“The last time I saw that dress was on Anna”: Larry Birkhead gets emotional as daughter Dannielynn wears mother Nicole Smith’s backless dress

Larry Birkhead got emotional when he saw his daughter, Dannielynn, wear his late wife Anna Nicole Smith's backless dress.

Dannielynn, who is now 18 years old, wore the same dress her mother wore to the annual Barnstable Brown Gala in 2004. The black, floor-length gown shows off a plunging neckline and crystal-embellished straps across the chest in addition to the low-cut back.

Her father, Larry Birkhead, took to Instagram to celebrate his daughter and the "full-circle" moment:

"Dannielynn is wearing Anna Nicole’s dress that she wore 21 years ago to this same event. Life full circle," he penned. "She said she chose the dress because it was her Mom’s and 'super cool.' "

Larry, 52, also told People Magazine ahead of the gala that while he's kept the dress "for years," it was "emotional" seeing it on his kid:

"It was emotional because the last time I saw that dress was on Anna." He also recalled that when Dannielynn "was a little girl, she walked over and she put her hand on the dress." He continued, "And now that she's actually old enough to wear it, it just seems surreal that we're at this moment."

Larry Birkhead's daughter Dannielynn says wearing her mother's dress is the closest thing to a hug she can get from her

Larry Birkhead met Anna Nicole Smith at the Barnstable Gala in 2003. During their time together, they welcomed Dannielynn. However, when she was just 5 months old, Smith died in February 2007 of an accidental drug overdose. The father-daughter duo has since made the gala an annual tradition in honor of the late Smith.

"This is the closest to a hug I can get from her," Dannielynn told a reporter at the event as she sauntered down the red carpet.

According to People Magazine, Dannielynn was the one who wanted to wear her mother's dress, which according to the photographer, is "a little edgier for her than most dresses she wears."

"I think she's doing a fashion experiment for herself," he said. "Also, I think it's really meaningful for her to wear. 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."

Larry Birkhead also revealed that he shells out "over $200,000 in storage bills" to maintain all of Smith's clothes and belongings for Dannielynn:

"[I] just hope that she would appreciate some of these things someday," he shared. "She's just now starting to get into the curiosity of some of the fashion and things in her mom's world." Larry continued, “When somebody passes away, you think, 'Oh, I'm not getting rid of anything. And then you go through the emotions of, okay, do I really want this? Do I really need this? ... and you think, 'Well, if there's just one thing in there that she can connect with, that gives her a sense of who her mom was. So it was really special that she picked out the dress to wear."

Reflecting on the family tradition of attending the gala since his daughter was 3 years old, Larry Birkhead conceded,

"[it] was really born out of the babysitter cancelling on me the first year I brought her." He continued, "And then everybody was like, 'Oh, how cute. And then I thought, 'Well, she wasn't that much trouble last year. So it became a tradition. Then people started looking for us and then the outfits had to be bigger."

Last year, Larry Birkhead sported a gray suit set with a black tie while Dannielynn was clad in an all-black ensemble previously worn by Janet Jackson.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback