Posts Tagged ‘Dannielynn’

Anna Nicole Smith Descends on Britain’s Royal Opera

February 12th, 2009

Britain’s Royal Opera House has dropped a blonde bombshell on the world of theater!

According to E! News, the opera house plans to develop an opera based on the life of Anna Nicole Smith.

"It’s not going to be a horrible, sleazy evening," Elaine Padmore, director of opera at London’s Convent Garden, where the show will be staged, told British paper The Guardian. "It is not going to be tawdry; it is going to be witty, clever, thoughtful and sad."

Um, they do know this is Anna Nicole Smith they’re talking about, right?
Padmore does admit the show will be full of drama, and how could it not? Anna Nicole’s life–the part of it lived in the spotlight anyway–was nothing but drama, following her even in death. But Padmore insists the production will not exploit the former Playmate’s tragic mishaps.

"Just because a life has been in the tabloids does not mean it must be treated in a tawdry way on stage," she said, calling the show "a parable about celebrity and what it does to people…It will be a slice of our times–of America in the pre-Obama days."

Padmore has enlisted some of the British theater’s top dogs, including composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and librettist Richard Thomas (who incidentally co-created Jerry Springer: The Opera).

There’s a lot of stuff to cover; Smith’s life was a series of erratic events, including her early years as a stripper, her marriage to an oil tycoon 63 years her senior, becoming a Playboy Playmate, starring in her own reality show, and her drawn out Supreme Court battle for her late husband’s millions.

And all that happened before the events most people connect with Anna Nicole now: the suspicious death of son Daniel, the paternity battle over newborn daughter Dannielynn and her ultimate death from an accidental drug overdose in 2007 at the age of 39.

It’s enough to fill three shows, but Padmore is staying mum on which parts of Smith’s life she plans to highlight.

"In broad outline, it will tell the story of her life, the people who influenced her, her progress," she said. "Clearly the story is about a woman who met an ancient gentleman in a wheelchair, but it’s not going to be a straight narrative; choices have been made about significant moments, selecting which incidents in her life are to be built up."

The opera is slated to run during the 2011 season.

Hot Shots! 5/19/08-5/25/08

May 19th, 2008

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Larry Birkhead Pacified!

February 29th, 2008

Larry Birkhead may not be a movie star, but that didn’t stop the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s baby girl Dannielynn Birkhead from popping into the gifting room at the recent Night of 100 Stars party at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

But Larry wasn’t thinking only of himself when he sidled up to the folks from MyPacifier.com Personalized Pacifiers. “When he came to our table, I told him it bothered me to see his beautiful baby on TV with a regular old pacifier in her mouth when she should have one of her own MyPacifier Personalized Pacifiers,” company owner Carol Pedersen tells OK!. “He was very gracious.”

And according to Carol’s husband, Kim Pedersen, former photographer Larry had no problem playing to the camera. “He stuck the thing in his mouth and let us take a picture,” says Kim, “so he must have been in good spirits.”

Larry, who was there with his publicist and a few friends, picked out the “My Dad Rocks” pacifier himself.

Dannielynn Has Corrective Eye Surgery

February 26th, 2008

Dannielynn Hope, the daughter of the late Anna Nicole Smith and Larry Birkhead, successfully underwent surgery to treat an eye condition known as Strabismus.

ET confirmed the news on Tuesday, and Larry said, “Dannielynn is home from surgery and resting comfortably.” Contrary to false reports, no cameras were present during the surgery.

 

Dannielynn was recently diagnosed with having Strabismus, an eye condition commonly known as “cross eyed.” Anna Nicole’s half sister, Donna Hogan told OK! in January that the condition is hereditary on Anna Nicole’s side of the family. “I can confirm that it is hereditary on our father’s side of the family,” she said. Hogan’s own 14 year old daughter suffers from the same condition and is awaiting surgery.

And as for the rumors that Dannielynn developed Strabismus as a result of Anna’s drug use, Larry says not so. “All the doctors told me that it was more than likely genetic,” he told OK!.

Hogan said she understands how people might think Anna’s drug use could be the cause but says she truly believes the condition is genetic. “That’s the first thing that goes through your mind, but as someone who knows the family history and saw the signs right away in Dannielynn, of course I knew what was going on.”

 

Larry Teams With Habitat for Humanity

February 14th, 2008

Larry Birkhead’s 2008 is filling up at a rapid pace. He just returned from the Bahamas with his daughter Dannielynn, where the two commemorated the death of Anna Nicole Smith — (check out the latest issue of OK! for the exlusive photos and interview!). Now, the 35-year-old single dad is going to be helping out a single mom.

Larry has teamed up with Habitat for Humanity, the nonprofit group that builds homes for the needy. The photographer will head home to his native Louisville, Ky., where he will help build a house for a struggling single mother of three.

