Kobe Bryant 's widow Vanessa Bryant has paid tribute to their late daughter Gianna 'Gigi' Bryant in a series of posts on social media this afternoon to mark her birthday.
The late basketball player and his daughter Gigi, along with seven other people, tragically died in a helicopter crash in California that occurred in January 2020.
Vanessa - who had been married to Kobe since 2001 - has paid tribute to her loved ones in various posts in the three years since her late husband and daughter passed away.
This included the philanthropist taking to her Instagram account earlier today (May 1) to mark what would have been Gigi's 17th birthday with a series of posts for the occasion.
She wrote alongside some photos of her late daughter that she shared with her followers: "Happy 17th birthday, baby girl. I love you and miss you so much, sweet Angel."
Another photo showed Gigi alongside her older sister Natalia, now 20, and her younger sister Bianka, now seven. Whilst another showed the siblings with Vanessa.
Vanessa - who's also a parent to daughter Capri, three - wrote in one post: "Happy birthday, sweet Gigi! We love you to the moon and back infinity +1. Forever & Always."
Alongside sharing photos on the platform, Vanessa also posted a video earlier in celebration of "Gigi's legacy," in which a couple of people who knew her paid tribute.
The posts prompted responses from her followers, including reality TV star Khloé Kardashian who wrote in response to one of them: "Happy birthday beautiful Gigi! We love you".
She wasn't alone in replying to the post, with comedian Loni Love having taken to the comments section earlier to share support with Vanessa by posting a series of heart emojis.
Whilst singer Ciara reacted: "Happy birthday Gigi". Similarly, actor Taraji P. Henson said in response to one of the posts shared on the platform: "Happy birthday baby girl".
The posts come just a few weeks after Vanessa marked the anniversary of her marriage to Kobe. They would have been celebrating 22 years of marriage last month.
Alongside a photo of the couple on holiday, she wrote in a caption: "Happy anniversary baby. I love you [Kobe]". She included a heart emoji in the post on the platform.
