Vanessa Bryant Net Worth: The death of Kobe and Gianna Bryant has piqued the public’s curiosity about Gianna Bryant, Kobe’s widow. Although Vanessa Bryant would have chosen to stay out of the spotlight, for the most part, the way she has handled the news of the deaths of her husband and daughter has brought her back into the limelight.
It’s no secret that Vanessa Bryant and her daughters will get a sizable legacy from her late husband, but nothing can ease the horrible loss they’ll feel for the rest of their lives.
She Was a Music Video Model For a While
After her father abandoned the family and relocated to Mexico, Vanessa Cornejo Urbieta was reared by her mother alone. So, they had to go live with Vanessa’s aunt and uncle while Vanessa’s mom worked as a shipping clerk to make ends meet. Vanessa was motivated to excel in all that she did by her mother’s unwavering commitment to their health.
The strength and commitment required of a mother, and especially a single mother, were lessons she learned from her mother. Vanessa’s mother wed her stepfather, Stephen Laine, when she was eight years old. Vanessa Cornejo Urbieta’s name changed to Vanessa Urbieta after she married her stepfather.
Vanessa was attending a concert at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater the summer before her final year of high school when she was approached by a man with a video camera. Laine gave the man her contact information after he told her he was casting for a music video. Her mother, who usually accompanied Vanessa to every work, was on hand for the picture session that was scheduled for shortly after the event.
She worked as a music video model for a while with lesser-known rappers before getting jobs with Snoop Dogg, Da Eastsidaz, and Krazy Bones. Her parents, already overly cautious about letting her date in high school, were especially so after she began acting professionally. Once she met Kobe Bryant, though, that rule was thrown out the window.
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Origins of the Black Mamba and the White Queen Mamba
The two first crossed paths on the set of Kobe’s music video, where Vanessa Laine was working as a music video model. All witnesses agree that Kobe Bryant could not take his eyes off of his future wife upon their first meeting.
Already dubbed the “Black Mamba,” Kobe Bryant had made tremendous progress in the NBA. When Kobe and Vanessa first met on set, it was 1999; Kobe was 21 and Vanessa was 17. Kobe Bryant asked Vanessa Laine out on their first date before filming wrapped on their music video.
They went on their first date to Disneyland, where they were accompanied by bodyguards. When the news of their connection spread, Vanessa was a junior at Marina High School. She maintained her composure and was merely overly cautious about showing the images she had taken to her classmates.
An old classmate of Vanessa’s states that a photo of Kobe interacting with her puppies is one of her all-time favorite Kobe photos. Vanessa was happy to display the images, but she asked that no one touch them lest they be harmed. Kobe Bryant didn’t mind telling the whole school that he and his girlfriend were an item.
He would drive his Mercedes to the school to pick her up and deliver her roses. Because of the overwhelming attention from the media, Vanessa Laine was asked to complete her final year at home. Kobe Bryant proposed to Vanessa Laine during her 18th birthday party, just six months after the two had met.
Coupling with NBA superstar Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant refused to sign a prenuptial agreement with Vanessa despite their significant income disparity. In a conversation with her stepfather, she revealed that Kobe Bryant had assured her that he loved her too much to ever consider divorcing her.
Although they truly loved one another, nobody in their family was thrilled about them getting married. His family, including his parents and sister, were so against the union that they didn’t even bother to show up for the ceremony.
The fact that Vanessa Bryant was not African American, like the rest of the family, did not sit well with Kobe’s relatives. Despite this, the couple tied the knot at Saint Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in April of 2001. Only 12 people were invited to the ceremony, making it a very exclusive event.
The way Kobe Bryant’s family dealt with his wife, wedding, and marriage caused a deep breach in their relationship. Despite feeling “uncomfortable” about Vanessa Bryant’s race and “uneasy” about his son’s altruistic commitment to his wife, Kobe Bryant’s father believes that he and Vanessa Bryant are “okay.”
In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Joe Bryant explained that he and his wife were merely withdrawing from Kobe Bryant’s life, and that “Twenty years from now when his own child comes up, he’ll understand what I’m doing.”
In light of what would happen to the Bryants less than 20 years later, it’s important to remember that you shouldn’t let other people’s expectations for your life prevent you from living it to the fullest. His first child, a girl, brought the family back together. They made the happy pregnancy announcement in September of 2002.
Her Life Before and After She Had a Child
On January 19, 2003, Natalia Diamante Bryant entered the world. Diamond was chosen as the name for their firstborn daughter because of Vanessa Bryant’s admiration for the enduring radiance and sparkle of these precious stones.
Vanessa and Kobe Bryant wanted to be more involved in their children’s lives and make family more of a priority because they understood that most of the children they would grow up with would be raised by nannies hired by parents too busy working to raise their own children.
Vanessa had Gianna Maria Onore Bryant in May, three years after Natalia was born. A strong basketball player who took on the moniker “Mamacita” in honor of her parents’ nicknames, Gianna Bryant was often compared to her father.
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Both she and her father were passionate about her desire to play in the Women’s National Basketball Association before they went away. Their second and youngest daughter was born in December of 2016, following some difficulties in their relationship that had begun in 2011. Bianka Bella Bryant, or “BB” as her father called her, was just in preschool when he and her older sister passed away.
