Vanessa Bryant took to Instagram Saturday to wish her late daughter, Gianna, a happy 15th birthday.
via: People
“Dear Gianna, Happy 15th Birthday! ???I love you!” Vanessa wrote in a touching message on Saturday, which she shared alongside a throwback shot of the pair smiling while embracing one another.
“I miss you everyday! I wish you were here with us. There are no words to express how much I miss you,” she added. “I love you Mamacita!”
Sharing the same photo on her Instagram Stories, Vanessa added the caption, “Mommy, Daddy, Nani, B.B. and Koko love you and miss you so much!”
In another post, which was a portrait of Vanessa and her daughters, the matriarch wrote, “Today is my Baby’s Birthday. When I thought about how best to celebrate Gianna’s birthday with so many who loved her, I knew it had to be a combination of sharing her bright and fun personality with her sense of purpose and passion that would help make a difference in this world. Gianna was kind, energetic, a leader, and had so much MAMBACITA swag.”
Kobe Bryant’s sister Sharia Washington also commemorated the day, sharing a series of throwback shots of Gianna, who died in a January 2020 helicopter crash alongside her father and seven others.
“Happy 15th birthday Gigi?? You inspire us to do better and be better everyday. We love you and we miss you!” she wrote in the tribute.
Recently, Vanessa — who is also mother to Natalia, 18, Bianka, 4, and 22-month-old Capri —relaunched Kobe’s charitable non-profit as Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, a nod to the father-daughter duo, to help empower young girls and provide equal opportunities to underserved athletes. It is a goal Kobe long championed.
Gone but never forgotten.
