Vanessa Bryant Speaks at A Celebration of Life for Kobe and Gianna Bryant

Now I would like to introduce you to a person who invited us all here today at 24 because he knew we needed him. We can't celebrate the lives of Kobe and Gigi and all the people we lost without honoring the woman Kobe and Gigi loved most, please. welcome Vanessa Bryant thank you thank you all so much for being here thank you so much to us too love you first I would like to thank you all for coming today the outpouring of love and support my family has felt from around the world it has been so uplifting thank you so much for all your prayers.

I'd like to talk about Coby and Gigi, but I'll start with my baby first. My baby Chiana Bryant is an incredibly sweet and gentle soul, she was always thoughtful and always kissed me. good night and I kissed good morning there were a few times when she was absolutely tired of being up with Bianca and Capri and I thought she had left for school without saying goodbye to her. I texted her and said no kissing and Gianna responded with mom. I kissed you but you were asleep and I didn't want to wake you up she knew how much her morning and evening kisses meant to me and she was so thoughtful remembering to kiss me every day she was daddy's girl but I know she loved her mom and would always tell me and show me how much she loved me she was one of my best friends she loved to bake she loved to put a smile on everyone's face last August she made a beautiful birthday cake for her dad it had fondant and it looked like she made it from blue agate crystals The cake Kobe's birthday party looked professionally decorated.

She made the best chocolate chip cookies. She loved watching cooking shows and Cupcake Wars with me and loved watching Survivor and MBA games on TV with her dad. He also loved watching Disney movies with her. sisters Gigi was very competitive like her dad, but Gianna had a sweet grace her smile was like sunlight her smile took up her entire face like mine Kobe always said she was me she had my fire my personality and sarcasm she was sweet Kobe and Gianna naturally gravitated towards each other Kobe's ability to listen to a song and memorize all the lyrics after hearing the song a few times was his talent. secret she was an amazing athlete she was great at gymnastics soccer softball dance and basketball she was also an amazing dancer she loved swimming dancing doing cartwheels and jumping in our pool and Gigi loved her tick-tock dances Gigi was confident but not in an arrogant way, he loved helping and teaching other people things at school.

She offered the men's basketball coaches to help give the men's basketball team some tips such as the triangle offense. She was a lot like her dad and they both liked helping people learn new things. master them, they were great teachers, Gigi was very sweet, always made sure everyone was okay, she was our shepherd, always kept our family together, loved family traditions, family movie night and game night on holidays They were important to her, did you always take care of everyone? she was very in tune with our feelings I wanted the best for us Gianna was smart she could read speak and write Mandarin she knew Spanish she had great grades and kept them up while becoming an amazing basketball player she was president of the school spirit on the student council She was an assistant director of her school play just like her older sister.

She was looking forward to graduating from eighth grade and moving on to high school with her older sister Natalia. I am very happy that they gave her the opportunity to know that she was accepted to the same high school she was very happy Gianna made us all proud and still does Gianna never tried to settle she was always herself she was a good person a leader a teacher dressed in a white t-shirt black leggings a jean jacket white heels converse top and a flannel tied around her waist with straight hair was her favorite style, she had so much style and rhythm since she was a baby, she gave the best hugs and best kisses, she had beautiful soft lips like her dad would make.

Hold me and hold me so tight that I could feel that she loved me. I loved the way she looked at me while she hugged me. It was like she was soaking me completely. We love each other so much. I miss her so much. She was so. energetic I couldn't keep up with her energy she licked Natalia and me on a track when she was about six we let her have a head start she's still the best hmm I miss her sweet kisses I missed her intelligence I miss her sarcasm wit and that adorable slyness side smile followed by a smile and a laugh we share the same cat that ate the canary smile Gigi was a sweetheart, she brightened my day every day.

I miss looking at her beautiful face, she was always such a good ruler. follower I knew I could always count on her to do the right thing she was the most loving daughter, a thoughtful little sister and a silly big sister, she would happily help carry the little ones' diaper bag or play with them, she liked helping me with Bianca and Capri. Bianca loved going. in the yard swimming and jumping on the trampoline with Gigi I used to tell Gigi that I thought Koko considered her her favorite sister Capri smiled from ear to ear when Gigi came into the room and Capri reminds me a lot of Gianna, they look alike and they just smile all their face pure joy we won't be able to see GG go to high school with Natalya and ask her how her day was we didn't get the chance to teach her how to drive a car I won't be able to tell her how beautiful she looks on her wedding day.

I will never get to see my baby walk down the aisle have a father daughter dance with her dad dancing on the dance floor with me or have her own babies Gianna would have been an amazing mom, she was very motherly from a very young age. Gigi probably would have become the best player in the WNBA. she would have made a big difference. she would have made a big difference for women's basketball. Gigi was motivated to change the way everyone. she saw women in sports, wrote articles in school defending women and wrote about how the unequal pay gap between the NBA and WNBA leagues was not fair and I really feel like she made positive changes for WNBA players.

She now says they knew Gigi's goal was to eventually play in the WNBA. I'm still very proud of Gianna. She made a difference and was kind to everyone she met during the 13 years she was here on earth. Her classmates shared many good memories about Gianna with us and those stories reminded me that Gianna loved. and she showed everyone that no act of kindness is too small to make a difference in someone's

life

. She was always considerate of others in her feelings. She was a beautiful, kind, happy, silly, thoughtful, loving daughter and sister. She had so much more to offer this world.

