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It’s hard to believe that we’re coming up on four years since the tragic death of Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant.
This week, his wife, Vanessa, shared a throwback of their first ever photo together; 24 years ago to the day as of Monday: “24 years ago…. Day 1. #1999,” Bryant said in an Instagram post with crown and heart emojis. “11/27/99.”
24 years ago,
Day 1 of Kobe and Vanessa Bryant 💜💛 pic.twitter.com/GV68js55SZ
— Mamba Insider (@Mamba_Insider) November 28, 2023
Vanessa and Kobe met on the set of a music video back in ’99 when a young Mamba was pursuing a rap career. Kobe lovingly recalled the interaction in his 2015 documentary “Kobe Bryant’s Muse.”
It was a two-day video shoot, and I was always looking for her. Like, I wanted to know where she was. I would finish a take and then go to my trailer, but I’d wonder where she is the entire time and then come out of the trailer and just want to talk to her some more in between takes and stuff like that. And she wrote her phone number down at the time when you had to still write phone numbers down, and I called her the very next day. We talked for hours.
The pair went on to tie the knot in 2001 and share four daughters together: Natalia, Gianna, Bianka and Capri.
Tragically, Kobe and Gianna were killed in a 2020 helicopter crash that took the lives of seven others. Their spirits live on though through Vanessa and the Mambacita Foundation, along with the countless fans that continue to champion everything he gave to the game.