On May 5, 1982, Vanessa Bryant was born in Los Angeles. Vanessa Cornejo Urbieta was her given name at birth. Her older sister, Sophie, is also of Mexican descent. Bryant’s parents separated when she was still a baby, and her mother subsequently remarried to Stephen Laine.
Bryant adopted the moniker Vanessa Laine after getting married, and in 2000, she officially adopted it. She attended Marina High School while residing in Huntington Beach with her stepgrandfather, Robert Laine. Here are more details about Vanessa Bryant’s Net Worth and Career beginning.
How Much is Vanessa Bryant Net Worth?
The widow of NBA player Kobe Bryant is an American philanthropist named Vanessa Bryant. Vanessa Bryant is worth an astonishing $600 million. The pair established their organization in 2007 with the goal of giving minority college students all around the world scholarships. Bryant is the president and CEO of Granity Studios, in addition to heading the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation.
Vanessa Bryant’s net worth is now 600$ million, yet she’s seeking even more by suing the helicopter driver and company. It’s always about money, when your soul is compromised. How that can even be a priority at this time is mind boggling.
— Krista Norsworthy (@BrandFairy) February 25, 2020
Vanessa Bryant Career Beginnings
While attending a hip-hop performance at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in August 1999, Bryant and her friend Rowena received a call from a business offering them a job as extras in music videos. Bryant went on to feature in music videos for musicians like Krayzie Bone and Snoop Dogg.
Bryant met Kobe, her future husband, while filming the music video for “G’d Up” by Tha Eastsidaz. Vanessa’s high school career was interrupted by the romance, which quickly attracted significant media attention. She studied independently at home to finish her senior year.
Kobe Bryant and Vanessa Bryant got engaged six months after their first meeting. In Dana Point, California, the pair got married in the spring of 2001. Their first child, daughter Natalia, was born in early 2003, a little under two years later.
During that summer, Kobe Bryant was involved in a sexual assault lawsuit brought by a 19-year-old worker at the hotel where he had lodged. Vanessa admitted that he had cheated on her despite still standing by him. Kobe gave her an eight-carat purple diamond ring worth $4 million just a few days later.
Vanessa was heavily covered by tabloids and other media outlets throughout the first few years of her marriage, especially after she accused Los Angeles Lakers player Karl Malone of acting aggressively toward her. She was praised as well, though, for opposing the NBA’s culture of sexual immorality.
Vanessa gained more incredible notoriety in 2005 after suffering an ectopic pregnancy-related miscarriage. Gianna, their second daughter, was born to her and Kobe in the subsequent year. Due to irreconcilable disagreements, Vanessa later filed for divorce from her husband in December 2011; however, the divorce was eventually put off in early 2013.
Bianka, Bryant’s third daughter, was born in December 2016. 2019 saw the birth of their daughter Capri, their fourth and last child. The Bryants established the VIVO Foundation in 2007, which subsequently changed its name to the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Foundation.
It is a global nonprofit organization that strives to give scholarships to underrepresented kids and minority college students worldwide. The Bryants were founding benefactors of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, among their other collaborative charitable endeavors.
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Working alone, Vanessa Bryant has joined forces with Baby2Baby, a nonprofit, to help underprivileged women and kids. The group bestowed upon her a philanthropic award at the end of 2021. Bryant’s spouse launched the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation to help underprivileged young athletes, and it is one of her other main charitable projects.
She started a clothing line through the foundation in memory of her daughter Gianna. Bryant is the president and CEO of Granity Studios, a multi-media production firm her husband started in 2013, in addition to her other endeavors. Notably, the firm created the animated short film “Dear Basketball,” which won an Academy Award in 2018.
Kobe and Vanessa Bryant on the Oscars red carpet.
‘Dear Basketball’ is nominated tonight for Best Animated Short Film. 🐍 pic.twitter.com/sTvr4OL2LB
— NBA Buzz (@OfficialNBABuzz) March 5, 2018
Additionally, Kobe Bryant has written several young adult novels for Granity Studios, such as the “Wizenard” and “Epoca” series. Kobe Bryant and his second-oldest daughter Gianna perished in a Calabasas, California, helicopter disaster in January 2020.
Vanessa filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County after the incident, claiming carelessness and invasion of privacy in relation to photos that were taken of the collision and then shared. She was awarded $16 million in damages for the lawsuit in August of 2022. Vanessa plans to give the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation a donation from the sales.
Vanessa Bryant earned $28.85 million as part of an out-of-court settlement in February 2023, on top of the $16 million in damages she had previously been awarded. In the deal, the county will pay $13.5 million, and a jury will also award $15 million.
Forbes noted that since lawsuit recoveries are taxed as income, a sizable portion of this judgment will be consumed by taxes, with 37% going to the IRS and 13.3% to the state of California. Not to mention the fees her attorneys took.
Relationship with Kobe Bryant
Vanessa was raised in Los Angeles, California. While still in high school, she was an extra and backup dancer in music videos. She had cameos in music videos for famous artists like Snoop Dogg. In November 1999, Vanessa Bryant was married to Kobe Bryant.
A Twitter post given is below:
3. Kobe Bryant and Vanessa Bryant pic.twitter.com/geXiE6JOj9
— Mankind (@tweetmankind) November 21, 2023
The basketball player was recording a music video to accompany a rap song he planned to release. They immediately hit it off and started dating. In the NBA, Kobe was well-known even at the age of 21. Due to their public relationship, Vanessa finished her high school degree online while still a student.
Shortly after they met, the well-known pair were engaged in six months. The wedding took place on April 18, 2021. The relationship between them caused friction in Kobe’s family. Kobe’s parents and sister did not attend the wedding or the NBA Finals in 2001.
Kobe’s family gradually reestablished contact with the pair after Kobe and Vanessa gave birth to their first child together. Natalia was born in 2003. Three further girls were delivered to the marriage together: Capri, Bianka, and Gianna (Gigi).
Gigi was a rising star in the girls’ basketball world. Of all their children, Gigi was the most like her father and possessed a strong passion for basketball. It was commonly believed that Gigi wanted to be a professional basketball player, just like her father.
Kobe and Gigi tragically died in a helicopter crash in 2020, leaving Vanessa a widow. They were on their way to see a basketball game at the Mamba Sports Academy in Kobe.
After the accident, Vanessa sued Los Angeles County for negligence and invasion of privacy after pictures of the incident and its victims were shared without permission. She was first awarded $16 million in damages. Over $28 million was ultimately paid out of court to settle the case.
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