Natalia Bryant lost her father and sister just a week after her 17th birthday, and the teen was forced to grow up fast. In addition to managing her own personal grief, she had to be strong for her two younger sisters, Bianka and Capri. As mom Vanessa Bryant told People in 2021, she rose to the challenge. Calling her eldest “a wonderful big sister and an incredible daughter,” she gushed about how extremely proud she was of Natalia. “On top of her own grief, she has balanced her senior year of high school, applying to colleges, nurturing her sisters, and just recently signing her own modeling contract with IMG,” she said. However, as Natalia told Teen Vogue that same year, it wasn’t easy. “You do the best that you can,” she mused. “[For] my little sisters [we’re] trying to keep that memory for them.”
As for herself, she turned to her friends, mentors, and, of course, her family for strength. “My mom and my sisters are amazing, and I can always lean on them for support,” she told Elle in 2023. She also drew courage and inspiration from her late father’s Mamba Mentality. “I want to make sure that mentality stays intact because it can be so easy to give up on yourself when things get tough,” she explained. “You have to remind yourself that with positivity and resilience you can do anything.”
