Fans See More Than Just a Fashion Look
The comments quickly filled with observations about Natalia’s appearance and the way she carries herself.
One person wrote that she had “got taller & slim Down” and looked “just like her Dad,” while also noting that she resembles her mother.
Another commenter offered a much more unexpected comparison.
“Now hear me out.. she looks like a black Ivanka Trump. Beautiful!” the fan wrote.
The comparison appeared again in another comment:
“Really, she looks like Ivanka Trump.”
Not everyone focused on the resemblance to another celebrity, however.
For many fans, Natalia’s connection to her father was immediately noticeable.
“Simply Beautiful walking like her DAD,” one admirer wrote.
Another said, “She walks just like her dad.”
A third fan echoed the sentiment in an affectionate comment:
“Walking like papa.”
Her height was another major topic among viewers.
“She super tall. Runway material,” one person wrote.
Another admirer praised both her beauty and her fashion presence, writing that she looked “like a model.”
Those observations are particularly fitting because modeling has been an important part of Natalia’s professional journey for several years.
Natalia’s Modeling Career Began at 18
Natalia’s interest in fashion was not something that suddenly appeared in adulthood.
In February 2021, when she was 18, WWD reported that she had signed with IMG Models.
The agency planned to help develop her career through editorial opportunities and brand endorsements in the fashion and beauty industries.
At the time, Natalia made it clear that modeling was something she had wanted to pursue for years.
“I have always been interested in fashion since a very young age,” she said, explaining that she had developed a love for the industry and had wanted to model for as long as she could remember.
She also acknowledged that there was still plenty for her to learn.
For Natalia, modeling wasn’t simply about standing in front of a camera. She saw it as a way to explore her creativity and express herself.
IMG Models senior vice president Maja Chiesi also praised Natalia’s potential, describing her as someone with beauty, talent, and drive and saying the agency believed she had a bright future ahead.
Several years later, that prediction has become increasingly visible.
From New York to Milan and Paris
By 2026, Natalia’s modeling career had expanded well beyond the United States.
Sports Illustrated reported in February that her work had taken her to major fashion capitals including Paris, Milan, and New York.
But fashion is only one part of her professional life.
Natalia has also been building a career in filmmaking.
She graduated from the University of Southern California in spring 2025 with a degree in film, combining her interest in storytelling with the creative opportunities that had already begun opening for her.
Her filmmaking experience has included work on a Kobe sneaker commercial featuring New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson.
She also served as a producer for a Lakers hype video featuring baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Those projects have allowed Natalia to establish a creative identity separate from modeling — while still remaining closely connected to the worlds of sports and entertainment that shaped her childhood.
Her fashion résumé has also continued to grow.
She has worked on campaigns for Bulgari and Victoria’s Secret Pink and appeared at some of the industry’s biggest events.
And one of the most memorable moments in her fashion career came in September 2023.
Natalia Makes Her Versace Runway Debut
During Milan Fashion Week in September 2023, Natalia made her runway debut for Versace.
She walked confidently in a black dress featuring angular shoulders, paired with silver chrome ballet flats and a classic black leather purse.
Watching proudly from the front row was her mother, Vanessa Bryant.
For Natalia, the moment represented the realization of a dream.
After the show, she shared her excitement with her followers.
“VERSACE!! Grazie Mille!! It still feels like a dream. I am beyond honored and grateful,” she wrote.
Vanessa responded with an equally emotional message.
“I’m so proud of you, baby! Congratulations!!!”
She later added:
“You did it, mama!!!!”
It was another important milestone for Natalia, who had already begun carving out a professional identity of her own.
A Career That Goes Beyond Fashion
Natalia’s interests have never been limited to the runway.
While studying film at USC, she developed a passion for filmmaking and drew inspiration from directors such as Sofia Coppola and Greta Gerwig.
She has been particularly interested in stories centered on girlhood and coming-of-age experiences.
That interest has helped shape a career that doesn’t fit neatly into one category.
Natalia is building herself as a model while also exploring filmmaking and production.
Rather than choosing between fashion and storytelling, she has continued to pursue both.
Her mother has spoken proudly about the way Natalia approaches those ambitions.
Vanessa has said that Natalia has always been capable of accomplishing anything she sets her mind to.
“I’m so proud of everything she’s achieved and impressed by the kind, smart, and beautiful young woman I’ve seen her become,” Vanessa said.
Those words reflect a journey that has unfolded in public but has also remained deeply personal.
