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Paying tribute to Kobe and Gigi: Five years after the crash, Vanessa’s emotional birthday message
Vanessa Bryant in her post sharing a touching and heartfelt tribute to her late husband on what would have been Kobe’s 47th birthday. Over five years ago, the Lakers star Kobe Bryant and their daughter Gianna “Gigi” Bryant, 13, both passed away in a terrible helicopter crash that took the lives of 7 other people besides them. She shared a vintage Instagram picture of herself giving Kobe a smooch on the cheek, in relation to this sad news.
“We love and miss you and Gigi so much,” she wrote on Aug. 23, adding, “Sending our love to you. “Happy birthday, baby.”
It was a really heartfelt message that said so much about the love within the family and Vanessa’s commitment to the memory of Kobe.
Vanessa dubs youngest daughter “KoKo Bean” as Capri mirrors Kobe’s signature stance
“Like father, like daughter,” she captioned an Instagram post on July 24 which included the side-by-side picture of Capri, whose middle name honors her dad, mimicking Kobe’s stance with a basketball in her hand. Moreover, if her exact pose was not enough to indicate, Vanessa also named her child “Baby Mamba” and used her own moniker “KoKo Bean” to refer to her.
Natalia honors Kobe at USC graduation by wearing his trademark “Sheath” logo on her stole
Just two months ago Natalia celebrated her father at an important event – her college graduation. In May, the 22-year-old graduated from USC with a high degree of distinction and was dressed with a Kobe Bryant “Sheath” logo (three sets of quadrilateral trapezoids) cardinal-red and gold stole. Vanessa posted a close-up photo of the stole on Instagram, writing “4 ever” and putting along with it the icons of heart hands, a red heart, a crown, and a snake.
Bianka’s 8th birthday becomes a heartfelt nod to Kobe’s No. 8 legacy
Bianka celebrated her 8th birthday last December with a touching tribute to her father — the perfect moment to honor Kobe, since her age now mirrors his first jersey number. “BB-8! BB is 8 today!” Vanessa wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of the birthday girl. “Happy birthday to our Sunshine. Bianka, we really love you! The love and laughs that you bring to our lives, are simply priceless. You are so loved mama!” Vanessa added, “You say it’s your BB8 birthday, and I’ll keep reminding you it’s your daddy (#8) year.”
