On Sunday, January 26, retired NBA superstar Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. He was 41 years old. As if his tragic death wasn't heartbreaking enough, he was traveling with eight other passengers, one of them was his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant. No one survived the crash.
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Kobe and Gianna were traveling to a basketball game together. Gianna was to be one of the players and Kobe was the team's coach. It should come as no surprise that Kobe was coaching his daughter's team since it brought two of his greatest loves together: basketball and family.
Kobe was always big into his family and since retiring from playing basketball professionally in 2016 he invested much of his time into being with his wife, Vanessa, and their four daughters. In honor of Kobe, the father, and his beautiful daughter Gianna, we've put together a timeline of Kobe's family life.
Kobe is survived by his two older sisters.
Kobe Bryant is the son of Joe and Pamela Bryant and has two older sisters Sharia and Shaya. Joe is a retired NBA player, who later did some coaching. When Kobe was 6 years old, he moved to Italy with his family and lived there until he was 13. That's where he became fluent in Italian.
His relationship with his parents was troubled at times.
Although, Kobe and his sisters had a good relationship, his relationship with his parents wasn't so easy. In 2013, Kobe reportedly stopped talking to his parents when they tried to sell some of his mementos from his high school days without his permission. He even went to court to stop the sale of the items. Eventually it was resolved with Kobe's parent's apologizing and selling only 10 percent of the things what they were initially going to sell.
How did Kobe and his wife Vanessa meet?
Kobe and Vanessa met in 1999 when she was only 17 years old and he was 20. When she turned 18, they got engaged.
Kobe's parents did not attend his wedding.
On April 18, 2001, Kobe and Vanessa were married at a ceremony in Dana Point, California. Notably absent were his parents Joe and Pamela, who did not approve of the marriage because they thought both Kobe and Vanessa were too young.
Then along came Natalia.
On January 19, 2003, Vanessa and Kobe welcomed Natalia Diamante Bryant into the world. The couple went on to have three more daughters.
The Bryants did not have a picture-perfect relationship.
Vanessa and Kobe always looked stunning in photographs and they created a beautiful family together, but their love story wasn't picture-perfect. In 2003, Kobe was accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman. Kobe admitted to having sex with the woman, but said it was consensual. "I sit here in front of you guys furious at myself, disgusted at myself for making the mistake of adultery," he said during a press conference. "I love my wife with all my heart. She’s my backbone."
The criminal case against Kobe was eventually dropped. Throughout the ordeal, Vanessa stayed by his side.
Then along came Gianna.
On May 1, 2006, Kobe and Vanessa became parents for the second time when Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant was born. "Gigi," as Kobe liked to call her, would grow to love and play basketball.
In 2011, Vanessa was ready to call it quits.
She filed for divorce citing "irreconcilable differences," but somehow they reconciled because the divorce proceedings were called off in 2013. “We are pleased to announce that we have reconciled,” Vanessa wrote on social media. “Our divorce action will be dismissed. We are looking forward to our future together.”
They came back strong from the brink of divorce.
"I am happy to say that Vanessa and I are moving on with our lives together as a family. When the show ends and the music stops, the journey is made beautiful by having that someone to share it with. Thank you all for your support and prayers! Much luv, Mamba out," Kobe wrote on his Facebook page at the time.
And then along came Bianka.
On December 5, 2016, Bianka Bella Bryant was born, making Vanessa and Kobe parents for the third time. Kobe liked to refer to his daughters his princesses and his wife as his queen.
Kobe loved having daughters.
Kobe got his fair share of ribbing for not having any sons, but he was not at all disappointed that he kept having daughters. "Guys keep teasing me," he told Extra. "My friends say, 'It takes a real man to make a boy.' I’m like, 'Dude, it takes a king to make a princess … get in line.'"
And then along came Capri.
On June 6, 2019, Vanessa and Kobe welcomed their fourth daughter, Capri Kobe Bryant "KoKo," into the world. It's heartbreaking to think that Kobe's youngest daughter, who is named after him, is so young that she won't have any memories of her father when she grows up.
Kobe coached his daughter Gianna's team.
When Kobe and Gianna died, they were on their way to the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks. Gianna's team was playing and Kobe was coaching.
Gianna was committed to basketball and being great at it.
Watch around the 3:17 mark of this clip when Kobe shared an awesome story about his daughter Gianna's basketball ambitions. "The best thing that happens is when we go out and fans will come up to me–and she'll be standing next to me–and be like, 'Hey you've got to have a boy. You and V gotta have a boy and then have somebody carry on the tradition, the legacy,'" Kobe told Jimmy Kimmel during an interview. And then Kobe said, "She's like 'Oy, I got this!'"
Kobe said it was easy to coach Gigi.
"Gianna's pretty easy to coach," he said in an interview. "We haven't had any issues of dad-daughter sort of thing. She's very competitive and she's a hard worker, so there haven't been any issues with that."
With daughter B.B.
For her third birthday in December 2019, Kobe posted a photo on Instagram with his daughter, Bianka "B.B."
Above all else, Kobe was a family man.
Friend and former teammate Shaquille O'Neal wrote on Instagram:
"Kobe was so much more than an athlete, he was a family man. That was what we had most in common. We love our families. Whenever we got together I would hug his children like they were my own and he would embrace my kids like they were his. His baby girl Gianna was born on the same day as my youngest daughter Me’Arah. I miss you already brother. This is truly unbelievable. Everyone please keep the Bryant’s in your prayers. R.I.P"
All you really need to know about Kobe Bryant.
Former MLB baseball player Derek Jeter wrote a beautiful tribute to Kobe Bryant. It starts off with this line: "All I ever needed to know about Kobe Bryant was this: that throughout our friendship, the most meaningful conversations we had–they were always about family."
The whole family together on Halloween.
We can't even begin to imagine what the Bryants are going through. Having to deal with the sudden death of not one, but two members of their family. There are no words.
Much love to Vanessa, Natalia, Bianka, and Capri. We are so sorry for your tremendous loss.
Farewell Kobe and Gigi.
Goodbye to Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant. No one could have possibly predicted their untimely deaths.
