Sofia Laine Bio, Wiki

Sofia Urbieta Laine is the mother of Kobe Bryant’s wife Vanessa Bryant‘s. While Kobe, unfortunately, was not on speaking terms with his parents, Joe Bryant and Pam Bryant, since 2013, he always remained close with Vanessa’s mother, Sofia Laine.

Sofia Laine Ex-Husband (Stephen Laine)

Vanessa and her older sister were mostly raised by a single mom. Vanessa was just three years old when her mother divorced her biological father. However, in 1990, Sofia was remarried to Stephen Laine, and even though he never officially adopted Vanessa, Vanessa legally changed her last name to match that of her stepfather.

After nearly 13 years of marriage, Vanessa’s mother and stepfather split. At the time, it was tumultuous since Kobe was going through his very public rape trial in 2003. While Sofia Laine continued to have her daughter’s back, she told reporters “We keep to ourselves, and those who want to talk can talk,” said Sofia Urbieta Laine. “The people who say negative things, God will take care of them.”

When Vanessa and Kobe were headed toward divorce in 2011, her ex-stepfather had some choice words for his now-estranged stepdaughter. Laine told TMZ, “Her mother taught her well to wait for the 10-year mark [before divorcing]. In California, it’s considered a long term marriage and then she gets paid for life or until she remarries… just like her mother is doing to me. I have to pay her mom $1,800 every month and clearly, they don’t need it” – referring to how rich Vanessa and her mother would be if the divorce with Kobe proceeded.

Laine, who has since started a new family said, “I have a six-year-old daughter and that money could be used toward her college fund or something… you’d think she’d care… but no, she’s spiteful.”

Sofia Laine Attended Kobe’s Wedding

Vanessa became engaged to Kobe, who was 21 at the time and was still a senior in high school. Much like Kobe’s parents, Laine had his own apprehensions. “He was an adult and she was only 17,” Laine told the Daily Press. However, unlike Kobe’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Laine attended her daughter’s wedding to the NBA superstar in April 2001, which took place in Dana Point, California.

According to an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Joe and Pam Bryant had a hard time with the fact their son was marrying so young, without a prenuptial agreement, and that Vanessa was a Latina woman instead of an African American woman.

After the wedding, the Bryants moved from their home in Pacific Palisades to the Newport Coast to be closer to Vanessa’s family.

Sofia Laine was mostly Present in Kobe’s Life

While Kobe’s parents, Pam and Joe Bryant were not invited to see Bryant’s final NBA game, his mother-in-law was not only in attendance, her son-in-law enveloped her in a huge emotional hug afterward. Sitting alongside Vanessa, and their two children at the time, Natalia and Gianna, Sofia looked on with pride as Kobe ended his historic career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

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The Lakers retired both of Black Mamba’s career numbers, 8 and 24, in December 2017.  Noticeably absent were Kobe’s mother and father, his mother-in-law, Sofia, was however there to cheer him on while holding her grandbaby Bianka courtside.

Bryant family enjoying their last Thanksgiving together as a family in a well-decorated dining room table, all four daughters, Vanessa, Kobe, and Sofia shared their holiday meal together. Kobe shared a few photos from the Thanksgiving holiday with the caption, “Thankful for my family.” In the first photo, Sofia is sitting right next to Gianna.

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Sofia is also a grandmother to Vanessa and Kobe’s youngest daughters, Bianka, 3, and Capri, who’s 7 months.