Carrying on Her Family’s Legacy
While Natalia has worked to create her own path, she has never distanced herself from her family.
She has continued to honor the memory of her father, Kobe, as well as her younger sister, Gianna.
In September 2023, Natalia threw out the ceremonial first pitch during a Los Angeles Dodgers game held as part of “Lakers Night” at Dodger Stadium.
The appearance was another public moment connecting her own journey into adulthood with the legacy of the family she comes from.
She also serves as a board member of the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, an organization dedicated to creating positive opportunities for underserved athletes and boys and girls through sports.
In that role, Natalia remains connected to the mission her father and sister’s names continue to represent.
Her Style Has Changed Dramatically
Fans who have followed Natalia for years have also watched her appearance evolve.
Earlier in her public life, she was often seen with a sleek black bob that reached around her neck and framed her face with a shorter, polished style.
More recently, she has embraced longer hair and a noticeably more mature fashion aesthetic.
At the Revolve Festival, she appeared with long black hair styled in a half ponytail, allowing the rest to fall over her shoulders.
She paired the hairstyle with a mini denim skirt, a belt, a tucked-in sweater featuring the word “GIRL,” black ankle boots, and white socks.
Rings, bangles, and layered necklaces completed the look.
It was another example of how dramatically her personal style has developed over the years.
And that evolution may help explain why her appearance at the 2026 US Open generated so much attention.
A Look Back at Natalia Through the Years
Natalia has been in the public eye since she was a child.
In 2003, Vanessa Bryant was photographed holding young Natalia as they watched the Los Angeles Lakers play the Houston Rockets at Staples Center. Natalia wore a warm red outfit with a matching hair accessory as she watched the game alongside her mother.
In 2004, Vanessa was photographed smiling while holding Natalia at a “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement” DVD Pajama Party at the Beverly Hilton. Natalia wore a pink winter outfit and a sparkling tiara.
Three years later, in 2007, Natalia appeared alongside her parents, Kobe and Vanessa Bryant, at the Disneyland premiere of “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.”
In 2010, Kobe shared a joyful moment with Natalia and her younger sister, Gianna, during the postgame news conference after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in Game Seven of the NBA Finals.
The family continued to appear together at major events.
In 2016, Kobe and Vanessa posed with Natalia and Gianna at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports Awards.
In 2017, the family attended a Tribeca Film Festival event celebrating Kobe’s storytelling work.
And in 2018, Kobe and Vanessa arrived with their daughters at the premiere of Disney’s “A Wrinkle in Time.”
At each stage, Natalia was growing up in front of the cameras.
But the girl seen at those events eventually became a young woman with ambitions of her own.
From the Met Gala to the Red Carpet
In 2021, Natalia made her Met Gala debut in New York, appearing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in an elegant ensemble.
The following year brought more major red-carpet appearances.
She posed alongside Vanessa at the Baby2Baby 10-Year Gala, wearing a striking pink gown with an oversized sculptural detail.
She also attended the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, where she showcased a glamorous black evening look.
In 2023, she returned to the Vanity Fair Oscars Party, arriving in an elegant black gown with dramatic sleeves.
That same year, she stepped onto a baseball field at Dodger Stadium and smiled while holding a baseball before throwing the ceremonial first pitch during Lakers Night.
Each appearance marked another stage in her transformation from Kobe and Vanessa Bryant’s eldest daughter into a public figure establishing a career and identity of her own.
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A Daughter Growing Into Her Own
That may be the biggest story behind Natalia’s latest appearance.
For years, the public knew her primarily as Kobe Bryant’s daughter.
Today, she has become a model, filmmaker, producer, philanthropist, and creative professional with accomplishments that extend beyond her family’s name.
Yet the comparisons to Kobe remain inevitable.
Fans notice the way she walks.
They notice her height.
They notice her confidence.
They notice the expressions and mannerisms that remind them of her father.
Others see Vanessa in her face and style.
And some viewers, as the latest US Open comments showed, see similarities to unexpected figures outside the Bryant family entirely.
But regardless of who fans think Natalia resembles, her career is increasingly becoming her own story.
At 23, she is no longer simply the little girl seen beside her parents at Lakers games or Hollywood premieres.
She is walking international runways, working in film, attending major cultural events, supporting her family’s foundation, and building a future shaped by interests she has pursued for years.
Her appearance at the 2026 US Open was simply the latest chapter.
And judging by the reaction, fans are still fascinated by how much she has grown — and by the unmistakable pieces of the Bryant family that remain visible in the woman she has become.