Bryant was born on May 5, 1982, in Los Angeles, California. She is of Mexican descent. Her parents divorced when she was a baby. After her parents' divorce, her biological father moved to Baja California. She has an older sister, Sophie. Her mother was a shipping clerk at an electronics company. In 1990, her mother married Stephen Laine, who was a middle manager at the same electronics company that she worked in. She began going by Laine after the marriage and officially changed her name to Vanessa Marie Laine in 2000, despite never officially being adopted by her step-father.
Her family's home was in Garden Grove, California, and she resided with her step-grandfather Robert Laine in Huntington Beach, California. She attended Marina High School.
In August 1999, Bryant and her friend Rowena Ireifej attended a hip-hop concert at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre. They were approached by a company and offered work as music video extras and backup dancers. Bryant later appeared in music videos for artists including Krayzie Bone and Snoop Dogg. Her mother chaperoned her on the shoots. In November 1999, Bryant met her future husband Kobe Bryant on the set of the music video for the song "G'd Up." The high-profile relationship caused disruptions at her high school, leading Bryant to complete her senior year at home as an independent study. She graduated from high school in 2000 with honors.

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