Two of the three children suffer from spina bifida, a birth defect that affects the spinal cord. Larry, whose own daughter will have eye surgery next month to correct strabismus, said he plans to name the house after 17-month-old Dannielynn.

 

 

 

 

OK! Exclusive: Larry & Dannielynn in the Bahamas

February 13th, 2008 / Author: cwillett

2008 is shaping up to be an emotionally charged year for Larry Birkhead and his 17-month-old daughter, Dannielynn. Father and daughter recently traveled back to the Bahamas to visit the gravesite of Anna Nicole Smith on the Feb. 8 anniversary of her tragic death.

Although Anna’s death is clearly still something Larry struggles with, he knows he has to stay strong for his little girl. While in the Bahamas, he and Dannielynn also made time for some fun, visiting the Shallow Water Interaction at Dolphin Cay at the Atlantis Resort, where little Dannielynn got to pet and play with the dolphins.

“Dannielynn was a good student,” says her proud dad. “She was kicking her feet and ready to go… She was a real trooper in the water and made friends with the dolphins.”

For the full story and exclusive photos of Larry and little Dannielynn, pick up a copy of this week’s OK! — on stands everywhere Thursday!

 

 

Larry Birkhead Visits Anna Nicole’s Grave

February 5th, 2008 / Author: cwillett

Nearly a year after Anna Nicole Smith passed away, Larry Birkhead took their baby daughter, Dannielynn, to visit the graves of her mother and brother Daniel in the Bahamas.

In a special, multi-part interview with Entertainment Tonight and The Insider, airing on Wednesday, Feb. 6, Larry speaks out on why he decided to take 17-month-old Dannielynn to visit the grave. “It’s tough. Even though she doesn’t understand, it was important for us to come. One day I can tell her that we went to visit her mom.”

The graves of both Anna Nicole and her son Daniel remain unmarked, said Birkhead, because their headstones are still being finalized. "A rough draft came back with a sketch of a picture I didn’t care for. I could just hear her hitting me over the head saying, ‘Why did you let that picture go down!?’" Birkhead reveals that the design of the headstone will be "so grand and big. It’s going to encompass Daniel’s stone too."

Larry admits to ET and The Insider that he doesn’t like that Anna Nicole and her son are buried in the Bahamas. “I know that Daniel didn’t want to be here and I know that his mother was only here because of what was going on between us with the paternity question. To me it feels really odd." He is leaving the decision on whether to move the graves to Dannielynn, however. "I’m going to leave the decision to Dannielynn when she’s older. It would probably be very hard, if not impossible to take both of them and I definitely don’t want to separate them."

To see the interview in its entirety, check out Entertainment Tonight and The Insider on Wednesday, Feb. 6.

OK! Exclusive: Dannielynn’s Eye Condition Is Genetic

January 18th, 2008 / Author: cwillett

The eye condition suffered by Dannielynn, daughter of the late Anna Nicole Smith and Larry Birkhead, is the result of a genetic condition common in Anna’s family, OK! has learned exclusively. Her stabismus is not a symptom of drug use during Anna Nicole’s pregnancy.

 

“I can confirm that it is hereditary on our father’s side of the family,” Anna’s half-sister Donna Hogan tells OK! Hogan goes on to say that all of Donald Hogan’s kids — not just Anna — have passed along the disorder to their own children. And dad Larry confirms the news about his 16-month-old daughter to OK! as well: “All the doctors told me that it was more than likely genetic.”


Hogan’s 14-year-old daughter Kayla also has strabismus, an eye disorder also known as "cross-eyed" and often confused with a condition known as “lazy eye,” and will soon undergo corrective surgery to cure the condition.

 

As for the incorrect assumption many have made that Dannielynn’s eye condition was linked to her mom’s drug use, Hogan says she understands. “That’s the first thing that goes through your mind. But as someone who knows the family history and saw the signs right away in Dannielynn, of course I knew what was going on.”

 

 

By Ryan Smith

 

Anna Nicole’s 40th Memorial

November 28th, 2007 / Author: cwillett

Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead are still devastated over the loss of their good friend Anna Nicole Smith. And now with her 40th birthday the guys hope to commemorate her the best they can.

 

They spoke to ET about their plans to celebrate the woman who made such an impact on there lives. Howard said, “My only wish is that Anna is celebrating her 40th birthday with Daniel and Howard (Marshall) in heaven and that they are able to experience the beautiful development of Dannielynn from above. Then I know that she would truly be at peace. She was more extraordinary than words can describe. I will never stop loving her.”

 

Meanwhile Larry, who cares for their baby daughter, Dannielynn, has a different plan for her birthday. “We will have a private family celebration to remember Anna. Time still hasn’t healed the wound of her untimely passing, as she truly was one of a kind.”

 

He added, “We miss her dearly.”

 

For more with Larry and Howard check out ET tonight.

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