I can't imagine

life

without her mom Natalia Bianca Capri and her dad. 11 A lot of Gigi. I will miss your sweet handmade cards, your sweet kisses, and your beautiful smile. I miss you all every day. Okay, for my soulmate. mm-hmm Kobe was known as a fierce competitor on the basketball court the greatest of all time an Oscar winning writer and the black mamba but to me he was Coco my booboo my baby boo my daddy chulo I was his VB his super sob green is Queen his Queen mom mom and his whiskey meniscus fabulous ki I couldn't see him as a celebrity or just an amazing basketball player he was my sweet husband and the beautiful father of our children he was mine he was my everything Kobe and I have been together since I was 17 and a half I was his first girlfriend his first love his wife his best friend his confidant and his protector he was the most incredible husband Kobe loved me more than I could ever express or put into words. that he was the early riser and I was an idol I was fire and he was ice and vice versa sometimes we balanced each other he would do anything for me I have no idea how I deserved a man who loved me and wanted me more than Kobe he was charismatic a gentleman who he loved, adored and was romantic, he was truly the romantic one in our relationship and looked forward to Valentine's Day and our anniversaries each year, he planned special anniversary trips and a special traditional gift for each year of our marriage, he had even made my greater effort.

Precious gifts, he just thought outside the box, so he was very thoughtful even as he worked hard to be the best athlete. He gave me the real notebook and the blue dress that Rachel Mcadams wore in the notebook movie when I asked him why she chose the blue dress. she said it was because it's a scene where Ali returns to Noah. We were hoping to grow old together like in the movie. We truly had an incredible love story. We loved each other with all our being. Two perfectly imperfect people who formed a beautiful family and raised our children. sweet, amazing girls a couple weeks before he died, Cobie sent me a sweet text message.

I mentioned that I wanted to spend time together just the two of us without our kids because I'm best friends with him first and we never had the chance to do that. We were busy taking care of our daughters and just going about our daily responsibilities, but I'm grateful to have that recent text message, it means a lot to me. Kobe wanted us to renew our vows, he wanted Natalia to take over her company and he wanted to travel. All over the world together, we had always talked about what fun grandparents would be like for our daughters' kids.

He would have been the coolest grandfather. Kobe was the MVP of Girl Dad's or MBD. He never left the toilet lid up. He always told the girls how beautiful and smart they were. They are, he taught them how to be brave and how to keep going when things get tough and we might retire from the NBA. He took charge of dropping off and picking up our daughters from school since I was home pregnant with Bianca and recently house-sitting Capri, when Kobe was still playing he used to arrive an hour early to be the first in line to pick up. to Natalia and Gianna from school and told her that she couldn't drop the ball once she took over, once she was late. and we definitely let him know that he was never late, so he arrived an hour and 20 minutes early, after that he always knew there was room for improvement and wanted to do better.

He happily shared the trip and enjoyed spending time in the car with our girls, he was a loving father, a practical and present father, he helped me bathe Bianca and Capri almost every night, he sang silly songs to them in the shower and kept making them laugh and smile while I lathered lotion on them and prepared them. for bed he had magic arms and could put Capri to sleep in just a few minutes he said he had it all down to a science eight times down our hallway he loved taking Bianca fashionably I'm going to see her play in the koi pond area and he loves taking her to the park his most recent visit to the koi pond was the night before he and Gigi passed away.

He shared a love of movies and breaking down movies with Natalia. He enjoyed renting out movie theaters and taking Athaliah to see the newest star. War movies or Harry Potter movies and they had movie marathons and he loved every second of it. He also loved her typical tearjerkers. He liked to watch Stepmother's steel magnolias and Little Women. He had a tender heart. Coby's somehow knew where I was at all times. Specifically when I was late to his games, he worried about me if he wasn't in my seat at the start of each game and I would ask security where I was the first time after the first quarter and my smart ass would tell him. that he wasn't going to drop 81 points in the first 10 minutes of the game.

I think anyone with kids understands that sometimes we can't get out the door on time and eventually he got used to my tardiness and forgot about it. that he could play at an intense professional level and still care about making sure we got to the game safely. It was just another example of how family came first for him. He loved being Gianna's basketball coach. He told me that he wished he had convinced me. Natalia wanted to play basketball so they could spend even more time together, but he also wanted her to follow her own passion. He watched Natalya play in a volleyball tournament on her birthday on January 19 and noted that she is a very intelligent player.

He was convinced. she would have made a big card with her vision of the court and he told me that he wanted Bianca and Capri to play basketball when they were older so he could spend as much time with them as he had always done with Gigi and Kobe . I told Bianca and Capri that they were going to grow up and play basketball and blend in now that they won't have their dad and sister here to teach them and that's really a loss. I don't understand it, but I'm very grateful to Kobe. I heard Coco say Dad that he wouldn't be here to drop Bianca Capri off at pre-K or kindergarten.

He wasn't going to be here to tell me to control myself when we have to leave the kindergarten classroom or introduce ourselves. to our daughter's doctor visits for my own moral support, he will not be able to accompany ourdaughters down the hall or spinning me around on the dance floor while singing PYT to me, but I want my daughters to know and remember this incredible person. Husband and father, he was the kind of man who wanted to teach future generations to be better and prevent them from making their own mistakes. He always liked to work and do projects to improve the lives of children.

He taught us all valuable lessons about life and sports through his MBA career, his books, his show details, and his Puny stories, he was thoughtful and wrote the best love letters and cards, and Gigi had her wonderful ability to express her feelings. and to the role of Paik and making you feel his love through his words, she was thoughtful like him, they were so easy to love, everyone naturally gravitated towards them, they were fun, happy, silly and loved life, they were so full of joy and adventures that God knew they could. We wouldn't be on this earth without each other, he had to bring them to heaven together, baby, you take care of our chichi and me.

I have babysitter baby and Coco, we are still the best team, we love you and we miss you, boo-boo, and Gigi may you both rest in peace and have fun in heaven until we meet again one day, we love you both and miss you forever and ever mommy.