29 Superstar Athletes Who Married Their High School Sweethearts

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Kobe Bryant

E! Online

The late NBA great Kobe Bryant was among the most successful basketball players who went directly from high school to the NBA. He joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996 after graduating from Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania, and spent his entire 20-season career with the franchise. Kobe met his future wife, Vanessa Laine, a 17-year-old background dancer and senior at the Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California. The superstar was smitten, and just after six months of dating, got engaged. They tied the knot in 2001 and welcomed four daughters together. Kobe won five NBA titles and was named regular season MVP in 2008 on top of his many other awards in his legendary career. The world was shocked when Kobe and his daughter, Gianna, along with seven other people, perished in a tragic helicopter crash on the morning of January 26, 2020.