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 way in which 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. Completely happy birthday, child. @kobebryant ❤️”
Kobe and Vanessa’s eldest daughter, Natalia, honored her father’s reminiscence as nicely by writing through Instagram: “Completely happy Birthday Daddy.”
Most of the household’s mates 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 together with his personal emotional publish.
“Completely happy Birthday, hermano. I miss you and love you at all times,” he wrote alongside a photograph of himself and Kobe on the court docket.
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 assist of the Selection Boys and Ladies Membership in Boyle Heights @varietybgc, we’ve chosen distinctive younger individuals who embody Gigi’s Mamba Mentality via their resilience, dedication to equal alternatives, and talent to encourage others,” the muse introduced.
Their assertion continued, “To our recipients, you’re representatives of Gianna’s imaginative and prescient — to create a world the place younger individuals have each alternative to comply with their desires 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.
“Completely happy birthday to my beautiful lady, Gigi! I really like you. I miss you. I’m so happy with you,” she wrote through Instagram on the time. “2024 was your yr. 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 saved very busy all through this summer season, having visited Disneyland together with her household in June. Earlier this month, the Bryants attended a Los Angeles Dodgers recreation 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 appeared 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, may very well be seen hitting the slopes for some […]
In the meantime, rumors swirled earlier this yr 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 season,” she wrote within the caption.
