Larry E. Birkhead (born January 22, 1973[1]) is a former partner of American Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith. He is the father of her daughter Dannielynn Hope Marshall Birkhead.[2] He obtained full custody of his daughter after DNA results proved his paternity in April 2007.
Birkhead, the son of Larry L. Birkhead and Nancy Birkhead, is a native of Louisville, Kentucky. Birkhead has a twin brother Lewis, as well as a sister, Angela Birkhead, and a half-sister, Judy Birkhead. He graduated in 1991 from Louisville’s Doss High School.[3][4] He holds a 1999 degree from the University of Louisville.[5]
Birkhead and Smith initially met in May 2004 at the Trish Barnstable Brown Gala,[6] one of the major Louisville-area Kentucky Derby parties that attracts many celebrities.