Natalia Bryant shares emotional tribute to Gianna on 14th birthday: 'I miss your smile every day, Gigi'
Natalia Bryant has posted a tribute to her sister Gianna on May 1 on what would have been Gigi's 14th birthday, sharing an image of them hugging each other on her Instagram page.
"Happy 14th Birthday Gigi!" she wrote in the caption. "I miss your smile everyday but I know you’re always smiling down on us from heaven with daddy. I LOVE YOU."
The 17-year-old also reposted other birthday tributes that had been made in her younger sister's honor, including numerous pictures of her on the basketball court.
Khloe Kardashian was one of the many big names to celebrate the birthday and wrote, "Happy birthday Gigi! We all love you so much! You always led with kindness and love. Today and every day, thank you for inspiring us to be better."
Khloe's sister Kim also posted a story in the young girl's honor, as did Jennifer Lopez, soccer stars Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe, and actress Zendaya.
One of the tributes was from Gianna's mother Vanessa, who has been active on social media sharing memories of the teenager and husband Kobe Bryant.
"Happy 14th Birthday to my sweet baby girl, Gianna." she said. "Mommy loves you more than I can ever show you. You are part of MY SOUL forever. I miss you so much everyday. I wish I could wake up and have you here with me. I miss your smile, your hugs and your giggles. I miss EVERYTHING about YOU, Gigi. I LOVE YOU so much!!!!!!!"
In another post, she uploaded pictures of a red wrist band with the words "Gigi Bryant" and "Mambacita", etched on it to her 14 million followers.
"Gianna loved to wear a red bow in all of her school pictures," she shared in the caption. "Red means love and life. To commemorate Gigi’s birthday today, please consider wearing red, caption an act of kindness or show how you will play Gigi’s way since she always gave everything she did her all and led with kindness."
She also said that they were in the process of making the wrist band available for the public to buy and that all proceeds would go towards the Mamba and Mambacita Foundation they had set up in her and Bryant's honor.
Gianna and Bryant, as well as seven others, died on January 26 after a helicopter carrying them crashed into a mountainside in Calabasas, California.
Following the tragic news, it was reported that Natalia was so upset she had to be rushed to the hospital. The 17-year-old is said to suffer from asthma, with her father and sister's death triggering a reaction and causing her to hyperventilate.
But she was by her mom's side last month during a video conference expressing their gratitude for her dad's posthumous induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
"It’s an incredible accomplishment and honor and we are extremely proud of him," Vanessa said at the time. "Obviously, we wish that he was here with us to celebrate, but it’s definitely the peak of his NBA career and every accomplishment that he had as an athlete was a stepping stone to be here."
"We are incredibly proud of him and there’s some solace in knowing that he was probably going to be a part of the 2020 Hall of Fame class."