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How the late Anna Nicole Smith is living on through her teenage daughter

Dannielynn Birkhead was 5 months old when her mother died on Feb. 8, 2007.
Anna Nicole Smith died from an accidental drug overdose at age 39 when her daughter, Dannielynn was 5 months old.
Anna Nicole Smith died from an accidental drug overdose at age 39 when her daughter, Dannielynn was 5 months old.Getty Images
/ Source: TODAY

Larry Birkhead is paying tribute to his former partner Anna Nicole Smith, who died 15 years ago today at age 39.

“She was truly one of a kind. She struggled for love and acceptance,” Birkhead began a poignant Instagram post on Tuesday. “Just when she found a little piece of one or the other, life seemed to sabotage.”

“Today, I remember your heart, your soul and your beauty, both inside and out,” he continued.

Birkhead and Smith’s daughter, Dannielynn, was 5 months old when her mother accidentally overdosed on prescription drugs. (Smith also had son, Daniel Wayne Smith, with her ex-husband. Daniel died of an accidental drug overdose in 2006, at age 20.)

Dannielynn Birkhead was an infant when her mother, Anna Nicole Smith, died in 2007.
Dannielynn Birkhead was an infant when her mother, Anna Nicole Smith, died in 2007.Getty Images

“Your love is alive still to this day, in the form of a truly one of a kind teenager with her Mom’s smile, beauty and courage,” Birkhead wrote. “Thanks to Anna’s fans for keeping her memory alive. We love you Anna Nicole.”

Birkhead, a photographer and single parent, is raising 15-year-old Dannielynn, outside of the spotlight in Kentucky. 

“I’m not the best dad, I have my faults, but I do the best I can with what the situation is,” Birkhead revealed during an appearance on TODAY in 2016. “We make the best of it, and I think Dannielynn’s best days are still to come. She’s got such a bright future in front of her, and I try every day to keep a little bit of the memory alive of her mom.”

Birkhead said there are still regular reminders of Smith.

“It’s tough when you go to school and you’re filling out the forms,” he revealed. “It’s gets me every year. And you have to put ‘deceased’ on her mom’s information.’”

Though Birkhead and Dannielynn keep a low profile, they have a tradition of getting decked out to attend the Kentucky Derby.

Last year, Birkhead wore a pink pocket square to match the flowers on Dannielynn’s yellow dress.

“#proudpapa,” he wrote on Instagram.

“Her mother would be proud of her. You’re doing a great job,” one person wrote in the comments.

Added another, “She has her mama’s smile.”

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