Vanessa and Kobe's second oldest, Gianna, or "Gigi," was born on May 1, 2006, and sadly passed alongside her dad on Jan. 26, 2020. The 13-year-old was following in her dad's footsteps as a great basketball player and was often referred to as "Mambacita," in reference to Kobe's nickname of "Black Mamba."
Kobe shared with Jimmy Kimmel in September 2019 that Gigi, as a second child, was "like a tornado." After noting that he loved being a dad to all girls, he mentioned Natalia's chill demeanour compared to Gigi's. "I always say if you look at the eldest daughter, she's always like the calm, responsible, thoughtful one, and then the second sister is like a tornado, like Elsa and Anna," he said. "That's certainly like our house, and then we have two other ones."
Since Gianna and Kobe's passing, Vanessa has opened up about the tragic loss of her daughter on more than one occasion. When Gianna's school retired her basketball jersey number, Vanessa shared a photo of the ceremony with the caption: "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. Infinity plus 1. #2 #Mambacita #GigiBryant"