Vanessa Bryant shared a poignant tribute to her late husband, Kobe Bryant, on what would have been his forty seventh birthday.
The NBA icon and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna “Gigi” Bryant had been tragically killed in a January 2020 helicopter crash whereas on the best way to Kobe's Mamba Sports activities Academy for a basketball recreation. (Kobe and Vanessa wed in 2001 and shared daughters, Natalia, 22, Bianka, 8, and Capri, 6. The couple met on the set of Eastsidaz's “G'd Up” music video in November 1999, the place Vanessa was working as a backup dancer.)
“We love and miss you and Gigi a lot,” Vanessa, 43, wrote through Instagram on Saturday, August 23, alongside a photograph of the couple sharing a kiss. “Sending our like to you. Blissful birthday, child. @kobebryant ❤️”
Kobe and Vanessa's eldest daughter, Natalia, honored her father's reminiscence as properly by writing through Instagram: “Blissful Birthday Daddy.”
Most of the household's buddies despatched alongside their greatest needs, together with Kris Jenner, retired WNBA participant Lisa Leslie and Kimora Lee Simmons. Kobe's former Los Angeles Lakes teammate Pau Gasol marked the late athlete's birthday along with his personal emotional put up.
“Blissful Birthday, hermano. I miss you and love you at all times,” he wrote alongside a photograph of himself and Kobe on the courtroom.
Vanessa has continued to honor the life and legacy of her late husband, in addition to her daughter Gigi, greater than 5 years after their deaths. In Might, Vanessa's Mamba & Mambacita Sports activities Basis launched the Gianna Bryant Scholarship Award in tandem with the Selection Boys and Ladies Membership in Boyle Heights, California in honor of her daughter.
“With the help of the Selection Boys and Ladies Membership in Boyle Heights @varietybgc, we've chosen distinctive younger individuals who embody Gigi's Mamba Mentality by means of their resilience, dedication to equal alternatives, and skill to encourage others,” the inspiration introduced.
Their assertion continued, “To our recipients, you might be representatives of Gianna's imaginative and prescient — to create a world the place younger folks have each alternative to comply with their goals no matter gender or the pressures and expectations we obtain from society. Sending all our like to you and your brilliant futures forward.”
Vanessa Bryant and Kobe Bryant in February 2016. Bobby Metelus/FilmMagic
Vanessa beforehand mirrored on the heartbreaking lack of her daughter on what would have been Gigi's 18th birthday in Might 2024.
“Blissful birthday to my attractive woman, Gigi! I really like you. I miss you. I'm so pleased with you,” she wrote through Instagram on the time. “2024 was your 12 months. You'd've been graduating highschool and selecting which faculty to go to. (I'd've been making an attempt my hardest to persuade you to remain near residence).”
The working mother has stored very busy all through this summer time, having visited Disneyland together with her household in June. Earlier this month, the Bryants attended a Los Angeles Dodgers game the place Kobe bobble head dolls got away, plus Vanessa handed out Kobe sneakers at back-to-school occasions organized by the Mamba & Mambacita Sports activities Basis.
Courtesy of Vanessa Bryant/INstagram Kobe Bryant's daughters seemed all grown up whereas celebrating the vacations in a winter wonderland with their mom, Vanessa Bryant. In a video shared through Instagram by Vanessa, 42, on Tuesday, December 31, the couple's daughters Natalia, 21, Bianka, 8, and Capri, 5, could possibly be seen hitting the slopes for some […]
In the meantime, rumors swirled earlier this 12 months that Vanessa could also be pregnant, although she swiftly shut down the hypothesis. The philanthropist shared a meme of Rihanna swimming with a snorkel masks whereas carrying a drink and flipping her center finger.
“Me defending my peace, not pregnant & having enjoyable all summer time,” she wrote within the caption.
