Vanessa Bryant's Tattoos Honoring Kobe And Gianna
Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant's fatal helicopter crash left their family in shambles. Vanessa Bryant and Natalia Bryant, Kobe's wife and older daughter respectively, were left utterly heartbroken and lost for answers. Thirteen-year-old Gianna and her 41-year-old father died in January 2020, unexpectedly in a helicopter crash where there were no survivors. While the entire world was rattled, Vanessa and Natalia were devastated to learn of Kobe and Gianna's deaths, and they've spent the years since mourning.
However, Vanessa has been keeping Kobe and Gianna's memories alive with various tributes in the years since the tragic accident, including an unforgettable and emotional public memorial to them in 2020. She even went as far as to make a few physical tributes she will carry around forever. A little over a year after the accident, Vanessa got tattoos to honor both her late husband and daughter and to keep them close for the years to come.
Vanessa revealed the tattoo tributes on Instagram
In March 2021, Vanessa Bryant posted a selfie showing off her new ink. The tattoo on her forearm says "Mambacita" with a heart in the dot of the 'i' and a butterfly at the tail end of the final letter 'a.' The tattoo is a nod to Gianna's nickname, as well as Kobe's nickname, "Black Mamba." The caption of the selfie simply says "Mambacita," along with a red heart emoji and a butterfly emoji.
This wasn't the first tattoo tribute that Vanessa got in honor of her husband and daughter; a few months after the helicopter crash, Vanessa got a tattoo in honor of Kobe. Her tattoo artist, Nikko Hurtado, reposted a video of him giving Vanessa the ink, though what it says is obscured by the angle of the video. What's more, Vanessa has mostly kept what the message says private, but in the video she posted, Vanessa's caption says, "I wanted my boo boo's @kobebryant sweet message transferred on me."
Vanessa Bryant has truly been through hell and back, but with the help of her inky tributes, she has ensured that Gianna and Kobe will always remain close to her.