As documented on Instagram, Vanessa Bryant and daughter Natalia recently got new tattoos together, including one for Vanessa that’s a tribute to both Kobe and Gianna.
On her arm, Vanessa had “Mambacita” added. Mambacita, of course, is a Kobe-inspired nickname for Gianna.
And as TMZ pointed out, one of Natalia’s new tattoos is the word “muse” on her finger. Back in 2015, director Gotham Chopra released a documentary titled Kobe Bryant’s Muse that’s currently available to watch on Showtime.
Tagged in Tuesday’s Instagram posts about the new ink is popular artist Nikko Hurtado, whose designs are well-known and widely applauded among the tattoo community. Recently, Nikko launched a Patreon page, from which he shares videos and illustrated art with his paid subscribers.
Below, see more of Vanessa’s tattoo-focused IG posts from Tuesday:
Earlier this month, Vanessa announced that Natalia had been accepted into Loyola Marymount University, one of her top-choice schools. Also this month, Vanessa opened up in a special People interview about how her late husband Kobe and daughter Gianna—who both died in a tragic helicopter crash in January 2020 alongside seven others—still keep her inspired to move forward.
“Lying in bed crying isn’t going to change the fact that my family will never be the same again,” Vanessa said in the interview. “But getting out of bed and pushing forward is going to make the day better for my girls and for me. So that’s what I do.”
Vanessa recently relaunched the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, a nonprofit which carries forward Kobe and Gianna’s vision of building a world where young women have equal opportunity to chase their dreams, both in sports and in life.
