Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter Dannielynn Birkhead paid tribute to her late mother with jewelry as she headed out to the 149th Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
The 16-year-old wore a sunflower-print Leo Lin dress and accessorised with a crystal necklace and bracelet from Smith’s personal collection as she walked the red carpet at Churchill Downs with her father Larry Birkhead, 50.
Birkhead color coordinated with his daughter in a light blue suit, yellow tie and sunflower pin. Ahead of the famous horse race in Louisville, Kentucky, Birkhead shared a trio of photos with Dannielynn and former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora.
“Rock the rest of @kentuckyderby with Richie Sambora and Dannielynn,” he wrote.
ANNA NICOLE SMITH’S DAUGHTER DANNIELYNN BIRKHEAD IS FULLY GROWN UP DURING KENTUCKY DERBY PERFORMANCE
Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter Dannielynn Birkhead paid tribute to her mother at the Kentucky Derby. (Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Churchill Downs)
“Richie kindly accepted his offer to give Dannielynn a private guitar lesson and spent a lot of time giving her tips on building confidence and mastering the art of playing the guitar. Great guy!
Dannielynn did a little bit of @janetjackson playing Black Cat for him. Now off to the @kentuckyderby after the Barnstable Brown gala last night.”
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. Dannielynn met Jackson at the charity event last year while wearing an outfit that once belonged to the legendary singer.
The 16-year-old wore a sunflower dress which she accessorised with her mother’s jewelery as she took part in the famous horse race with father Larry Birkhead. (Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Churchill Downs)
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Dannielynn also honored her mother with her style at the 34th Annual Barnstable Brown Gala on Friday night. She wore a black and white top printed with photos from Smith’s 1992 GUESS campaign, which she paired with her mother’s jewelry.
Birkhead shared a slideshow of photos of him posing with Dannielynn before the gala.
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“Heading to the annual Barnstable-Brown Derby Eve Gala,” he wrote in the caption of his Instagram post. “Tonight marks the 20th anniversary of meeting Dannielynn’s mom at the same event.”
Smith and Birkhead first met in 2003 when he was working as a freelance photographer and the former Playboy Playmate was her E! Reality show “The Anna Nicole Show”. Smith died in 2007 at the age of 39 when Dannielynn was just 5 months old.
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The Kentucky native later uploaded more pre-party pictures of himself and his daughter, writing, “I can’t believe Dannielynn is almost 17. Time for a great derby weekend.”
Attending the Kentucky Derby celebrations is an annual tradition for Dannielynn and Birkhead. Father and daughter have attended the Kentucky Derby every year since 2010.
Although Birkhead prefers to keep Dannielynn out of the spotlight, he told Fox News Digital that attending the historic annual event is a way to honor the past and continue creating new traditions with his little girl.
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“It’s kind of a tradition that we go every year,” he said.
“That’s where I met Anna Nicole Smith. And since then I’ve taken my daughter every year. She’s old enough to understand what it is.
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“Since I met her mother there, it started with me taking her back and showing her around and telling her the stories, that, you know, this is where I met your mother and stuff.
“And then it came to this that people there were looking for my daughter because I really don’t let her attend public events. And honestly, the Kentucky Derby is kind of the growth chart for Dannielynn.”