Larry Birkhead has distanced himself and his daughter Dannielynn from an upcoming film about Anna Nicole Smith's personal physician, signaling family resistance to the project nearly two decades after the model's 2007 death. The movie, "Trust Me, I'm a Doctor," arrives October 16 and adapts Dr. Sandeep Kapoor's 2017 memoir of the same name. Kapoor treated Smith during her final years and was present at her death in a Florida hotel room.
Birkhead issued a formal statement declaring the family "absolutely objects" to the film's release. He filed a complaint with California's Medical Board, challenging the doctor's right to profit from his account of Smith's medical care and personal struggles. The complaint raises questions about physician-patient confidentiality and whether Kapoor violated ethical standards by commercializing details from his treatment of a deceased celebrity.
Smith's death sparked international headlines and legal battles over her estate. She left behind daughter Dannielynn, now in her late teens, who remains a tangential figure in the celebrity narrative surrounding her mother's turbulent life. Birkhead has served as her guardian and protective of her privacy since winning a custody battle years ago.
The timing of the film's release resurrects painful memories for the family while opening broader conversations about medical ethics in Hollywood. Celebrity physicians often occupy fraught territory between their professional obligations and the commercial appeal of their patient stories. Kapoor's book joins a crowded catalog of posthumous accounts that attempt to contextualize Smith's life through insider perspectives.
The complaint adds legal weight to what amounts to a family feud over narrative control. Whether the Medical Board takes action remains uncertain, but Birkhead's move reflects growing awareness among celebrities and their estates about protecting their legacies from unauthorized dramatization. The film's release will likely reignite discussion about Anna Nicole Smith's complicated legacy and the ethics of turning medical relationships into entertainment.