Vanessa Bryant Shares School Ceremony Retiring Gianna's Number

(Image credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN)

published 6 February 2020

After making her Instagram public following the tragic deaths of her husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant, Vanessa Bryant has bravely shared how much she is grieving the losses within her family. In her set of posts yesterday, Vanessa revealed that she'd been invited to Gianna's school ceremony as they retired her jersey number (#2) and honored her legacy.

On the posts, Vanessa gave a tender and emotional tribute to her daughter. "My Gianna. God I miss you. I’ve been so lucky to have woken up to see your gorgeous face and amazing smile for 13 years. Wish it would’ve been until my last breath. Mommy loves you to the moon and back."

Sharing a picture of Gianna's jersey, she added, "My Gigi. I love you! I miss you. You’ve taught us all that no act of kindness is ever too small. Mommy is still and will ALWAYS be so proud of you mamacita."

The pictures and videos showed teachers and administrators talking about Gianna (known as Gigi) and her impact on the school, as well as her basketball teammates and fellow students honoring her. "In my 20 years of coaching basketball, Gigi was one of the fiercest competitors that I’ve ever seen," explained her basketball coach.

Gianna and Kobe were actually on the way to a travel basketball game with fellow students, parents, and one of their coaches on board—all nine people in the helicopter died in the crash. It's a devastating loss to the community.

Not all Vanessa's posts were open for comment, but those that were had comments flooded with love and appreciation, thanking her for sharing this private look at the grief within her family and community. People offered thoughts and prayers to her.

Here are a few of the posts (you can go to her profile to watch the whole thing):

A post shared by Vanessa Bryant 🦋 (@vanessabryant)
A photo posted by on

Very sweet.

Katherine’s a contributing syndications editor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle. In her role, she writes stories that are syndicated by MSN and other outlets. She’s been a full-time freelancer for over a decade and has had roles with Cosmopolitan (where she covered lifestyle, culture, and fashion SEO content) and Bustle (where she was their movies and culture writer). She has bylines in New York Times, Parents, InStyle, Refinery29, and elsewhere. Her work has also been syndicated by ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, and Women’s Health, among others. In addition to her stories reaching millions of readers, content she's written and edited has qualified for a Bell Ringer Award and received a Communicator Award.

Katherine has a BA in English and art history from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in art business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art (with a focus on marketing/communications). She covers a wide breadth of topics: she's written about how to find the very best petite jeans, how sustainable travel has found its footing on Instagram, and what it's like to be a professional advice-giver in the modern world. Her personal essays have run the gamut from learning to dress as a queer woman to navigating food allergies as a mom. She also has deep knowledge of SEO/EATT, affiliate revenue, commerce, and social media; she regularly edits the work of other writers. She speaks at writing-related events and podcasts about freelancing and journalism, mentors students and other new writers, and consults on coursework. Currently, Katherine lives in Boston with her husband and two kids, and you can follow her on Instagram. If you're wondering about her last name, it’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.

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