Photo: Larry Birkhead/Instagram
Dannielynn Birkheadis paying homage to her late motherAnna Nicole Smithin a very special way.
“She’s showing off her fashion sense but at the same time paying tribute to her mom,” Birkhead told PEOPLE just ahead of the annual gala.
“It came from a Guess collection that sold out and she [Dannielynn] saved it for a special occasion,” says Birkhead who wore a tie that matched his daughter’s shirt. “It’s done with photos from some of Anna’s best Guess campaigns.”
“We’re both paying tribute because it’s the 20th anniversary of our first meeting,” says Birkhead who first met Anna Nicole at the Barnstable Brown Gala in 2003 when he was a young photographer sent to cover the annual event which benefits theBarnstable Brown Diabetes Centerat the University of Kentucky.
Larry Birkhead/Instagram
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“It seems like yesterday to be honest,” he recalls. “That I was walking up with my camera bags and just hoping for a decent picture. I wound up with so much more. It’s funny how one event can change your life. And that’s what this party did for me. If I had not been there that night and had that connection, how different my life would have been if I hadn’t met Anna and had our daughter.”
Michael Loccisano/Getty
He’s proud to report that Dannielynn, now a high school junior, is “on the honor roll and starting to look at colleges.”
She occasionally dips into the archive of her mom’s clothes that he’s kept for her in storage. “There’s some t-shirts and different things she fits in but there’s also some things that she’ll say ‘Dad, no thanks, that’s not my style,'” he says. Plus, he adds, “There’s also some things that would have to wait till later. Some things are a bit more revealing and low-cut. Plus, she was a variety of sizes, so she’s got every size covered that you can imagine.”
Last year, Dannielynn celebrated her 16th birthday and dad Larryhonored his not-so-little girl with a sweet tribute.
“Dannielynn is such a great kid and she makes me so proud every day,” he told PEOPLE. “I can’t believe she is old enough to drive! It seems like yesterday I was pushing her in a toy car!”
The proud dad also posted a heartfelt message to his daughter onInstagramalongside a collage of images of Dannielynn through the years.
As she nears the end of her junior year, he says, “She just has a big heart.”
source: people.com
