Vanessa Bryant Net Worth: Kobe Bryant’s Widow Awarded $16 Million

American philanthropist Vanessa Bryant is also known as the widow NBA player Kobe Bryant. Vanessa Bryant is worth $600 million. The couple started their own foundation in 2007 to offer scholarships to students from minority colleges around the world. Bryant is the president and CEO at Granity Studios, and she also leads the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.

Kobe and Vanessa met when she was a background dancer on a music video. At the time, she was just 17 years old. Kobe, then 21 years old, was there to record his first musical album. Within six months of their first meeting, they were married. Laine was still in high school when they got married.

Kobe’s parents and agent, as well as his sisters, decided not to attend the wedding due to their inability to support her marriage. They were married in Dana Point (California) at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church on April 18, 2001. As a result, Kobe didn’t speak to his parents for 2 years. After Vanessa gave birth to their first child, in 2003, the ice was broken. They would have four more children together, all girls.

What’s Vanessa Bryant’s net worth?

American philanthropist Vanessa Bryant is also known as the widow NBA player Kobe Bryant. Vanessa Bryant is worth $600 million. The couple started their own foundation in 2007 to offer scholarships to students from minority colleges around the world. Bryant is the president and CEO at Granity Studios, and she also leads the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.

Kobe and Vanessa met when she was a background dancer on a music video. At the time, she was just 17 years old. Kobe, then 21 years old, was there to record his first musical album. Within six months of their first meeting, they were married. Laine was still in high school when they got married.

Kobe’s parents and agent, as well as his sisters, decided not to attend the wedding due to their inability to support her marriage. They were married in Dana Point (California) at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church on April 18, 2001. As a result, Kobe didn’t speak to his parents for 2 years. After Vanessa gave birth to their first child, in 2003, the ice was broken. They would have four more children together, all girls.

Vanessa filed for divorce in December 2011 citing irreconcilable difference. Kobe was worth $200 million at the time she filed. They didn’t have a prenup. Although it didn’t matter as they did not divorce, Vanessa filed for divorce just a few months after their 10 year wedding anniversary.

California law allows for spousal support to be indefinitely granted to any marriage that lasts more than 10 years. This is in contrast with the amount of time they have been married. After Kobe signed an extension of his $84 million contract, she decided to file for divorce. They announced their reconciliation two years later and called off the divorce.

Tragically, Kobe Bryant died with one of his daughters in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020. Kobe was 41 years old.

Early Life

Vanessa Laine was born in Los Angeles on May 5, 1982. Her birth name was Vanessa Cornejo Urbieta. She is Mexican-American and has a younger sister, Sophie. Bryant’s parents divorced while she was still a child. Her mother later married Stephen Laine. Bryant began going by Vanessa Laine after her marriage. This became her official name in 2000. She lived in Huntington Beach with Robert Laine, her step-grandfather. There she attended Marina High School.

Philanthropy

The Bryants established the VIVO Foundation in 2007, later renamed the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Foundation. It is a global charity that provides scholarships for minority college students and underrepresented youth all over the globe. The Bryants also supported philanthropic activities together, including the founding donation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, DC.

Vanessa Bryant, a solo artist, has partnered up with Baby2Baby to help impoverished children and women. In late 2021, she was awarded a philanthropy prize by the organization. Bryant also founded the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation with her husband, to help child athletes in need. She launched a clothing line in memory of her daughter Gianna through the organization.

Career Beginnings

Bryant appeared in music videos featuring artists such as Snoop Dogg, Krayzie Bone, and others. Bryant met Kobe while working on the music video for Tha Eastsidaz’s song “G’d Up”. This relationship quickly attracted media attention and disrupted Vanessa’s high school education. She completed her senior years at home through independent study.

Vanessa and Kobe Bryant were engaged six months after their first meeting. They were married in 2001 in Dana Point (California). Two years later, the couple had their first child, Natalia, in 2003. Kobe Bryant was involved in a case of sexual assault against him that was filed by a 19 year-old employee at the hotel where he stayed. While Vanessa was supportive of him, she admitted that he had been involved in adultery. Kobe gave Vanessa a $4 million, eight carat purple diamond ring just days later.

In the beginning years of their marriage, Vanessa was the focus of extensive tabloid and other media attention. She was particularly upset when Karl Malone, a Los Angeles Lakers basketball player, accused her of being inappropriate towards her. She was also praised for challenging the NBA’s culture of sexual promiscuity.

Vanessa was more famous after she miscarried from an ectopic baby in 2005. She and Kobe had Gianna the following year. In December 2011, Vanessa filed for divorce against her husband due to irreconcilable differences. They finally ended the divorce proceedings in early 2013. In December 2016, the Bryants had their third child, Bianka. Their fourth and final child, Capri, was born in 2019.

Granity Studios

Bryant is also the president and CEO at Granity Studios, a multimedia production firm that her husband founded in 2013. The company is also responsible for the production of the Academy Award-winning animated short film, “Dear Basketball”, which was released in 2017. Granity Studios also produced several young adult novels by Kobe Bryant including the “Wizenard”, and “Epoca.”

Kobe Bryant’s Death and Lawsuit

Kobe Bryant, second-oldest daughter Gianna, were killed in a helicopter accident in Calabasas in January 2020. Vanessa sued Los Angeles County in response to the accident for invasion of privacy, negligence and violation of rights regarding photos taken at the crash site and later distributed.

She was awarded $16 million in damages as a result of the suit. Vanessa plans to donate the proceeds of the suit to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.

Read Also : Nene Leakes Net Worth: Career, Personal Life and More