KOBE Bryant was hailed as a devoted father as well as an “extraordinary” athlete after he was killed in a tragic helicopter crash aged just 41.
His wife, Vanessa, paid tribute to the “adoring husband” and “amazing father” after the five-time NBA champ and two-time Olympic gold medallist died alongside his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.
How many children does Kobe Bryant have?
The five-time NBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medallist had four children with wife Vanessa, 37, a former model and music video star from Los Angeles.
She met Kobe on the set of a music video when she was 17 and still at high school.
The couple were parents to four daughters. They are:
- Natalia, born in January 2003
- Gianna, born in May 2006
- Bianka, born in December 2016
- Capri Kobe, born in June 2019
What did Gianna want to do?
The teenager had been following in Kobe’s footsteps with her prowess on the basketball court.
She had ambitions to join the WNBA. Kobe told Jimmy Kimmel in 2018: “She does for sure. This kid, man.
“I’m telling you, the best thing that happens is when we go out and fans come up to me and she’ll be standing next to me, they’ll be like, ‘You got to have a boy. You and V got to have a boy, somebody to carry on the tradition, the legacy’.”
“She’s like, ‘oi, I got this. You don’t need no boy for that, I got this’. That’s right, yes you do. You got this.”
His third daughter Bianka was born in 2016, three years after he and Vanessa called off their divorce.
When was his baby Capri born?
Capri was born on June 20, 2019.
Kobe shared the first photo of his new baby girl, nicknamed “Koko2”, to social media.
He captioned the photo, “Our little princess Capri Kobe Bryant ‘KoKo’ 6/20/19.”
On June 21, the day after Capri was born, Bryant wrote on Instagram: “We are beyond excited that our baby girl ‘Koko’ has arrived!!” Bryant wrote, adding the hashtags #bryantbunch #4princesses #blessed.”
What had Kobe said about his daughters on social media?
In the weeks leading up to his death, devoted dad Kobe posted numerous pictures of his beloved girls, who he was renowned as being immensely proud of, across his social media pages.
On January 19, he celebrated the 17th birthday of his eldest girl Natalie, posting a grown up picture of the teenager in a red dress to Instagram.
He wrote: “Happy Birthday my baby. I love you beyond measure. You will always be my little Principessa #17.”
He was also proud of her volleyball playing skills posting a video of her playing, captions: “Our eldest but always our baby.”
He also posted about Gianna’s budding basketball talent, saying “Gigi getting better every day”.
Kobe shared lots for pics with his third daughter Bianka, often calling her BB.
Who are Kobe’s parents?
Kobe fell out with his parents when they failed to approve of his relationship with Vanessa.
They allegedly thought the couple had married too young and did not attend the wedding.
Mum Pamela’s relationship with her son was soured even more in 2013 after she tried to sell Kobe’s sports memorabilia to an auction house.
Kobe was trying to reconcile with his parents before his death, sources have claimed.
His father, Joe, was a former basketball player too.
Kobe has two sisters, Sharia and Shaya.
Kobe Bryant dead at 41: NBA legend killed along with at least four others in horror helicopter crash