‘My Mom Was Never So Public as My Dad’ – Venus Williams on How ‘King Richard’ Honors the Sacrifices of Her Mother, Oracene Price

Over the years, Venus Williams has achieved the level of stardom in her on-court and off-court life that remains unmatched. In a tennis career spanning close to 3 decades, the former World No. 1 has achieved many records, that remain untouched by other players. Starting her career in 1994, Venus was coached by her father Richard Williams.

Even though it is strongly believed that it is Richard’s utmost dedication that has helped Venus reach the top, the movie ‘King Richard’ shows otherwise. Even though the movie primarily focuses on how Richard Williams coached the Williams sisters, it has made sure to show the efforts that were put in by their mother, Oracene Price, to support their dream.

In a recent interview with a media house, Venus spoke about the importance of her mother in her life, calling her someone she aspired to be. In the interview, she also spoke about Will Smith who played the role of Richard Williams in the movie ‘King Richard’, and Aunjanue Ellis, who portrayed Oracene Prince, the mother of Williams’s sisters.

How Oracene Prince’s sacrifices shaped Venus Williams

Speaking about her mother, Venus went all heart, calling her an amazing human being and someone she aspires to be. She said, “My mom is an amazing human being. Not only she’s cool, she’s a powerful woman, she’s funny, she’s smart, she’s sweet, she’s everything. Everything I aspire to be.”

Venus went all praise for her mother’s fearless attitude, and how she always keeps reminding her of her mother’s teachings.

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“My mom is not afraid. She says fear will hold you back every time. So, I always try to remind myself what would I do if I wasn’t afraid. I have never just seen her afraid in my life. Maybe of water…she doesn’t like swimming (laughs). But I have to say that I have never seen her show fear, I have never seen her shake, I have never seen her react. She’s an incredible woman,” she said.

Williams on Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis portraying her parents

Will Smith has been on a skyrocket since the release of the film. The 53-year-old actor to date has received 5 Best Actor Awards and has also been nominated for an Academy Award. Many critics have also compared Smith to the real Richard Williams. Venus feels no less. Talking about Will Smith’s performance in portraying her father Richard Williams, Venus gave the biggest compliment an actor playing someone could ever receive.

The 7-time Grand Slam champion asserted that many times hearing Will’s voice, she felt that it was her dad. She said, “Will, there were some moments where I thought I was hearing my dad’s voice and I was like…daddy? Even when we were filming and I wasn’t on-site and we had the feed of the filming, I would hear it, and it was just like…wow, this is scary. Is that my dad?”

Talking about her mother, it was impossible for Venus to not talk about Aunjanue Ellis, the on-screen Oracene Prince. She started by giving a brief as to how important it was for the film that Aunjanue replicates her mother’s voice.

“With Aunjanue, she really embodied and understood my mom. She really had a chance to speak with her, she had a chance to speak with her family. When the script actually happened, when it was written, the emphasis was to make my mother’s voice to actually her. That was really important.”

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Being on cloud 9 seeing Aunjanue’s performance, Venus preferred elaborating on the audience’s reaction instead of giving her own opinion. She said, “Just watching the film in theatres with people you can see their reactions to my mom. They are like oooo…The strongest reactions come from Aunjanue portraying my mother. She really got it.”

Even though the 41-year-old player went all heart for the actors, she still believed that it was because of her that the team of King Richard was able to pull such an appealing movie.

“I’m so happy because my mom was never so public as my dad. We couldn’t have done this without her. She was a powerful force.”