Natalia Bryant lands first magazine cover with Teen Vogue
Natalia Bryant has already reached a major modeling milestone.
The 18-year-old daughter of late basketball legend Kobe Bryant fronts Teen Vogue’s September 2021 issue, marking her first time as a magazine cover star.
Natalia, who recently started her freshman year as a USC film student, posed in a Spanish-style Brentwood villa for the shoot, modeling pieces ranging from a silky Alejandra Alonso dress to a cozy Kingsley cardigan.
While this was her first photoshoot for a glossy, she had practice posing in front of the camera earlier this year, when she appeared alongside mom Vanessa for a special Bulgari Mother’s Day campaign.
Natalia told the mag she long dreamed about becoming a model, and shared her aspirations with her mother during a shopping trip at Bergdorf Goodman.
“I want to do that,” she recalled saying while watching a Chanel runway show on the New York store’s screen, although Vanessa cautioned her against jumping into the industry too soon.
“For my mom, it was really important for me to go through high school and get my education. Especially complete college too,” she said, adding that her parents tried to give her a normal upbringing.
“Growing up, my parents made it as normal as possible. Thank God they did. It’s not, ‘Oh she’s Natalia Bryant, she’s Kobe Bryant’s daughter.’ A lot of times they saw me as ‘She’s just Nani.’”
Now, having signed with IMG models in February, Natalia is primed to balance both college and her budding career. Vanessa dropped the young model off at USC in late August, taking her two younger daughters Bianka, 4, and Capri, 2, along for the trip.
But the Teen Vogue interview also gave Natalia a chance to speak out; the young star recalled once posting a TikTok and having a commenter write, “this is the first time I ever heard your voice.”
“I never realize that,” the young model said. “You always see a face, but it’s hard to … think of a voice behind that face.”