Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter unveils new look at Kentucky Derby gala

For a long time at the party, she would wear dresses that had been picked out by her mother and were kind of “girly and frilly,” said her dad, Larry Birkhead, who walked the red carpet with her May 1, “and now she’s grown into her own and choosing her own look.”

“It’s like she is Pat Benatar and Joan Jett all rolled into one,” he said.

Her outfit Friday included a new bob with black highlights.

In 2025, Dannielynn made headlines when she wore her late mom’s dress to the Louisville gala, the same event where her parents met more than two decades ago.

When asked why people were still interested in his love story with Smith all these years later, Larry said it’s because people like a feel good story and like to see what Dannielynn is up to each year “as something good that came out of a tragedy.”