Larry Birkhead Celebrates 20th Birthday of His Daughter with Late Anna Nicole Smith by Praising Dannielynn's Daring Fashion Sense

NEED TO KNOW Larry Birkhead's daughter is another year older The doting dad shared a sweet tribute to his daughter Dannielynn on Instagram to commemorate her 20th birthday In the video, which was set to Lenny Kravitz's 'Happy Birthday,' Birkhead included a mixture of old and recent photos of the newly minted 20-year-old Larry Birkhead's daughter is another year older! The doting dad, 53, who welcomed his only child with the late Anna Nicole Smith, shared a sweet tribute to his daughter Dannielynn on Instagram to commemorate her 20th birthday. In the video, which was set to Lenny Kravitz's 'Happy Birthday,' Birkhead included a mixture of old and recent photos of the newly minted 20-year-old. 'Happy 20th Birthday Dannielynn! ❤️ Love, Dad ❤️,' he captioned his post before adding details about two of her outfits. 'Outfit : (1) Dress/Tights, etc: Social Collusion for Hot Topic 2) Ghost T-shirt : Hot Topic @hottopic #hottopic #socialcollusion' Birkhead and Smith, who died from an accidental drug overdose in 2007 at age 39, welcomed Dannielynn in 2006. While some might wonder if she'd ever want to follow in her mom's footsteps, Dannielynn is charting her own path. Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE at the Barnstable Brown Gala ahead of the 2026 Kentucky Derby back in May, the now-20-year-old shared an update on her college studies. 'I'm majoring in forensic science,' Dannielynn said. 'I might double major, possibly, in something regarding culinary, because I love baking,' she added. 'I don't know.' Her photographer dad, who was by Dannielynn's side at the star-studded charity gala, then told PEOPLE he is proud of his daughter, regardless of what she decides to do with her career. 'I'm excited for her to just follow any path that she wants,' he said. 'A lot of people want her to follow in her mom's footsteps — and she's thought about that, and maybe she might switch back to that one day — but right now, she's kind of wanting to do her own thing with the forensics and the criminal studies.' 'So I'm all about whatever she wants,' Birkhead added. NEED TO KNOW Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Dannielynn, who had recently completed her first semester of college at the time, 'got good grades,' Larry said. 'You know, it was a little bit of a struggle to get across the finish line, like these horse races, but she got the steam at the end, and she pushed it across. She did a great job,' he continued. 'So I'm proud of her in every way.' The father-daughter duo typically make an annual appearance at the Barnstable Brown Gala, which benefits the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center at the University of Kentucky. The gala has raised and donated more than $22 million since it was founded by twin sisters, Patricia and Priscilla Barnstable; their mother, Wilma Barnstable; and Patricia's late husband, Dr. David E. Brown. At this year's event, Dannielynn debuted a new look, which she said was an effort to carve out her own style. Still, the college student explained that she does not mind comparisons to her late mom, telling PEOPLE they 'always make me feel good, because I love my mom.' (Dannielynn was just 5 months old when her mom died.) 'She's super pretty, and I like being compared to her in the sense of like, 'Oh, I'm pretty too.' But I also like being known as my own person,' Dannielynn continued. 'Because it's always like, 'Anna Nicole Smith's daughter,' and never just Dannielynn. So I'm hoping my look right now will kind of help with that in a way.' Added proud dad Larry: 'I'm excited that she's just being her own individual self.'