Who Was Anna Nicole Smith's Son? What to Know About Daniel Wayne Smith (and Why the Mother-Son Pair Were 'Inseparable' Before His Sudden Death)

Anna Nicole Smith had a close relationship with her late son, Daniel Wayne Smith.

The late Playboy model, who died 18 years ago, welcomed Daniel with her then-husband Billy Smith on Jan. 22, 1986. Anna Nicole and Billy met as teenagers in Texas, wed in 1985 and split one year after welcoming Daniel.

When he was a teenager, Anna Nicole maintained a close relationship with her son and the pair even shared the screen together. From 2002 to 2004, Daniel starred on Anna Nicole’s namesake E! reality series, The Anna Nicole Show. He also made appearances in a couple of her films.

Related: Anna Nicole Smith's Death: Her Sudden Passing and Its Aftermath

Daniel died in the Bahamas in September 2006, three days after his sister, Dannielynn Birkhead, was born. He was 20. Daniel's death was devastating to Anna Nicole, who went into seclusion after losing him.

Anna Nicole died five months later, on Feb. 8, 2007, of an accidental drug overdose. She was 39. At a hearing after her death, Anna Nicole's then-boyfriend and former lawyer Howard K. Stern said, “Anna and Daniel were inseparable. Daniel was without question the most important person in Anna’s life."

Here’s everything to know about Anna Nicole Smith's only son, the late Daniel Wayne Smith.

He was born in Texas

Anna Nicole and Billy welcomed their son Daniel on Jan. 22, 1986.

She was 17 years old when she married Billy, a then-16-year-old cook at Jim's Krispy Fried Chicken, the hometown restaurant where she worked. They split two years after their 1985 wedding.

He and his mother had a close relationship

By many accounts, Daniel was the center of his mother’s world and his unexpected death was incredibly tough on the former Playboy playmate.

Anna Nicole's lawyer, Michael Scott, told PEOPLE she refused to leave Daniel's side after he died and had to be sedated in order to check out of the hospital. At his funeral, Anna Nicole reportedly attempted to climb into her son’s coffin.

In a later court battle for custody of Anna Nicole's remains, her then-partner Stern said he believed "emotionally, she died when Daniel died."

The final days of Anna Nicole’s life were reportedly spent in a haze as she continued to grieve the loss of Daniel. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight 10 days before her death, she mourned Daniel and revealed that she dreamed of him “every day and every night.”

“He comes to me in my sleep ... It’s like he’s calling me to come to him," she told the outlet.

He starred on reality TV

Anna Nicole scored a namesake reality TV show, E!’s The Anna Nicole Show, in 2002. Daniel became a regular cast member, as did her assistant Kim Walther and Stern.

Daniel also made appearances in some of his mother’s films, including 1995’s To the Limit and 1996’s Skyscraper. After these roles and finishing high school, Daniel enrolled at Valley College in L.A. in 2006.

He can also be seen in the 2023 documentary Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me via archival footage.

He had one sibling

Daniel had one younger sibling. Anna Nicole and Larry Birkhead welcomed his sister, Dannielynn Hope Birkhead, on Sept. 7, 2006, three days before his death.

Related: All About Anna Nicole Smith and Larry Birkhead's Daughter, Dannielynn Birkhead

Daniel met Dannielynn one time, the evening before his death when he had gone to the hospital to see his mother and meet his new sister.

“When Daniel arrived in the hospital room he went straight to his baby sister. He embraced his mother and sister and told them both that he loved them,” Scott said in a 2006 statement. “Daniel was very helpful to his mother and baby sister. On several occasions throughout the night, Daniel assisted his mother to the bathroom, as she was still in a lot of pain from her C-section.”

He made red carpet appearances with his mom

Daniel joined his mom for some high-profile events over the years.

A young Daniel made red carpet appearances with Anna Nicole at the 1993 Hollywood opening of Guys and Dolls and the Naked Gun 33 ⅓ premiere in L.A. the following year.

One of his last red carpet outings with Anna Nicole was at G-Phoria - The Award Show 4 Gamers in L.A. in 2004.

He died in the Bahamas in 2006

Daniel died suddenly in the Bahamas on Sept. 10, 2006.

He had been visiting his mother at the hospital after she had given birth to his sister, Dannielynn. Daniel was found unresponsive the morning after he arrived at Anna Nicole's bedside and was not able to be revived after efforts by the medical staff.

A private coroner hired by the Smith family said Daniel’s death was the result of a lethal combination of medications including methadone, Zoloft and Lexapro. In 2008, a jury concluded that Daniel died of an accidental drug overdose.

“Anna Nicole is absolutely devastated by the loss of her son,” a statement posted on Smith’s official website, annanicole.com, read in part. “He was her pride and joy and an amazing human being.”

A week later, her attorney, Scott, told PEOPLE she was “overwhelmed.”

“She’s trying to come to grips with the depths of her despair,” he said.

Daniel was laid to rest six weeks later on Oct. 19, 2006, in a plot overlooking the waters of Lake Cunningham in New Providence, Bahamas.

Stern paid tribute to Daniel in a statement shared by the family spokesperson. “Anna Nicole Smith laid her son to rest today,” he said. “It was the most difficult day of her entire life."

The model wrote in the funeral's program: “My dearest son Daniel, you were my rock, you were the only one that could keep me solid. Why God took you way from me I do not understand. Perhaps some day I will. It is so hard to think of you, but I do every second.”

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