Anna Nicole Smith’s ex Larry Birkhead sent their daughter heartfelt wishes on her 17th birthday.
"Time has flown by and I can’t believe that Dannielynn is 17. I truly think Anna Nicole would be proud of how she has turned out," Birkhead shared with Fox News Digital.
"I just want to give Dannielynn opportunities that Anna didn’t have and support her in every way possible."
The photographer additionally took to social media to post rare pictures of Dannielynn -- Smith’s mini-me -- and her late mother in candid snaps.
"Happy 17th Birthday Dannielynn! I am so proud of you in each and every way. Wishing you the best day ever!" Birkhead shared on Instagram in a video montage.
"You are funny, crazy smart, pretty and just about everything I could ever imagine. Your Mom would be so proud of you, I sure am. Happy Birthday! Love Dad"
Photos of Smith holding Dannielynn were featured in the memory slideshow, along with multiple memories of their daughter growing up. One picture showed Dannielynn posing with a photo of her mother in the background.
Birkhead jokingly concluded his message to his daughter with, "By the way, when you asked me if you could live in my basement forever. I said yes, but I didn’t have the heart to tell you there aren’t any basements in Florida."
Birkhead has showcased a strong father-daughter bond with Dannielynn over the years after Smith passed.
For Father’s Day, he posted a selfie of the two at a Duran Duran concert, along with previous candid pictures of them enjoying car rides with each other.
ANNA NICOLE SMITH'S DAUGHTER, DANNIELYNN, TURNS 16: ‘MOM IS LOOKING DOWN’
Last year, Dannielynn and Birkhead posed with Janet Jackson on several occasions, including at her concert and the Barnstable-Brown Gala in 2022.
In April, Birkhead and Dannielynn announced they were working together to create their own documentary of the former Playboy model's life using "never before seen" diaries and footage.
The news comes as Netflix released a trailer for "You Don't Know Me," which claims to interview some of Smith's "closest friends." However, Birkhead and Dannielynn were not involved.
"Unfortunately we are not involved in this Anna Nicole Netflix project, however, I am looking forward to telling Anna’s story in a way that Dannielynn and Anna’s fans will be proud of," he exclusively told Fox News Digital.
On Feb. 8, 2007 — just five months after the birth of Dannielynn — Smith was found in her hotel room in Florida and was later pronounced dead from an overdose.
Shortly after Smith’s death, Birkhead was faced with a very public custody battle where he had to prove Dannielynn was indeed his child. Smith’s former lawyer, Howard K. Stern, had been listed as Dannielynn’s father on the birth certificate and had been fighting for custody. Frederic van Anhalt, the husband of actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, had also claimed he was Dannielynn’s father.
"My relationship with Anna sometimes was portrayed as I got lucky in the DNA lottery from a one-night stand," Birkhead previously told Fox News Digital. "And my relationship with her was actually two years plus, and we covered a lot of territory in that. There [were] a lot of ups and downs."
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Birkhead first met Smith briefly in 2003 for the Kentucky Derby festivities in his home state. However, it was not until 2004 – after Smith’s dramatic weight loss transformation – that the pair bonded in private.
Smith additionally welcomed a son, Daniel, with cook Billy Wayne Smith, a year after the two wed in 1985. Daniel tragically died from an accidental drug overdose at the age of 20.
Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.
