Vanessa Bryant shared a collection of moving throwback photos on Tuesday to celebrate her daughter Natalia’s 18th birthday.
On Instagram, the 38-year-old posted two different photos of herself with late husband Kobe Bryant and Natalia as a young child.
It comes after Vanessa courageously shared her struggles with grief ahead of the anniversary of the loss of Kobe and their other daughter Gianna, both of whom tragically died in a helicopter crash in California on January 26 last year.
Heartbreaking: Vanessa Bryant shared a collection of touching photos with late husband Kobe on Tuesday on the occasion of their daughter Natalia’s 18th birthday
In the throwback photos shared Tuesday, the early 2000s saw Vanessa and Kobe posing lovingly with Natalia at the Lakers Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
She captioned it: ‘We love you so much! Happy birthday Natalia !!!! Our firstborn @nataliabryant. ‘
While another moving click saw Kobe holding in his arms a young Natalia, who Vanessa wrote, ‘Daddy’s little princess, Natalia. ❤️ # 18 #BirthdayGirl. ‘
Vanessa also recently shared a sweet photo of Natalia, noting how proud she is of her daughter after the ‘most difficult year of our lives’.
‘Daddy’s Little Princess’: On Instagram, the 38-year-old also posted a sweet photo of Kobe with a young Natalia in his arms, which she captioned:’ Daddy’s little princess, Natalia. ❤️ # 18 #BirthdayGirl. ‘
She wrote: ‘Dear Natalia, Happy Birthday! Mom and Dad are so proud of the young lady you are. You have shown so much strength and grace during the most difficult year of our lives.
“Thank you for coming in to help me with your little sisters. You are such an incredible big sister and a wonderful role model to so many people. Thank you for being kind, courteous, and courteous in all that you do.
“You have no idea how happy and proud Mom and Dad are that you are our daughter. We love you always and always, forever and always.
Happy 18th birthday to our firstborn, Natalia, our principessa! Always sweet, mom, dad, Gigi, BB and Koko❤️. ‘
Proud: Vanessa also recently shared a photo of Natalia as she remarked how proud she is of her daughter after the ‘most difficult year of our lives’
Tragic: It comes after Vanessa bravely shared her struggles with grief ahead of the anniversary of the loss of Kobe and their other daughter Gianna, both of whom tragically died in a January 26 helicopter crash in California last year (pictured together in 2016)
It comes after Vanessa courageously shared her struggles with grief ahead of the anniversary of the loss of Kobe and their other daughter Gianna, both of whom tragically died in a helicopter crash in California on January 26 last year.
‘Let me be real – grief is a tangled cluster of emotions,’ Vanessa wrote in an Instagram story on Friday. “One day you are in the moment of laughter and the next day you don’t feel like living.”
She continued: ‘I want to say this for people struggling with grief and heartbreaking loss. Find your reason for living. I know it is difficult.
‘I look at my daughters and try to convey that feeling for them. Death is guaranteed, but the rest of the day is not alive. Find your reason. ‘
Emotional: ‘Let me be real – grief is a messed up cluster of emotions,’ Vanessa wrote in an Instagram story on Friday
The post came after Vanessa had spent her first Christmas since the death of her husband and daughter
At the time she was posted a moving message on Instagram, writing, ‘Always Together, Never Apart Together Forever In Our Hearts’ alongside a moving photo of her family.
Vanessa also shared a black and white family portrait with daughters Natalia, Bianka, four and 19 month old Capri, posing on a sofa.
Prior to his tragic death, Kobe Vanessa had called his ‘queen’ and their daughters ‘princesses’ in a poignant Instagram post to mark 20 years since they first met in November 2019.
Disturbingly, the post came after Vanessa spent her first Christmas since her husband and daughter passed away (pictured in 2018)
He wrote: ‘On this day 20 years ago I met my best friend, my queen @vanessabryant. I decided to take her on a date to Disneyland tonight to celebrate the old-world style (pre-4 princesses). I love you my mamacita per semper. ‘
Kobe adored his family, and in a previous post after he retired in 2016, he wrote, “I’m so excited to see what God has in store for us as a family as a chapter closes and new ones open.”
Kobe met Vanessa in 1999 when she was 17 and worked as a background model on a music video. The couple became engaged six months later and married in 2001.
They welcomed daughters Natalia in 2003, Gianna in 2006, Bianka in 2016 and Capri in 2019.
So Sad: Prior to his tragic death, Kobe Vanessa had called his ‘queen’ and their daughters ‘princesses’ in a touching Instagram post celebrating 20 years since they first met in November 2019
Kobe and daughter Gianna, an avid basketball player herself, were on their way to the Mamba Academy to practice basketball when their helicopter crashed around 10 a.m. The seven other people on board were also tragically killed.
The pilot – locally called Ara Zobayan – was trying to change the plane when it crashed into the hills of Las Virgenes Canyon, home to celebrities, including the Kardashians.
Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Kerry, and their daughter Alyssa were also among the dead.