Dannielynn The sole surviving child of the late actress and model Anna Nicole Smith is Hope Marshall Birkhead. She is a reality television star, an aspiring actress, and a model herself. She was born in the Bahamas, and three days after, her stepbrother Daniel passed away. Then came the highly-publicized Dannielynn Birkhead paternity dispute. There were various people who identified themselves as her father. Her mother, Smith, listed her friend and attorney Howard K. Stern as the father on her birth certificate and insisted that he was actually the child’s biological father. After a protracted court struggle, DNA testing ultimately established that Kentucky-born famous photographer Larry Birkhead was Dannielynn’s true biological father. Birkhead was given custody of Dannielynn after her mother died of a prescription drug overdose when she was five months old. He helped her become the sole owner of her mother’s estate and raised her. When she was six years old, Dannielynn entered the world of modeling like her mother. She has primarily worked with Guess Kids. Since her birth, Dannielynn has received media coverage and has appeared on programs like “Access Hollywood,” “Entertainment Tonight,” “Celebrity Wife Swap,” and “Inside Edition.”
Case of Dannielynn Birkhead’s paternity
On September 7, 2006, Dannielynn was born at Doctors Hospital in Nassau, Bahamas. Smith gave permission for a video camera to be in the delivery room and afterward paid ‘Entertainment Tonight’ a rumored $1 million for the film and an exclusive interview.
Larry Birkhead, the father of Dannielynn, was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, along with his twin brother Lewis, his older sister Angela Heuser, and his half-sister Judy Birkhead. He attended Doss High School in Louisville before enrolling at the University of Louisville, where he eventually earned his degree in 1999. He first met Smith in May 2004 at the Trish Barnstable Brown Gala, one of the main Kentucky Derby celebrations in the Louisville region that is still popular with celebrities.
Birkhead described their relationship as erratic and turbulent. He recalled how he and Smith would frequently chuckle together while viewing the 1989 dark comedy “The War of the Roses,” noting how accurate it was in depicting their own union. Birkhood responded that he had packed his bags a few times to leave but Smith had persuaded him not to each time when asked why he continued to be in such a situation.
She revealed to him that she was expecting his child in the midst of one of these arguments. He also questioned her about if she was certain who the father of the unborn child was. She reiterated that there was no doubt that he was the father.
After another argument with Birkhead, Smith moved to the Bahamas almost six months into her pregnancy. Birkhead claimed that it was a deliberate move to keep him out of the child’s life. He also claimed that Smith’s buddy and attorney Howard K. Stern was behind the breakup.
Soon after, Smith announced her pregnancy in a video that was broadcast on her website. She has always desired a daughter. She would go to several locations and gather pink, frilly clothing in the hopes of dressing her own daughter one day. Birkhead, who was back home in the US at the time and was residing in Los Angeles, was concerned for the wellbeing of his unborn kid because Smith was on a number of prescription medications. Birkhead was not permitted to be present in the delivery room when their daughter was born.
Daniel Wayne Smith, Dannielynn’s half-brother, passed away while visiting his mother in the maternity ward when she was three days old. The 20-year-old accidentally overdosed on his mother’s methadone, Zoloft, and Lexapro, it was subsequently discovered. Birkhead claimed that Daniel had taken his mother’s medications, per the surveillance system in the home.
Smith was devastated by her son’s passing. Smith only had Daniel in her life who she was positive would always adore her. She also attempted to get into the coffin at Daniel’s funeral due to her intense grief. When she saw a cloud, she would mistake it for Daniel. She would declare her desire to follow him.
Smith was in no condition to care for their daughter, Birkhead realized. Birkhead had to establish his paternity before he could participate in his daughter’s life, though. Smith listed her daughter’s name as Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern and Howard K. Stern as her father on Dannielynn’s second birth certificate, which was dated October 11, 2006.
Hannibel Rose Stern was Dannielynn’s name from September 7, 2006, to October 11, 2006. According to Smith’s ex-boyfriend and South Carolina-based real estate entrepreneur G. Ben Thompson, once Dannielynn was born, Smith wanted to claim paternity and claim that she was his daughter. Thompson disputed that, saying it was impossible because he had undergone a vasectomy.
With regard to the birth certificate, there were a few inconsistencies. Lawyer Dion Smith Jr. signed his name in place of Stern’s signature even though Stern was identified as the child’s father. The certificate was subsequently declared invalid as a result, making it possible to request a new one and a DNA test to establish the child’s paternity.
Smith passed away on February 8, 2007, five months after the birth of her daughter, at the age of 39, from “combined drug intoxication” with chloral hydrate acting as the “major component.” By that time, Birkhead had appeared in court to support his claim after being positively certain that he was Dannielynn’s father. He petitioned the court on February 20 to have Stern provide his DNA samples for analysis. The judge ultimately decided that the paternity issue would be tabled until after Smith’s funeral and any cases connected to it.
Other than Birkhead and Stern, several other people have claimed to be the father of the child, including Mark “Hollywood” Hatten, a convicted felon, and Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, the ninth and final husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor, an American-Hungarian actress and socialite. Some people even suggested that Marshall, Smith’s second husband who died, was the child’s father.
Eventually, Birkhead was identified as the father by Dr. Michael Baird on April 10, 2007, after examining the results of a test taken on March 21. The name of Birkhead’s daughter was then changed to Dannielynn Hope Marshall Birkhead.
Adolescence and career of Dannielynn Birkhead
Dannielynn was followed by the media constantly as a child. She was designated as the sole heir to Smith’s estate, which was valued at $800,000, in 2008 following a protracted trial. She underwent surgery to correct the strabismus in one of her eyes when she was 16 months old. Her father joined her in playing pirates while she had to wear an eye patch due to the treatment.
When she was six years old, she started modeling for Guess Kids. Her mother had previously worked at Guess. Paul Marciano, a co-founder of the business, said of Dannielle, “Dannielynn has the same playful spirit that her mother had on a set.” Their Spring 2013 line was unveiled after the campaign.
Judge David O. Carter of the federal court rejected Dannielynn’s request for $44 million from the estate of the late E. Pierce Marshall, the late J. Howard Marshall’s son, in an order issued in August 2014. Judge Carter found no justification for issuing penalties to Dannielynn against the estate of Pierce Marshall, despite Birkhead’s expectation that she would receive a significant sum of money in compensation.
Net Worth of Dannielynn Birkhead
The estimated net worth of Dannielynn Birkhead is about $1 million.
Trivia
Dannielynn went to her first Kentucky Derby that year. She had a unique reason to celebrate because her parents had first met at the event in 2004.