Natalie Bryant. Amy Sussman/WireImage for Parkwood ; Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images
Natalia Bryant rang in her 21st birthday with a special gift from her late sister, Gianna, and late father, Kobe Bryant.
Natalia was sent a bouquet of pink roses on behalf of the duo by her mother, Vanessa Bryant. “Happy 21st birthday Slim-a-knees!” read a message card on the bouquet, which Natalia shared via her Instagram Story on Wednesday, January 24. “Love you always, Daddy and Gigi ❤️.” (Vanessa, 41, also shares daughters Bianka, 7, and Capri, 4, with the late NBA star.)
Natalia tagged her mother and father in the post, writing, “Thank you.” The floral arrangement was one of many the University of California student received from family and friends for her birthday on Friday, January 19. She also rang in her milestone birthday with a star-studded bash attended by Kelly Rowland, Winnie Harlow, Ciara, Russell Wilson and more.
“Happy birthday 21st birthday @nataliabryant!!! We love you so much!!!!,” Vanessa wrote via Instagram on Friday alongside a collage of pics of Natalia over the years. “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! I love you, mama! ❤️😘🎂🎉❤️.”
Family man. In addition to Kobe Bryant‘s legendary basketball career, the late athlete loved life with his wife, Vanessa Bryant, and their four daughters. The NBA star, who died in a tragic helicopter accident alongside his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, on January 26, 2020, at age 41, married his wife, Vanessa, in 2001, and the couple […]
Kobe and Gianna’s surprise birthday gift comes four years after they were killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Kobe and Gianna were 41 and 13 years old, respectively. The other seven victims included the pilot, members of Gianna’s basketball team and their parents and her basketball coach.
“We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri,” Vanessa wrote in an Instagram message shared days after their death.
She concluded her heartfelt post by writing: “Our love for them is endless — and that’s to say, immeasurable. I just wish I could hug them, kiss them and bless them. Have them here with us, forever. Thank you for sharing your joy, your grief and your support with us. We ask that you grant us the respect and privacy we will need to navigate this new reality.”
After the heartbreaking accident, Vanessa filed and settled a wrongful death lawsuit against Island Express Helicopters. She also accepted nearly $29 million for the Bryant family in March 2023 after settling a lawsuit against Los Angeles County over photos of the crash site.
Doting on her daughters! Vanessa Bryant has been gushing about her and Kobe Bryant’s girls following his and their daughter Gianna’s tragic helicopter crash in January 2020. The basketball legend died at the age of 41, along with his 13-year-old, while traveling to a Mamba Sports Academy game in Thousand Oaks, California. Vanessa shared a […]
Natalia, for her part, has continued to honor her father and sister’s memory. “Happy birthday, Dad,” the teenager captioned an Instagram photo of herself and Kobe in August 2023. “I miss your smile, laugh and big bear hugs. Happy Birthday to the best movie buddy I could have ever asked for. I will always remember our late night drives to the movie theater with the windows rolled down and listening to our favorite songs.”
Vanessa Laine Bryant, Kobe Bryant, Natalia Diamante Bryant, and Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant.
In December 2022, she showed off a nameplate necklace bearing a moniker given to her by her dad. “This is a necklace that says ‘Slim.’ It was my nickname growing up,” she said in a Vogue Beauty Secrets video. “I was just so eensy-teensy. All my jerseys said ‘Slim’ — I didn’t grow into the jerseys until I was older, so my dad always called me ‘Slim.’”
Natalia also showed off the gold medallion she wears honoring her family’s Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, which celebrates Kobe and Gianna’s legacies by funding underprivileged athletes. “[The engraving] says ‘Dedication makes dreams come true,’” she shared.