Though she might have ceded the headlines, Anna Nicole Smith is hardly forgotten on the one-year anniversary of her demise.
The 39-year-old Playmate turned reality star died unexpectedly Feb. 8, 2007 in a Florida hotel room. Her death came just five months after the equally surprising death of 20-year-old son Daniel, a loss that came three days after the birth of her daughter Dannielynn.
And while it may have taken a full 12 months before those left behind have been given any semblance of peace, the passing of time hasn't healed all wounds.
"Anna Nicole Smith, I love you and hope you are proud of our beautiful baby girl," Larry Birkhead posted on his Website Friday. "Please watch over us and guide us on our journey through life. We miss you."
The message, the first to be added to the site in more than three months and accompanied by both a photo of a lounging Smith and a backdrop of Smith's signature color, bright pink, was signed: "Love, Larry and Dannielynn."
Smith's longtime sidekick Howard K. Stern also paid tribute Friday.
"Today is extremely difficult for those of us who were close to Anna Nicole, and we ask that the media please respect our privacy," he told Entertainment Tonight.
In memory of his once constant companion and her late son, Stern has created the Anna Nicole and Daniel Smith Charitable Foundation, which will benefit causes championed by Smith during her life, chief among them children, elderly and the prevention and treatment of AIDS.
"Hopefully it will grow, help more people each year, and eventually be headed by her daughter Dannielynn."
Smith, born Vickie Lynn Hogan in Mexia, Texas, led a life of watercooler highlights—teen bride, stripper, high-profile model, wife of octogenarian mogul, gazillionaire widow at 27, tabloid train wreck, reality star.
A coroner ruled last year that Smith's death was caused, like her son before her, by a lethal combination of prescription medications, triggering an ongoing criminal investigations into several of her doctors, some of whom issued multiple prescriptions in fake names.
Her death was also followed by months-long legal battles in Florida and the Bahamas over the paternity of her sole surviving child. While both former lover Birkhead and Stern claimed fatherhood—claims also echoed by a revolving door of less-likely Z-listers—a DNA test finally proved in April that Birkhead was the papa.
Despite their conflicts, Birkhead and Stern remained surprisingly cordial in the wake of their courtroom drama, a geniality that led to salacious reports of the duo's relations, followed by a massive libel suit, over Rita Cosby's Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith's Death.
Birkhead retains custody of Dannielynn to the chagrin of Anna Nicole Smith's estranged mother, Virgie Arthur. Stern remains the executor of Smith's estate and has been laboring in Los Angeles courts to have Dannielynn named as Smith's sole heir. A hearing in that case will take place Mar. 14.
Dannielynn would be in line to collect millions in inheritance from Anna Nicole's late billionaire husband, J. Howard Marshall, depending on how a long-playing court battle shakes out.
A delay-plagued inquest into Daniel's death has finally begun in the Bahamas. Currently in recess, proceedings are expected to resume Mar. 17, when both Stern and Birkhead are expected to be called to the stand.
Earlier this week, Birkhead and Dannielynn honored Smith's death in their own special way, paying a visit to her Bahamas grave.
"It's tough," the 35-year-old photographer told Entertainment Tonight of his decision to take his daughter to Nassau. "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."
Smiths Anna Nicole and Daniel are buried side-by-side in the cemetery and while Birkhead paid tribute to both during his visit, he repeated his long-held claims that the duo's final resting was not fitting.
"I don't like the fact that they're here, I never did. I know that Daniel didn't want to be here, and I know his mother was only here because of what was going on between us with the paternity question. To me, it feels really odd."
Birkhead and Dannielynn have since returned to their Studio City home, property which housed Smith prior to her passing and which was left in her will.
Earlier this week, a source close to Birkhead told E! News that Dannielynn and daddy have taken their hard-won life together in eager stride.
"The baby loved him, and he is a hands-on dad. When he leaves the room, she cries for him. It is not like a fake-dad thing.
"Even before she could talk, she would cry for daddy when he left the room. They are very bonded. She puts her arms out like any kid would do for her dad."