Serena Williams is making sure her two children love themselves and also show appreciation for other people.
“For me, it’s super important for them to love who they are and whatever they look like,” Williams, 42, told Entertainment Tonight in an interview published Thursday, April 4.
The four-time Olympic gold medal winner and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, share daughters Olympia, 6, and Adira, 7 months.
Williams emphasizes to her kids that they should spread positivity among their friends.
“I also foster that positivity by encouraging them to give others compliments, especially other girls compliments. So if I see a girl in their class, I’m like, ‘Oh, she looks pretty, right?’ She’s like, ‘Yeah, I like her hair.’ I’m like, ‘I like her hair, too.’ So just kind of encouraging that, because it doesn’t matter what they look like. If you can find something positive about them then you’re also going to find something positive about you and then you’re gonna win.”
In a separate interview on Thursday, Williams talked to Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on Today with Hoda & Jenna about welcoming daughter Adira.
“The new baby is amazing. I have to say I am obsessed with her. Oh my gosh, she’s so yummy. She’s like the best, I love her,” Williams shared, adding that Olympia wanted to have a sister.
“So I was so happy when we had the opportunity to have another little girl,” she continued. “I have four sisters, I’m one of five. So I’m so used to girls.”
Kotb, 59, then asked Williams what it’s like having two children.
“Two is different, but I haven’t experienced it yet because they’re six years apart. So Olympia is in school most of the day and I get to hang out with the baby most of the day. And then when Olympia is home, I get to hang out with her,” she shared.
The retired tennis icon gave birth to Adira in August 2023, and she’s proud of how Olympia has embraced the newest addition to their family.
“She’s navigating it. She loves it,” Williams told ET in November 2023. “Adira’s, like, a tiny little baby, so Olympia just calls her her little sis.”
The mother of two received the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Fashion Icon Award in November 2023, and Olympia was in awe of her Thom Browne black sequin gown. However, Williams admitted she hated to leave her kids to receive the honor.
“I get kinda sad. I get mom guilt. Mom guilt is real and it’s crazy but it’s good — it’s OK, I deserve one night out,” she said at the time.
