Vanessa Bryant ‘You just have to get up and push forward’
“Kobe and Gigi motivate me to keep going. They inspire me to try harder and be better every day”
-VANESSA
Some days the grief from losing her husband, Kobe Bryant, and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020, brings Vanessa to her knees. “I can’t say that I’m strong every day,” she admits. “I can’t say that there aren’t days when I feel like I can’t survive to the next.”
But while the world publicly mourned the NBA legend and “Gigi”, a budding basketball phenom in her own right, Vanessa, 38, quietly worked to rebuild a life for herself and her family, Natalia, 18, Bianka, 4, and 20-month-old Capri. She took charge of creative projects left unfinished at Granity Studios, the multimedia production company founded by Kobe in 2016. Recently Vanessa also relaunched his charitable non-profit as Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation – a nod to the father-daughter duo – to help empower young girls and provide equal opportunities to underserved athletes, a vision Kobe long championed.
Here, for the first time, Vanessa – WHO’s sister publication People’s 2021 Women Changing the World cover honouree – opens up about her devastating loss, how she’s trying to lead with resiliency and grace, and the enduring power of love.
Did you always know you wanted to be a mum?
Surprisingly, no. My parents divorced when I was very young, and I never thought that I would ever marry or have children. It just wasn’t something I ever dreamed of doing. I’m so thankful that Kobe and
