DANNIELYNN, the 7-year-old daughter of the late Anna Nicole Smith, stands to inherit $49 million – but no one’s ever going to call her a “poor little rich girl.”
The cute tyke’s devoted dad, Larry Birkhead, is dead-set on keeping Dannielynn off the destructive path that doomed her pill-popping larger-than-life celebrity mom, sources say.
“Anna Nicole was seduced by the showbiz lifestyle, and Larry wants to make sure Dannielynn doesn’t end up like her, chasing stardom and surrounded by greedy hangers-on,” said a source.
“He wants to instill strong values in Dannielynn now, so she’ll have the tools to prevent people from taking advantage of her if she gets this whopping windfall.”
Dannielynn and Larry, 41, have been at the center of a long-running legal fight over the estate of Anna Nicole’s late husband, super rich oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall, who died at 90 a year after they wed.
In May 2013, A California judge blasted Marshall’s son, Pierce, for using underhanded legal tactics battling for his inheritance, and awarded damages to Dannielynn that could be worth $49 million.
A final judgment on the settlement is expected later this year, and Dannielynn would get the money when she turns 18.
Meanwhile, Anna Nicole’s little girl is growing up in a spacious two-story home that photographer Larry bought in his hometown of Louisville, Ky.
“Larry felt it was important for Dannielynn to be surrounded by a loving extended family,” said an insider. “So he moved his sister Judy and mother Nancy into the house as mother figures for her. Dannielynn attends a local public school. Larry takes her there, and picks her up. He also enrolled her in Girl Scouts and the family attends Sunday services at a nearby Baptist church.”
The little girl is also showing that she has a natural talent “as an artist. She’s really good and Larry keeps her supplied with paints, colored pencils, paper, and other tools so she can keep improving.”
Dannielynn was just 5 months old when 39-year-old Anna Nicole died of a drug overdose in Hollywood, Fla., in February 2007 – and Larry has told his daughter about the mom she can’t remember, that she was a mom who died too soon.
Dad and Dannielynn recently traveled to the Bahamas, where they visited the graves of Anna and her son Daniel, who died from a lethal combination of drugs at age 20 just three days after Dannielynn was born, said the source.
“Dannielynn always has a smile on her face,” said the source. “She’s lucky that she’s being raised by a doting dad and family members who love her dearly.”
