gala at Barnstable-Brown Mansion in Louisville the night before Derby Day, as they do every year. Dannielynn wore a floor-length, long-sleeved black gown adorned with zippers and paired with platform combat boots. The vintage Gianfranco Ferré was bought at auction from a collection that once belonged to Janet Jackson.
Additionally, Dannielynn sported her long blonde locks at the Barnstable Brown Gala, which were noticeably shorter on Saturday when she walked into the Derby.
“Dannielynn’s dress was inspired by her favorite character Hino Eiji, Kamen Rider OOO TaJaDor combo — she made me write that 😆 — because that character had the same shoulders as the design of the dress she found! 🤷♂️” Larry continued. “Hey whatever works, just trying to spend a little quality time as this weekend of traditions come to a close…”
Dannielynn and Larry attend the Kentucky Derby together every year, as well as the Barnstable-Brown Gala, which holds a sentimental place in the hearts of the Birkhead family.
“Tonight is the 20th anniversary where I met Dannielynn’s Mom at the same event,” Larry shared via Instagram during last year’s gala. (Smith died of a drug overdose in February 2007 at the age of 39, just five months after Dannielynn was born.)
“Sometimes you feel like a bodyguard, sometimes you feel like a chauffeur,” Larry joked to Us Weekly in 2020 about being a single father. “It depends on what the day is. But my job is dad and I think I’ve done a pretty good job. She’s adjusted to it and she’s just a normal kid.”