Kobe Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, died alongside her father in a tragic helicopter accident on Sunday, January 26, cutting the young athlete’s legacy short.
The teenager was born in 2006 to the late basketball legend, 41, and his wife, Vanessa Bryant. She joined her older sister, Natalia, now 17. A decade after Gianna’s birth, her parents went on to welcome Bianka, now 3, and Capri, now 7 months, arrived in June 2019.
The Philadelphia native announced five months earlier that baby No. 4 was on the way with an Instagram post, writing, “Vanessa and I are beyond excited to announce that we are expecting another #mambacita to go along with Natalia, Gianna and Bianka. New Year, New Baby! Baby Mamba on the Way 2019.”
In May, he showed off his wife’s budding belly in a sweet family photo at her baby shower. “Happy Mother’s Day @vanessabyrant we love you and thank you for all that you do for our family,” Kobe wrote on social media at the time. “You are the foundation of all that we hold dear. I love you.”
He and Vanessa, 37, tied the knot in 2001 and were considering trying for a son. “I think she wants a boy more than I do,” the Wizenard Series: Training Camp creator told Extra in March. “I love having girls — I’m super, super excited about that. She is as well. She wanted a boy so he can be mama’s boy forever — that sort of thing. We’ll see if I can deliver, I don’t know.”
The former Los Angeles Lakers player added, “She’s like, ‘You go see if you can hit a clutch shot. You gave me all girls, let’s see if you can bring a boy!’ Nope, not yet. We’ll see.”
Keep scrolling to read about his second daughter Gianna’s 13 years of life, from following in her father’s athletic footsteps to bonding with Shaquille O’Neal‘s kids.