Capri Bryant, the newest Bryant daughter, was born on June 20, 2019. Kobe and Vanessa were overjoyed to learn they were expecting a baby girl. Kobe Bryant was a proud dad of daughters and thought they could continue on his legacy even though many people told him and his wife they needed a male to do so.
Vanessa discussed the importance of patience and understanding with her husband and children present in one of her rare interviews. She hopes that her daughters would find her to be as dependable as her own mother was to her.
Supporting Kobe While He Faces Charges
Kobe Bryant was accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old supporter in 2003. While Kobe Bryant admitted to adultery by saying he thought the relationship was consensual, he also admitted to it. The civil suit, which was never fully litigated, was resolved in 2005. The civil jury awarded the Bryants and cost them $2.5 million.
Kobe Bryant felt terrible guilt over the way his actions had ruined his marriage. After the scandal of her husband’s extramarital affair surfaced, Vanessa Bryant was seen out and about wearing a $4 million ring. Vanessa Bryant was going through a really difficult time, but she opted to support her adulterous husband since she did not believe he was a rapist.
Her body was worn down by the emotional and psychological toll of dealing with the barrage of criticism and rejection she endured. Vanessa Bryant had a miscarriage due to an ectopic pregnancy the same year the sexual assault lawsuit was finalized. Kobe Bryant, though, blamed himself for the strain his pregnant wife experienced.
Despite the seeming improvement in their situation following the birth of Gianna Bryant, Vanessa would experience another miscarriage and two subsequent stillbirths.
Her Selfless Acts of Charity
The Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Foundation was founded by Vanessa Bryant, who was inspired to do so by her mother and by her own childhood. The mission of this organization is to provide young people with opportunities that will change the course of their lives and encourage them to pursue their goals with all their might. The foundation awards a large number of scholarships to minority students in order to give them a leg up.
They used to provide sports camps in the summer, including a soccer camp for kids in Orange County. Kobe Bryant used to coach and guide teams in the Kobe Bryant Basketball Foundation, including Gianna Bryant’s team. Together, Vanessa and Kobe Bryant gave at least $1 million to help establish the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Vanessa Bryant’s first public statement after the accident was to announce that she and the Mamba Sports Foundation had established a fund to help the families of the other victims of the helicopter crash.
Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s Tragic Ending
The helicopter carrying Gianna Bryant, some of her basketball teammates, and their parents crashed on the route to the game, killing everyone on board from blunt force trauma.
First responders found the crash site and found that every passenger was unrecognizable, including Kobe Bryant, who had to be recognized using fingerprints and tattoos. As a devoted wife and mother, Vanessa was devastated by the news of her husband’s and daughter’s deaths. The fact that Vanessa Bryant learned about the accident through a third party only made matters worse.
Photos of the crash were shared widely on social media, and Vanessa Bryant learned of the fate of her husband and daughter through these posts rather than through an official or authoritative figure. Vanessa Bryant was informed of the tragedy by Bryant’s family assistant, although they were told there were five survivors. She kept trying to get in touch with her husband in the event that he and their daughter were among the lucky few to survive.
Instead of a return call from her spouse, she started receiving social media messages with the hashtag “#RIPKobe.” She waited for hours for an update from the police, during which she begged them not to distribute images if they couldn’t find her husband and child alive.
On the other hand, ten of the first responders chose to use their own phones to take images and send them out via AirDrop and text message. The young widow couldn’t believe that those who were meant to be supporting her were instead willing to publish photographs of her dead husband and children. Vanessa Bryant has received more media attention as a result of how she has dealt with the deaths of her husband and daughter.
Vanessa Bryant Net Worth
Vanessa Bryant Net Worth: The majority of Vanessa Bryant’s $600 million net worth comes from the professional basketball career of her late husband, Kobe Bryant. Bryant had a brief career as a model during her high school years, but since then she has devoted her time and energy to raising her four girls. She went by Vanessa Laine until she wed the basketball great, adopting his surname.
Her birthdate is May 5, 1982, and she was born and reared in Los Angeles. During Vanessa’s early career as a music video model, she appeared in many popular rappers’ music videos, including rappers like Snoop Dogg and Krazy Bones. It was around this period that she was hired to work on one of Kobe Bryant’s music videos.
The young basketball player was completely smitten by Vanessa Laine and pursued her at every available moment. He would invent pretexts to keep talking to her. The two young people quickly became head over heels in love with one another, and just six months after meeting, they were planning their wedding.
When they started dating, Vanessa Bryant was a senior in high school, making the age difference between them quite large. Because of the uproar their connection produced at school, Vanessa Bryant was forced to complete her high school studies at home.
Natalia Bryant was born to the couple two years after they tied the knot. The Bryants, wanting their child and any subsequent children to enjoy a “normal” upbringing, decided to raise them alone. A news report broke the devastating news that Vanessa Bryant had lost her husband and daughter.
Preserving Their Memory
Vanessa Bryant has been spearheading legal action against first responders who shared photos of the incident that depicted the deaths of her husband and daughter online ever after the collision.
She doesn’t care about financial gain but rather wants to punish those who prey on the vulnerable. Throughout the ordeal, Vanessa Bryant has been extremely open about how difficult it has been for her.
Thankfully, many of the basketball star’s former friends and admirers have done all they can to help Vanessa Bryant and her daughters grieve and, hopefully, heal in peace.
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