Short Biography

Larry E. Birkhead is an American entertainment photojournalist who was in a custody battle with Anna Nicole Smith. Birkhead is a native of Louisville, Kentucky, and currently resides in Burbank, California.

Birkhead is a 1991 graduate of Doss High School in Louisville, and has a twin brother, Lewis, as well as a sister Angela Johnson who lives in Myrtle Beach and half-sister Judy, whose mother is Ruth Denham, in KY. His mother is Nancy, step-mother Donna, father Larry L. Birkhead.

Birkhead and Smith initially met in May 2004 at the Trish Barnstable Brown Gala,[3] one of the major Louisville-area Kentucky Derby parties that attracts many celebrities.

On April 10, 2007, a Bahamian court ruled that DNA testing proved that Larry Birkhead is the father of Dannielynn, the daughter of Anna Nicole Smith.


Claim of paternity
Main article: Dannielynn Birkhead paternity case
Amongst several men making paternity claims, including Howard K. Stern, Mark Hatten, Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt and Smith`s former bodyguard Alexander Denk, Birkhead was proven, by a DNA test provided by Michael L. Baird, to be the father of Smith`s infant daughter, Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern.[5] Smith claimed that her attorney and boyfriend, Howard K. Stern, was the father.[6] When Anna Nicole Smith died on February 8, 2007, Birkhead filed an emergency order to get custody of the child.[7] Larry Birkhead had the support of Smith`s mother, Virgie Arthur, in his claim that he was the biological father of Smith`s five-month-old daughter, Dannielynn.

Birkhead appeared before Judge Larry Seidlin to give testimony at the proceedings to adjudicate the remains of Smith, and was compelled to provide information about himself, including his income.

He revealed that a year before the conception of Dannielynn, Smith had been pregnant with his baby and miscarried during the first few weeks of pregnancy.

Anna Nicole Smith and her companion Howard K. Stern initially absconded to the Bahamas to avoid paternity testing, but after Smith`s death in February 2007 paternity testing became necessary to resolve several pending court cases.

In April 2007 paternity was established for Larry and a Bahamian court authorized custody transfer of Dannielynn from Howard K. Stern to Larry Birkhead. Larry was also granted permission to have the birth certificate of his daughter changed so that the name Birkhead was added and the name Stern was removed. On May 1, 2007 Larry & Dannielynn flew in a chartered flight from the Bahamas to Louiville, Kentucky.

He is currently considering suing various tabloids which ran a story in which model Kerrick Ross (a man) claims Birkhead is gay, and that they had sex on numerous occasions during a month long relationship in the 90s. Ross claims that although he is out, Birkhead is not out due to his conservative Southern Baptist family`s morals. He has hired lawyer Marty Singer to sue for defamation.[8]

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