Natalia Bryant credits her late father Kobe Bryant for her interest in becoming a part of the movie industry. In an interview, the 18-year-old daughter of Kobe and Vanessa Bryant shared how her father inspired her to pursue an Oscar after he scored one in 2018 for Best Animated Short Film for Dear Basketball.
Natalia — who signed with IMG Models in February — did a Q&A for the agency which was shared on Thursday. When asked who motivates her, she quickly responded, “My dad.” Recalling their mutual love of cinema, Natalia shared, “My dad and I would always watch as many movies as we can and we’d go on movie marathons.
And then we’d always analyze as many movies as we can and we’d talk about it for months.” “Anywhere we’d go we’d just keep talking about different films and how it, like, reminds us of where we are,” the University of Southern California freshman added. Natalia explained that she and Kobe would often find links between things during their travel adventures and things they saw in movies. “It’s just things like that…. It just really inspired me and I was like, ‘I want to do this forever.'” “I think it’s just so cool how people are able to capture certain scenes [and] certain aesthetics and they’re able to make the audience feel a certain way,” she said of the film industry. “I’m a big crier at movies so I’m like how did they make me cry about that scene? I want to be able to do that. I want to be able to make those audiences feel the same way that I did.”
Given her love of movies, the model has her sights set on adding an Academy Award to her family household. “In 10 years. I want to win an Oscar. I’m not sure for what, or for what Oscar category, but that’s on my list,” Natalia declared. “And I want to make a film where I can incorporate fashion and those fashion aspects, and I think combining my two passions, that’s just amazing. I want to be able to do that. “The 18-year-old also shared a memory with her dad that was scary in the moment, but fun to look back on. When asked what the most daring thing she’s done, she responded, “Probably swim with sharks.” “I know you would not see me as a swim with sharks kind of gal, but I did,” Natalia said while laughing. “My dad convinced me.”
She continued, “But it was like, when I was really little, so I asked him, ‘Are they nice sharks?’ and he’s like, ‘Yeah, that one’s really nice.’ At least I can say I did it.” Among other fun facts during the Q&A, Natalia revealed her favorite food is pesto pasta, her favorite scent is lavender, her favorite school subject is history, her favorite sport is volleyball, her biggest fear is spiders, her favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird, her favorite clothing item to wear is “always” jeans, she’s “obsessed” with Peaky Blinders on Netflix, her favorite movie is Kill Bill, and she’s a Taylor Swift fan with her favorite album being Reputation and favorite song from the album is “Getaway Car.”
“I just love how she’s always very positive and empowers young girls and women. I just think that’s so important in life. She’s always been one of my biggest role models,” Natalia said of Swift, 31.The 18-year-old got passionate as she talked about her favorite vacation spot: Paris. She explained she loves “the ambiance, the people there, and the Parisian aesthetic.” Natalia laughed as she added, “I’m a different person in Paris.”
“I think I was really little, maybe four, and I just remember eating so many crepes. The whole trip I was just eating crepes the entire time,” she recalled. “Over the years, the more I went to Paris the more I fell in love with the city.” Natalia also threw in Bora Bora as another vacation spot she loves.
Of fashion, the model said her favorite aspect is “getting inspiration from other people.” She added, “I love how fashion inspires different people from different cultures and different parts of the country. you can gain inspiration from anything and anyone and I think that’s one of the most beautiful things about fashion.” The teen also said in the same interview that her mother Vanessa, 39, is her style inspiration. The 39-year-old also has been inspired by her oldest daughter. “I’m extremely proud of Natalia,” Vanessa said when she spoke with PEOPLE for March’s Women Changing the World issue. The mom, who calls Natalia her “right-hand woman,” also praised the resilience Natalia has shown since the deaths of her father and younger sister Gianna “Gigi” Bryant last year. “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,” Vanessa said at the time.
She added, “She is a wonderful big sister and an incredible daughter.”
