To say it's been a rough year for Vanessa Bryant and her family would be the biggest understatement ever. But just 11 months removed from the tragic passing of her husband Kobe Bryant and their daughter Gianna in a tragic helicopter crash last January, Vanessa’s own mother, Sofia Laine, has filed a lawsuit against her.

The 68-year-old Laine is accusing Vanessa, 38, of purposely withholding financial support ever since Kobe passed away. As revealed in court documents, Laine claims that she worked unpaid as a “longtime personal assistant and nanny” to her own grandchildren.

Laine added that the late NBA superstar promised to “take care of his mother-in-law for the rest of her life”, something that Vanessa supposedly no longer wishes to honor.

Kobe Bryant’s mother-in-law is now reportedly seeking $96 per hour in back pay for two-decades of pro-bono work. She is also demanding $5 million, a new house and a Mercedes SUV, according to a PageSix report.

Things can certainly turn ugly between family members especially when money is concerned. When it involves a family as high-profiled as the Bryants, it can get downright nasty.

Sofia Laine further stoked the fire when she accused Vanessa of “getting back to her social life” not long after her husband’s demise. She suggests that Bryant’s widow left their three daughters, Natalia, Bianka, and Capri, in her care while she attended social events.

Vanessa has since denied these claims adding that her mother simply wants to “extort a financial windfall” for the family. She also described her mother’s vendetta as “frivolous, disgraceful and unimaginably hurtful.”

While Kobe and Vanessa tried to keep their relationship as intimate as possible, the public does know a ton about the late NBA icon’s widow.

However, not much is known about Sofia Laine, apart from some photos of her here and there sometimes watching Bryant’s game courtside. Here is everything we know about Kobe’s mother-in-law.

Sofia was a single mother to Vanessa

Vanessa and Kobe Bryant, Lakers

Per Hollywood Life, Vanessa and her sister Sophie were raised alone by Sofia after she divorced her birth father shortly after her birth. Sofia re-married in 1990 to Stephen Laine but also terminated that union in 2002.

Vanessa revealed that she and Kobe paid for Sofia’s new home after her divorce (more on this later), since she didn’t have the capabilities to do so. To this day, Sofia still receives alimony money from her second husband.

Money problems have been prevalent in the Laine household long before. A chronic back injury prevented Sofia from finding work after she was laid off as a shipping clerk.

She filed for bankruptcy just a few days after Vanessa turned 18 and around the time she got engaged to the budding NBA superstar.

Kobe and Vanessa made sure Sofia lived close to their properties

While Kobe and Vanessa mutually agreed that their mother-in-law should not live with them, they took care of her living arrangements and made sure she was close by to have as much access to her granddaughters.

“For nearly two decades, we arranged for my mother to live in our nearby properties, at no cost to her because she had claimed that she didn't have any money to buy her own home after her divorce,” she said.

Vanessa admitted that Sofia watched Natalia and Gianna when they were little – like most grandparents do – but was never treated as Kobe’s personal assistant or nanny to their children.

“Earlier this year, I was looking for a new home for her and, a week later, she went on television and gave an interview disparaging our family and making false accusations while living rent-free in a gated apartment complex in Newport Coast. Even after that betrayal, I was willing to provide my mother with monthly support for the rest of her life and that wasn't good enough,” Vanessa added.

Sofia and Kobe had a great relationship

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Sure, Kobe has had his disagreements with his in-laws from time to time, but his relationship with Sofia was terrific for the most part. Laine was reportedly a big fan of Bryant on the court, and was even in attendance in his final NBA game. Sofia was also at Staples Center when Bryant had his two jersey numbers retired.

She is also a fixture in the Bryant household during holidays. Bryant shared a photo of his family on Thanksgiving last year, with Laine pictured enjoying a nice meal with her grandkids.

Considering how well Bryant treated her mother in the past, Vanessa is shocked at how she could do such a thing to the family, especially at this time.

“My husband never promised my mother anything. And he would be so disappointed in her behavior and lack of empathy,” she said.

Sofia hasn’t seen her granddaughters much since accident

Vanessa Bryant, Kobe Bryant
ClutchPoints

Contrary to Sofia's claims that she babysat for her daughter sometime after Kobe's passing, Vanessa Bryant claims her mother has not been physically or emotionally supportive of the family since the tragedy. Instead of being there for Vanessa and her three daughters, Laine is suing her own child simply because Vanessa did not “give in to her hurtful threats and monetary requests”.

“She is now trying to get more money than my husband and I ever spent to provide for her while he was alive. She has no regard for how this is affecting my children and me. She wants to live off of my daughters and me for the rest of her life.”