Vanessa Bryant Posts Touching Birthday Tribute to Her and Kobe’s Oldest Daughter, Natalia

Natalia Bryant and Vanessa Bryant attend the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 12, 2023, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Vanessa Bryant is marking her daughter Natalia’s birthday with a touching photo collage shared on social media.

Natalia, who turned 21 on Nov. 19, is Vanessa’s oldest child with NBA legend Kobe Bryant.

“We love you so much!!!!” Vanessa wrote on Instagram. “You are what every parent hopes and prays for. You are such a beautiful, strong, smart, loving young woman with the kindest soul and I am so proud to be your mommy!”

Vanessa shared a video photo collage on the social media platform paired with the chorus from Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday.” The photos that pop up in the video include snapshots of a young Natalia—including one with her late father—alongside more recent modeling photos. Natalia’s Town & Country cover, which the magazine unveiled earlier this week, also appears in Vanessa’s video collage.

Natalia shared her mother’s video on her own Instagram Stories, along with several other birthday wishes she received on Friday, Jan. 19. Vanessa’s post was similarly flooded with comments from well-wishers who were excited to share in the love.

Natalia’s birthday falls just days before the anniversary of the Jan. 26, 2020, helicopter crash that killed her father, her younger sister, Gianna, and seven others who were onboard. The helicopter was transporting the Bryants to one of Gianna’s basketball games, which Kobe was due to coach, when it crashed in Calabasas, Calif.

Fans reacted to news of the crash with immense sorrow and an outpouring of support for the Bryant family. Some murals that popped up around Southern California in the wake of the crash are still there, serving as reminders of the sports icon people loved.

During her recent interview for her Town & Country cover, Natalia said she loves to see those murals around town.

"Whenever I see them when I’m driving around, I’m like, ‘Oh, okay,’” she told the magazine. “They feel like special gems.”

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