Dannielynn Birkhead and her dad Larry Birkhead kept up with their annual tradition in Kentucky this weekend. The two arrived in style at the Barnstable Brown Gala on May 2, both dressed to the nines.
Dannielynn turned heads as she walked the red carpet in a dress that was previously owned and worn by her late mother, Anna Nicole Smith, at the same event more than two decades ago.
“This is the closest to a hug I can get from her,” the 18-year-old told Access Hollywood on the red carpet.
Larry spoke with the outlet, admitting that seeing his daughter in that dress — a black gown with an open back that features embellished straps — was “emotional.”
“The last time I saw that dress was on Anna,” Larry told the outlet. He first met Smith, who died of a drug overdose in 2007, at the gala back in 2003. Larry also told People that his daughter has always been fond of that particular dress.
“[When she] was a little girl, she walked over and she put her hand on the dress,” he said, adding, “and now that she’s actually old enough to wear it, it just seems surreal that we’re at this moment.”
Larry and Dannielynn have attended the Kentucky Derby together since Dannielynn was 3 years old. Each year, people have enjoyed seeing how much Dannielynn has grown up — and how much she looks like her mom.
This year wasn’t the first time that Dannielynn paid tribute to her mom at a Derby event. At the 2023 Barnstable Brown Gala, the teen wore a shirt with photos of her mom’s Guess campaign printed on it.
“She’s showing off her fashion sense but at the same time paying tribute to her mom,” Larry told People at the time. “It came from a Guess collection that sold out and she [Dannielynn] saved it for a special occasion. It’s done with photos from some of Anna’s best Guess campaigns,” he added.
