Vanessa Laine Bryant (Kobe Bryant’s Wife) Age, Children, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Real Name	Vanessa Urbieta Cornejo Laine
Profession(s)	• Former Background Model and Dancer • Instagram Celebrity
Famous For	Being the wife of Kobe Bryant
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 165 cm in meters- 1.65 m in feet inches- 5’ 5”
Eye Color	Black
Hair Color	Black
Personal Life
Date of Birth	May 5, 1982 (Wednesday)
Age (as in 2019)	37 Years
Birthplace	Orange County, Los Angeles, California
Zodiac sign	Taurus
Nationality	American
Hometown	Orange County, Los Angeles, California
School	California High School
Ethnicity/Race	Latino ^[1]CNN
Controversy	On December 16, 2011, she filed for divorce from Kobe; citing incompatibility issues. However, on January 11, 2013, both Kobe and Vanessa took to social media to announce that they had called off their divorce. ^[2]CBC News
Relationships & More
Sexual Orientation	Straight
Marital Status	Widowed
Affairs/Boyfriends	Kobe Bryant (1999-2001)
Marriage Date	April 18, 2001 (Wednesday)
Marriage Place	St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point, California
Family
Husband/Spouse	Kobe Bryant (American Basketball Player)
Children	Son- None Daughter(s)- 4 • Natalia Diamante (born in January 2003) • Gianna Maria-Onore (born in May 2006) • Bianka Bella (born in December 2016) • Capri Kobe (born in June 2019)
Parents	Father- Stephen Laine (former American Inventory Manager) Mother- Sofia Laine (retired School Teacher)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Vanessa Laine Bryant

She grew up in Orange County, a county in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of California.

Vanessa was leading an ordinary life until she met Kobe Bryant in November 1999. At that time, this Latina teen was just 17-year-old and was a California High School student. Kobe was barely in his 20s and had already become a Basketball phenomenon.

It was, in fact, music, which had brought Kobe and Vanessa together; as they first met on the set of the Tha Eastsidaz music video “G’d Up” in which Vanessa was working as a background dancer while Kobe was there to launch a side career as a rapper.

Vanessa captured Kobe’s heart instantaneously, and Kobe started dating her. He would send Vanessa massive bunches of roses at school and pick her up from there in his Mercedes Benz. After six months of dating, they got engaged in May 2000. Soon after their engagement, the media started paying so much attention to the lovebirds that Vanessa had to finish her senior year via independent study.

When Vanessa and Kobe got married in April 2001, Kobe’s family was reportedly less than happy; as his parents had expressed their disagreement over Vanessa not being an African-American. Reportedly, at that time, Kobe’s father, Joe Kobe, said,

Once he decided to get married, it’s his life now.” ^[3]CNN

Reportedly, after her marriage, Vanessa did a crash course to get the mannerism of being the wife of an NBA star. Vanessa’s stepcousin, Laila Laine told the Los Angeles Times in 2005-

I remember at one point she had this sort of identity crisis. She told me she was starting not to know who she was anymore, other than the wife of Kobe Bryant.” ^[4]CNN

Vanessa and Kobe were seen as an ideal couple in the media galleries and were often spotted in celeb parties and social gatherings.

It was barely six months after Vanessa gave birth to their first child, daughter Natalia in 2003 that Kobe faced a sexual assault allegation by a 19-year-old girl who was a hotel employee in Colorado. The girl accused Bryant of raping her in his hotel room. Following the complaint of the girl, the sheriff’s office of Eagle (Colorado), arrested Bryant. Later, Kobe had to apologize to the girl in public. Among all this, Vanessa assisted Kobe and was often seen along with him at media conferences. In one such conference, Kobe addressed to his wife,

You’re my backbone. You’re a blessing. You’re a piece of my heart. You’re the air I breathe. And you’re the strongest person I know, and I’m so sorry for having to put you through this and having to put our family through this.” ^[5]The Sun

Vanessa Laine Bryant and Kobe Bryant addressing a press conference on the sexual assault case againt Kobe

Reportedly, Vanessa Laine, although she was publicly supporting her husband over the sexual assault allegation against him, was not happy over Kobe’s admission of adultery, and Kobe had to appease her later by gifting her a $4 million eight-carat, purple diamond ring. ^[6]CNN

The sexual assault case had damaged the life of both Vanessa and Kobe equally. Following the incident, Kobe lost various endorsements, and there was a steep fall in the number of his fan following, and it was the same time that Vanessa suffered through a miscarriage due to an ectopic pregnancy. While talking about the miscarriage in the Showtime documentary, Kobe Bryant’s Muse, Kobe Bryant blamed himself and said,

We should be building our family. But because of my mistake, because of this tough year, we lost a baby.” ^[7]The Sun

The couple encountered another rough patch in 2011 when Vanessa filed for divorce. On December 16, 2011, while filing the divorce, Vanessa cited the incompatibility issue with Kobe. However, on January 11, 2013, both Kobe and Vanessa took to social media to announce that they had called off their divorce. Reportedly, Vanessa was expected to receive half of Kobe’s $150 million fortune.
Kobe Bryant walking with his wife and daughters

On the morning of January 26, 2020, Vanessa received probably the most horrific news in her life, the news about Kobe Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Reportedly, he was accompanied by eight other people (including one of his daughters, Gianna) who died when the helicopter, a Sikorsky S-76 owned by Kobe, crashed into the side of a mountain in Calabasas, at around 9:45 am.
The Crash Site of the helicopter in which Kobe Bryant was flying