Anna Nicole Smith's ex Larry Birkhead snubs Netflix docu, reveals 'own project' with daughter Dannielynn
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: Anna Nicole Smith's ex Larry Birkhead and the former couple's daughter, Dannielynn, are working together to create their own documentary of the bombshell's life using "never before seen" diaries and footage. The news comes after Netflix released a trailer for 'You Don't Know Me,' featuring interviews from Smith's "closest friends." The upcoming docuseries does not involve Birkhead and Dannielynn.
"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 told Fox News. Birkhead who faced scrutiny over his daughter's custody only to prove Dannielynn was indeed his child claimed that all the flicks based on Smith's life show people who portray themselves as "close friends" or "family" of the model, when in fact, Smith had "very few friends and was unfortunately estranged from most all of her family."
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The model-turned-actress died in 2007 from an accidental drug overdose, following which there have been scores of documentaries on her infamous lifestyle. Smith was born in Houston, Texas, and began her modeling career as a Playboy Playmate, later Guess and H&M. "There have been so many Anna Nicole projects, and each time producers call and make the promise to tell Anna’s story in a different way. Then, there is a big disappointment when you see the actual show," Birkhead explained.
"You always see the same clips and they usually find video of Anna on the red carpet to make her look crazy or the same award show clips and it becomes the cookie-cutter Anna Nicole production. Anna’s life was such a roller-coaster that there really is no need to invent things or take people at their words for varying claims," says Birkhead.
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Birkhead and Smith met at Kentucky Derby festivities in his home state in 2003. However, it wasn’t until 2004 after Smith’s dramatic weight loss transformation that the pair engaged in a private relationship. "I couldn’t tell anybody that we were dating," Birkhead previously explained. "It actually worked against me after she passed [when] I was still trying to prove paternity, even though I knew I was the father and Anna knew I was the father… but to the world, it was a mystery…" Birkhead was in a legal battle over the custody of his daughter and was ultimately proven to be Dannielynn's father.
At the time, 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," said Birkhead "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." Birkhead spoke about the controversy and said, "I couldn’t talk about our relationship and there [weren’t] a lot of pictures of us and footage of us as a couple. She was supposed to be this kind of available sex goddess. That was her persona that she was supposed to be available and the object of everyone’s desire. It worked against me in so many ways."
'I thought it would be great to hear Anna’s voice in her own story'
Birkhead has kept Dannielynn out of projects involving her late mother claiming the people behind them "aren't credible." "In some of the past cases, the interview subjects shouldn’t be speaking about Anna’s life at all," he said. "Some have portrayed themselves as ‘close friends’ or ‘family’ when in fact, Anna had very few friends and was unfortunately estranged from most all of her family."
The former lover revealed he wants to tell Smith's story in a way to be "proud of," through her own voice. "Anna left behind so many things that I thought it would be great to hear Anna’s voice in her own story using her never-before-seen personal diaries, journals and home videos and not just rehashed clips and roster of the usual suspects of ‘friends,’" Birkhead said. "It’s been an emotional journey going through all of the things with Dannielynn. She’s actually learning a lot about her Mom in the process."