Lakers legend Kobe Bryant‘s untimely passing in a helicopter crash at just 41-years-old has made so many people realize they need to value their time with those they love. Actress Robin Givens, 55, told HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY that his tragic death helped create a dialogue with her 20-year-old son William Givens Jensen about how time with loved ones is the most precious thing to have. We spoke to her at the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Red Dress Collection on Feb. 5 that kicked off New York Fashion Week.
“I was talking with my younger son who’s 20 and you just realize that you have to take the time. With yoga — as much as it’s physical, that’s my way of slowing down time. I’m old enough to have lost some people in my life and collectively as a society, we experienced the shock [of Kobe’s death]. The thing you can’t get back is the time with the people you love. The sense of taking time with the people you love is important,” she explained to us.
Kobe, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others were killed when the helicopter they were riding in slammed into a Calabasas, CA hillside in foggy weather on Jan. 26, 2020. They had been en route from Orange County to Kobe’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, CA when the tragedy occurred. It became a heartbreaking reminder of how fragile life is and how suddenly it can come to an end.
Kobe’s wife Vanessa, 37, has had to endure the double tragedy of losing both her husband of nearly 20 years and one of her four daughters. Now she and Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, seven months, have to live the rest of their days without two precious loved ones. Vanessa’s processed some of her grief via Instagram. She posted a photo of a smiling Kobe on Feb. 5 and wrote, “Miss you so much. #handsome #sweet #funny #silly #lovinghusband ❤️Miss you saying, “Bonjourno principessa/reina.” She also called him “#mybestfriend #theBestdaddy.”
Later that day she shared videos from Gianna’s memorial at her school, where they retired her basketball jersey. Next to a photo from the tribute she wrote, “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 ❤️.”