Vanessa Bryant

In 2020, Vanessa Bryant lost her husband Kobe and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash.

Weeks later, she renamed her husband’s nonprofit.

The Mamba Sports Foundation became the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, in honor of Gigi.

The mission: provide access to sports for underserved youth and fight for equity in girls’ athletics.

She launched a Mambacita clothing line in partnership with Dannijo, a women-owned brand.

Every dollar from sales went to the foundation.

She hosted the first Mamba & Mambacita Skills Academy in Orange County for boys and girls aged 11-13.

The camp was co-ed by design, because Kobe and Gigi believed in playing together.

She made the message clear: sports aren’t just for boys.

Vanessa also stepped in as President and CEO of Granity Studios, the multimedia company Kobe founded to tell stories that teach life lessons through sport.

She oversaw the posthumous release of Legacy and the Double, a YA novel Kobe co-wrote.

Then she wrote her own.

Mamba & Mambacita Forever, releasing November 2025, is a tribute to the public murals created around the world in the wake of Kobe and Gigi’s death.

She served as both author and creative director.

But she didn’t just preserve Kobe’s work.

She scaled it.

Vanessa has led the Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation (KVBFF) since 2007.

Through KVBFF…
- Minority students traveled internationally on cultural enrichment trips
- Scholarships were given to youth athletes at the Kobe Bryant Basketball Academy
- After Hurricane Katrina, eight boys from New Orleans were flown to LA to attend the academy and tour the city

The foundation partnered with United Way, My Friend’s Place, and Step Up on Second to fight youth homelessness in Los Angeles

KVBFF also launched Mamba FC, a youth soccer club in Orange County focused on leadership and teamwork.

And when the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department mishandled private crash site photos?

Vanessa sued them for negligence and invasion of privacy.

In 2022, a jury awarded her $16 million.

In 2023, the county settled for $28.85 million total, including future claims from her daughters.

She pledged to donate the entire amount to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation.