Honoring Daughter Natalia’s Directorial Debut, Vanessa Bryant Pays Tribute to Kobe: ‘Proud Parents, Children, and Siblings’

What a proud mother Vanessa Bryant is!

In honor of her oldest daughter Natalia Bryant’s directorial debut as a USC student filmmaker, the mother celebrated Monday by posting a photo carousel on Instagram.

“@nataliabryant, you have my utmost admiration!!!” Text was written by 41-year-old Vanessa. “You have managed to juggle all of these commitments: school, friends, family, sorority, internship, modeling, runway, and film!”

Yоu still mаnаge tо be fully present аnd аccоuntаble fоr аll thаt yоu dо, аnd yоu mаke it tо every fаmily gаthering thаt fits intо yоur cаlendаr, she went оn tо sаy. We аre sо prоud оf yоu, wоrds fаil me. Yоu meаn the wоrld tо us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Prоud mоm, dаd аnd sisters fоr sure! 😘❤️,” Vаnessа cоntinued, pаying heаrtfelt tribute tо Nаtаliа’s sister Giаnnа аnd her lаte fаther Kоbe Bryаnt, whо were bоth killed in the helicоpter disаster thаt hаppened in 2020, аlоng with seven оthers.Photos from Natalia’s post-premiere celebration show her surrounded by loved ones, including her 7-year-old sister Bianka, who embraced her with all her enthusiasm, and by the abundance of flowers bestowed upon her by her many friends and family members.The model revealed her lifelong love of movies in an interview with IMG Models in 2021, and she attributes her ambitions to follow in her father Kobe’s footsteps and work in the film industry.

During the conversation, Natalia discussed how her father’s 2018 Oscar win for Best Animated Short Film for Dear Basketball motivated her to go for the same honor.

With a mischievous grin, Natalia recalled how she and her dad used to “go on movie marathons” and watch an endless supply of films. “Then we’d spend months discussing and analyzing every single film.”As Natalia and Kobe traveled the world, they frequently made connections between real-life events and movie plot points. It’s simply instances like those… I felt a profound sense of inspiration and thought, “I want to do this forever.”

With a nod to Kobe’s famous jersey number, Vanessa paid tribute to her late husband last month with a touching Instagram snapshot of the two of them from twenty-four years ago.She holds herself against Kobe’s chest as he poses with one arm around her waist in the photo. In the photo, Kobe and Vanessa are both grinning widely.

She added, “24 years ago… Day 1. #1999 👑❤️ 11/27/99” in the caption.