Celebrity Celebrity Family Celebrity Kids Anna Nicole Smith's Daughter Dannielynn, 12, Just Graduated from 7th Grade — See the Photos Proud dad Larry Birkhead surprised his daughter with tickets to Hamilton to celebrate her graduation By Helen Murphy Helen Murphy Helen Murphy is a former news writer at PEOPLE. She left PEOPLE in 2020. People Editorial Guidelines Published on June 7, 2019 09:13AM EDT Dannielynn Hope is heading to eighth grade! On Tuesday, proud dad Larry Birkhead shared three photos of his 12-year-old daughter — who he shares with late model Anna Nicole Smith — celebrating her seventh-grade graduation. “Surprised Dannielynn with @HamiltonMusical tickets for 7th grade graduation,” Birkhead captioned the sweet snaps. “I think she is happy!” In two of the photos, Dannielynn wears a pink and white floral dress as she poses with her dad. The middle schooler also flashes a huge grin and a peace sign as she holds up the Hamilton tickets in the third snap. Want all the latest pregnancy and birth announcements, plus celebrity mom blogs? Click here to get those and more in the PEOPLE Parents newsletter. Larry Birkhead/Twitter Birkhead, a photographer, has been raising his daughter as a single father in rural Kentucky following Smith’s death in 2007 from an accidental overdose at age 39. Though they mostly stay out of the Hollywood spotlight, the father-daughter pair makes one annual trip each year to the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Derby Gala in Louisville, Kentucky — the same party at which Birkhead, 46, met Smith years ago. Anna Nicole Smith’s Daughter Dannielynn, 12, Honors Her Late Mother at Kentucky Derby Last month, Dannielynn honored her late mother with a special accessory at this year’s derby. “Kentucky Derby time once again. Dannielynn looks pretty in pink in her dress by Junona and her Mom’s hat from her unforgettable appearance at The Kentucky Derby in 2004 #KentuckyDerby2019,” Birkhead tweeted at the time. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images Birkhead has previously said that he’s trying to give Dannielynn a normal childhood, despite her famous mom. “I’ve had companies call me since [Dannielynn appeared in a Guess campaign] and ask for her to model, and that answer’s no,” he said during a 20/20 interview in 2017. “She doesn’t show any interest in it. She wants to be a kid.” Inside Larry Birkhead’s Quiet Life in Kentucky with 12-Year-Old Daughter Dannielynn Birkhead said during the same interview that Dannielynn enjoyed doing typical tween things, like Girl Scouts, Snapchat, eating French fries and taking care of her pet lizard. “I think here in Kentucky is as normal as you can get,” Birkhead previously told Inside Edition about giving his daughter a life away from the limelight. “She loves school. She loves her friends. I just hope that she dreams big and accomplishes a lot.”