Kobe Bryant Celebration of Life: Vanessa and Natalia Bryant Filmed Walking Hand-In-Hand: ‘so Strong’

As thousands gathered into the Staples Center Monday for the Celebration of Life public memorial service for Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant, one fan caught the emotional moment that Vanessa Bryant and 17-year-old Natalia Bryant were spotted walking hand-in-hand. Shared to Twitter, the 13-second clip shows mother and daughter, both dressed in black, tightly clutching one another’s hands as they walk through the crowd.

Although Natalia was not photographed during the event and did not give a speech, taking the podium during the service, Vanessa had opened up about her late husband’s relationship with each of his daughters, revealing that Bryant wanted Natalia to one day take over his company.

“Kobe wanted us to renew our vows. He wanted Natalia to take over his company and he wanted to travel the world together,” she said before going on to further open up about Bryant and Natalia’s relationship.

“He shared a love of movies and breakdown of films with Natalia,” she recalled. “He enjoyed renting out theaters and taking Natalia to watch the newest Star Wars movie or Harry Potter films. They would have movie marathons and he enjoyed every second of it. He loved the typical tearjerkers, too, and he loved watching Stepmom, Steel Magnolias, and Little Women. He had a tender heart.”

Although Vanessa acknowledged that her husband “wished he would have convinced Natalia to play basketball so they could have spent more time together,” she said that he also “wanted her to pursue her own passion.”

“He watched Natalia play in a volleyball tournament on her birthday, January 19, and he noticed how she’s a very intelligent player,” she said. “He was convinced she would have made a great point guard with her vision of the court.”

“He was thoughtful and always wrote the best love letters and cards, and Gigi had his wonderful ability to express her feelings into paper and make you feel her love through his words,” she concluded. “She was thoughtful like him. They were so easy to love. Everybody naturally gravitated towards them. They were funny, happy, silly, and they loved life. They were so full of joy and adventure. God knew they couldn’t be on this Earth without each other. He had to bring them home to have them together. Babe, you take care of our Gigi. I got Nati, BiBi and KoKo, and we’re still the best team.”