On Friday (May 1), Vanessa Bryant paid tribute to her late daughter Gianna Bryant on what would have been her 14th birthday. To honor her little girl, Vanessa called upon her friends, family and social media followers to wear red on her birthday, as well as share a special hashtag on Instagram for the young basketball star.
"Gianna loved to wear a red bow in all of her school pictures. 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," Vanessa wrote on Instagram. "Please use the hashtag #PlayGigisWay...Thank you. 5-1-06 Mambacita."
Unsurprisingly, Vanessa saw an outpouring of love for Gigi after her call to action. Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian and Zendaya are among the many people who participated in the moving tribute to Gigi. Some of Vanessa's friends went even further and sent special gifts to Vanessa and her daughters on what was surely a difficult day for them. Kobe Bryant‘s former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Pau Gasol, and his wife Catherine McDonnell, sent Vanessa a custom cake with white angel wings. Vanessa posted a photo of the cake on her Instagram Story.
In addition to the many celebrities sharing sweet birthday messages for Gigi, there was one tribute that was particularly moving. Kobe and Vanessa's oldest daughter, Natalia Bryant, shared her first public post about her sister since her tragic passing. "I miss your smile everyday but I know you're always smiling down on us from heaven with daddy," the 17-year-old wrote.
Happy birthday, Gigi.
Photo: Getty