Vanessa Bryant

Bryant was born on May 5, 1982 in Los Angeles, California.[1] She is Latina of Mexican, Irish, English, and German ancestry.[2] Her parents divorced when she was a baby. After her parents' divorce, her biological father moved to Baja California. She has an older sister, Sophie.[2] Her mother was a shipping clerk at an electronics company. In 1990, her mother married Stephen Laine, who was a middle manager at the same electronics company that she worked in.[1] She began going by Laine after the marriage and officially changed her name to Vanessa Marie Laine in 2000, despite never officially being adopted by her stepfather.[1][3]

Her family's home was in Garden Grove, California, and she resided with her step-grandfather Robert Laine in Huntington Beach, California. She attended Marina High School.[1][4] She was a cheerleader[2] and active in her high school's theater club.[5]

In August 1999, Bryant and her friend Rowena Ireifej attended a hip-hop concert at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre. They were approached by a company and offered work as music video extras and back up dancers. Bryant later appeared in music videos for artists including Krayzie Bone and Snoop Dogg.[1] Her mother chaperoned her on the shoots.[6][1] In November 1999, Bryant met her future husband Kobe Bryant on the set of the music video for the song "G'd Up." The high profile relationship caused disruptions at her high school, leading Bryant to complete her senior year at home as an independent study.[1][4] She graduated from high school in 2000 with honors.[2]

In 2007, Bryant and her husband founded the VIVO Foundation which was later renamed the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Foundation. It is a charity that supports increasing a global perspective among young people. It provides scholarships for minority college students and other youth worldwide. The charity has collaborated with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.[7]

Bryant and her husband were founding donors of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.[8]

In 2020, following her husband and second-oldest daughter's deaths, Bryant changed the name of her husband's Mamba Sports Foundation to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation in honor of her daughter.[9] It supports poor child athletes.[10] In May 2021, Bryant launched a Mambacita line of clothing in honor of her daughter Gianna. The line is in partnership with a female-owned brand, Dannijo and all proceeds go towards the Mambacita Sports Foundation.[11]

Bryant is the president and chief executive officer of Granity Studios.[12]

Bryant works with Baby2Baby to provide support for women and children in poverty. At the Baby2Baby 10-year gala in November 2021, she received a philanthropy award.[13]

On February 8, 2022, during the Sports Power Brunch: Celebrating the Most powerful Women in Sports, Bryant received the Be Your Own Champion Award for her leadership of the Mambacita Sports Foundation.[10]

The Bryants and U.S. president Barack Obama in the Oval Office in 2010

Six months after meeting, Laine and Kobe Bryant were engaged. Her engagement ring included a seven-carat diamond.[4][14] They married on April 18, 2001.[3] The private wedding ceremony was attended by approximately twelve people and was held at the St. Edward Roman Catholic Church in Dana Point, California.[15][16] After the marriage, she took his last name, becoming Vanessa Marie Bryant.[17]

In January 2003, Bryant gave birth to her and Kobe's first child, Natalia.[6]

During the 2003 sexual assault case against her husband, Bryant defended him stating "I know my husband made the mistake of adultery".[18] A few days later, she received a $4 million eight-carat purple diamond ring leading to speculation that this was a gift for her support.[3] According to David K. Wiggins, a professor of sport studies, her husband had commissioned the ring two months prior.[19]

Bryant was a strong influence on her husband. She was the focus of speculation by tabloids.[1] In 2004, Bryant accused Lakers player Karl Malone of acting inappropriately towards her. Malone later apologized while denying making a pass at her.[6] Sports Illustrated published a story titled Vanessa-gate about "wife-poaching" by Malone.[1] Other columnist described Bryant as the new Yoko Ono and she was the subject of a Saturday Night Live parody.[6] She was recognized by supporters for challenging the National Basketball Association culture of tolerance of tomcatting.[1]

Due to an ectopic pregnancy, Bryant suffered a miscarriage in the spring of 2005.[20] Her second daughter, Gianna Maria-Onore (also referred to as "Gigi"), was born in May 2006.[21]

In 2009, Bryant was sued by her housekeeper, Maria Jimenez, who alleged that she verbally abused and humiliated her while she was working at their Newport Coast home. Bryant denied those allegations and countersued Jimenez for breach of a confidentiality agreement.[6]

On December 16, 2011, Bryant filed for divorce from Kobe citing irreconcilable differences.[18] This sparked speculation of financial ramifications for Kobe, with some estimating Bryant would receive $75 million.[22] Thirteen months later, the Bryants called off the divorce.[23] In April 2016, David Wharton and Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times described Bryant as a contradictory and "at times polarizing public figure".[6]

In early December 2016, Bryant gave birth to a third daughter,[24][25][26] and in January 2019 the Bryants announced they were expecting a fourth daughter.[27] She was born in June 2019.[28][29]

On January 26, 2020, Bryant's husband and their daughter Gigi died in the Calabasas helicopter crash. She is suing Los Angeles County for invasion of privacy and negligence due to taking pictures of the victims of the crash and improperly sharing them. A trial was set for February 22, 2022.[30]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vanessa Bryant.

• Vanessa Bryant at IMDb