Michael Douglas was thousands of miles away from Catherine Zeta-Jones when they first started dating, but apparently, another famous man was finding reasons to spend time with the actress.
© Getty ImagesIn his new memoir, One Hell of a Ride, Douglas recalls that Kobe Bryant, who lived above Zeta-Jones’ home in Pacific Palisades, California, kept stopping by while the couple was trying to make their long-distance relationship work.
“Apparently Kobe kept finding excuses to stop by Catherine’s house. I’m not sure how many times he ‘lost his dog,’ but it was a lot!” Douglas wrote.
© Dusko DespotovicAt the time, Bryant had not yet met Vanessa Laine, who would later become his wife and mother of his children. The basketball star was in his early 20s and already proving his star power on and off the court with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Douglas and Zeta-Jones met in 1998 at the Deauville American Film Festival in France after Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith introduced them.
The Basic Instinct star was living in New York, while Zeta-Jones had a home in Los Angeles and was frequently traveling for work.
In his memoir, Douglas recalls that the couple began talking on the phone regularly while they were apart. Kobe, meanwhile, was living close enough to Zeta-Jones to stop by, allegedly with a missing dog as his excuse.
© Robin Platzer/Twin ImagesZeta-Jones later shared her own memory of meeting Bryant, which matches up with her husband's claims. After the NBA star died in January 2020, she paid tribute to him on Instagram.
“24 years ago, ironically, Kobe was my next door neighbor in Pacific Palisades in LA. Both young and ambitious,” she wrote alongside a photo of him. “We met the day he moved in through his dog, that started to, and continued to, wander into my garden. "
© GettyShe also remembered being able to watch Kobe practice on his private basketball court from her home. "His basketball court was my view. I watched his talent and dedication, yet how could I have known that he was to become what he became.”
While Douglas was navigating his romance with Zeta-Jones, Kobe's own love story was about to begin. He met Vanessa in November 1999 while filming a music video for his debut hip-hop album.
© Getty ImagesVanessa, then 17 and still in high school, was working as an extra on the shoot. Kobe was 21.
In the 2015 documentary Kobe Bryant’s Muse, he remembered looking for Vanessa throughout the two-day shoot and wanting to spend as much time talking to her as possible.
© WireImageThe relationship moved quickly. Kobe proposed in May 2000, when Vanessa turned 18, and the couple married on April 18, 2001, in Dana Point, California. They went on to have four daughters: Natalia, Gianna, Bianka, and Capri. Tragically, Gianna would later die in the same helicopter accident.
© VarietyAs for Douglas and Zeta-Jones, he proposed on New Year’s Eve in 1999, and the pair married on November 18, 2000, at New York City’s Plaza Hotel.
© AFP via Getty ImagesThey welcomed their son, Dylan, in August 2000, and their daughter, Carys, in April 2003. Douglas also shares son Cameron with his first wife, Diandra Luker.
Douglas and Zeta-Jones have since weathered their own difficult periods, including a brief separation in 2013 before reconciling the following year. They celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in November 2025.
