Vanessa Bryant Remembers Husband Kobe and Daughter Gianna on 4th Anniversary of Deaths

Mar. 15, 2025

Vanessa and Kobe with Gigi.Photo:Araya Doheny/Getty; Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via GettyOn Friday,Vanessa Bryanthonored her late husband,Kobe, and daughter,Gianna, on the fourth anniversary of their death in a tragic helicopter crash.In anInstagram post, Vanessa, 41, shared a photo of Kobe smiling with his arm wrapped around Gianna, sharing “❤️❤️” in the caption. The same photo was shared on the Los Angeles LakersInstagram accountwith the caption, “Forever 💜.“On the morning of Jan. 26, 2020, Kobe, Gianna, and seven of their friends boarded a helicopter from John Wayne Airport in Orange County to a basketball tournament in Thousand Oaks. Only 14 miles from their destination, the flight crashed into a Calabasas hillsidelikely due to pilot error, as a yearlong National Transportation Safety Board investigation found. Kobe, Gianna, pilotAra Zobayan,Christina Mauser,John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli,Sarah Chester, and Peyton Chesterall perished in the accident. At the time, Kobe was 41, and Gianna was 13.For thefirst anniversaryof their death, Vanessa shared aheartfelt notefrom one of Gianna’s best friends, Audrey. “I love you Aubz (as my Gigi would call you). Thank you so much for beautifully sharing some of your memories of my Gigi with me and allowing me to share them here on my ig,” Vanessa wrote in the caption.Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty ImagesShe continued, “I will never understand why/how this tragedy could’ve happened to such beautiful, kind and amazing human beings. It still doesn’t seem real. Kob, we did it right. Gigi, you still make mommy proud. I love you!”Vanessa — whoshares three other daughters with Kobe,Natalia, 21,Bianka, 7 andCapri, 4 —spoke to PEOPLEfor the 2021 Women Changing the World issue about moving on from her “unimaginable” pain. She said, “Lying in bed crying isn’t going to change the fact that my family will never be the same again. But getting out of bed and pushing forward is going to make the day better for my girls and for me. So that’s what I do.”To continue the legacy of her late husband and daughter, Vanessa leads theMamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting underserved child athletes.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“I want to make Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka and Capri proud,” she told PEOPLE.

Vanessa and Kobe with Gigi.Photo:Araya Doheny/Getty; Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty

Araya Doheny/Getty; Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty

On Friday,Vanessa Bryanthonored her late husband,Kobe, and daughter,Gianna, on the fourth anniversary of their death in a tragic helicopter crash.In anInstagram post, Vanessa, 41, shared a photo of Kobe smiling with his arm wrapped around Gianna, sharing “❤️❤️” in the caption. The same photo was shared on the Los Angeles LakersInstagram accountwith the caption, “Forever 💜.“On the morning of Jan. 26, 2020, Kobe, Gianna, and seven of their friends boarded a helicopter from John Wayne Airport in Orange County to a basketball tournament in Thousand Oaks. Only 14 miles from their destination, the flight crashed into a Calabasas hillsidelikely due to pilot error, as a yearlong National Transportation Safety Board investigation found. Kobe, Gianna, pilotAra Zobayan,Christina Mauser,John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli,Sarah Chester, and Peyton Chesterall perished in the accident. At the time, Kobe was 41, and Gianna was 13.For thefirst anniversaryof their death, Vanessa shared aheartfelt notefrom one of Gianna’s best friends, Audrey. “I love you Aubz (as my Gigi would call you). Thank you so much for beautifully sharing some of your memories of my Gigi with me and allowing me to share them here on my ig,” Vanessa wrote in the caption.Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty ImagesShe continued, “I will never understand why/how this tragedy could’ve happened to such beautiful, kind and amazing human beings. It still doesn’t seem real. Kob, we did it right. Gigi, you still make mommy proud. I love you!”Vanessa — whoshares three other daughters with Kobe,Natalia, 21,Bianka, 7 andCapri, 4 —spoke to PEOPLEfor the 2021 Women Changing the World issue about moving on from her “unimaginable” pain. She said, “Lying in bed crying isn’t going to change the fact that my family will never be the same again. But getting out of bed and pushing forward is going to make the day better for my girls and for me. So that’s what I do.”To continue the legacy of her late husband and daughter, Vanessa leads theMamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting underserved child athletes.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“I want to make Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka and Capri proud,” she told PEOPLE.

On Friday,Vanessa Bryanthonored her late husband,Kobe, and daughter,Gianna, on the fourth anniversary of their death in a tragic helicopter crash.

In anInstagram post, Vanessa, 41, shared a photo of Kobe smiling with his arm wrapped around Gianna, sharing “❤️❤️” in the caption. The same photo was shared on the Los Angeles LakersInstagram accountwith the caption, “Forever 💜.”

On the morning of Jan. 26, 2020, Kobe, Gianna, and seven of their friends boarded a helicopter from John Wayne Airport in Orange County to a basketball tournament in Thousand Oaks. Only 14 miles from their destination, the flight crashed into a Calabasas hillsidelikely due to pilot error, as a yearlong National Transportation Safety Board investigation found. Kobe, Gianna, pilotAra Zobayan,Christina Mauser,John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli,Sarah Chester, and Peyton Chesterall perished in the accident. At the time, Kobe was 41, and Gianna was 13.

For thefirst anniversaryof their death, Vanessa shared aheartfelt notefrom one of Gianna’s best friends, Audrey. “I love you Aubz (as my Gigi would call you). Thank you so much for beautifully sharing some of your memories of my Gigi with me and allowing me to share them here on my ig,” Vanessa wrote in the caption.

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

She continued, “I will never understand why/how this tragedy could’ve happened to such beautiful, kind and amazing human beings. It still doesn’t seem real. Kob, we did it right. Gigi, you still make mommy proud. I love you!”

Vanessa — whoshares three other daughters with Kobe,Natalia, 21,Bianka, 7 andCapri, 4 —spoke to PEOPLEfor the 2021 Women Changing the World issue about moving on from her “unimaginable” pain. She said, “Lying in bed crying isn’t going to change the fact that my family will never be the same again. But getting out of bed and pushing forward is going to make the day better for my girls and for me. So that’s what I do.”

To continue the legacy of her late husband and daughter, Vanessa leads theMamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting underserved child athletes.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“I want to make Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka and Capri proud,” she told PEOPLE.

source: people.com