Larry Birkhead celebrated his daughter Dannielynn Birkhead turning 20 years old on September 7, sharing an Instagram photo collage that featured recent snapshots of her red hair and goth-rock fashion alongside childhood pictures highlighted by entertainment media.
Rare Birthday Photos Show Dannielynn Birkhead’s New Style
Marking a major milestone, Larry Birkhead posted a video montage to Instagram celebrating his daughter’s 20th birthday on September 7. Set to Lenny Kravitz’s Happy Birthday
, the video reel included a mix of throwback childhood images—including a young Dannielynn in a one-piece bathing suit and another in a pink tutu hugging her father—alongside recent portraits.
Among the newer images, the 20-year-old was photographed sitting on a city stoop wearing a black velvet dress, fishnet tights, lacy black socks, sunglasses, and matching necklaces. Another photo showed her at a restaurant with short red hair and a Ghost T-shirt. According to details shared in the social media captions, those outfits were purchased at Hot Topic and from Social Collusion for Hot Topic.
Life Away From the Spotlight and College Years
Dannielynn shares her birthday with the memory of her family’s past, arriving just months before her mother, the late Anna Nicole Smith, passed away in 2007. Following Smith’s death, Larry Birkhead became Dannielynn’s primary caregiver, choosing to raise her away from the intense glare of Hollywood.
Now entering her sophomore year of college—where she is studying forensics—she has continued to step into her own independent identity.
The Kentucky Derby Tradition and Evolving Style
While Larry and Dannielynn have largely avoided public events, they maintained a steadfast annual tradition of attending the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Larry first met Anna Nicole Smith at the Derby in 2004, and the event eventually became an annual father-daughter outing and a visual growth chart for Dannielynn.
Over the years, Dannielynn frequently paid sartorial homage to her late mother at the Derby festivities.
However, Dannielynn recently began pivoting toward her own distinct aesthetic. Ahead of the May Kentucky Derby weekend, she debuted a short pixie cut with dark-dyed ends and wore a strapless black Punk Rave gown, embracing what Larry described as a goth rock theme
that allowed her to show off her personal fashion sense.
Looking Ahead After Two Decades
With Dannielynn now 20 and deeply focused on her college studies, her father acknowledged that their famous Kentucky Derby tradition might have reached its final chapter. Speaking about their public appearances, Larry noted that his daughter is growing up and finding her own circles.
She’s almost 20 years old, and there’s cooler people to hang out with [than] me. We’ve really done this, and it’s been a tradition, and I think it’s something that we don’t know if we’re going to do it again, ever. So this could be, like, the end of our photo book. We don’t know. But we had one h— of a scrapbook if we [don’t come back].
Larry Birkhead, father and photographer, via Access Hollywood
Dannielynn herself echoed a desire for a quieter lifestyle, explaining that she prefers staying home over media attention. I kind of want to step away,
she shared in an interview. I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had and being able to talk with you and share stories, but I’m more of like a stay at home and hide under my blanket type of person.
