Oracene Price, Serena Williams’ mother is an American tennis coach whose professional career lasted 9 years (1994-2003). Although Oracene is rightly reckoned as a coaching pro, she is more recognized as the mother of Serena Williams, an American professional tennis player who was ranked world number 1 in singles by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
More so, the 72-year-old has been married twice all her life and she is currently a mother of 5 girls including popular tennis players, Serena and Venus Williams.
Engrossing Details about Oracene Price
1. She was Born in Saginaw, Michigan
Oracene Price was born on April 3, 1952, in Saginaw, Michigan.
Not much is known about her early childhood except that she attended Buena Vista High School and graduated in 1970. She also is known to have attended Western Michigan University.
2. Price Had 3 Children from Her First Marriage and 2 From Her Second
Price has been married twice in her lifetime. Her first marriage was to Yusef Rasheed. The couple got married in 1972 and stayed together for 7 years until Yusef died in 1979 of a heart attack. However, the couple had 3 children together; Yetunde Price (1972-2003), Isha Price (born 1974), and Lyndrea Price (born 1978).
After the death of Price’s first husband, she married Richard Williams in 1980. The couple’s meeting is believed to have had something to do with tennis since they both love the game.
Price and Richard’s marriage was blessed with two daughters; Venus Williams (born 17 June 1980) and Serena Williams (born 26 September 1981).
The couple, however, got divorced in 2002 citing irreconcilable differences. Nonetheless, Price and her former husband have continued to remain jointly supportive of their daughters despite their separation.
After the split, Richard married Lakeisha Juanita Graham in 2010 but Price remained unmarried to date.
3. Oracene Price and Her Ex-Husband Coached their Daughters in Tennis
Price and her ex-husband Richard notably made their coaching career debut in 1994 and they coached their daughters Venus Williams and Serena Williams for the better part of their coaching career.
The estranged couple decided their daughters were going to be professionals after seeing Virginia Ruzici playing on T.V. Richard wrote an 85-page plan and started giving tennis lessons to Venus and Serena at a very young age.
Richard and Oracene worked very hard on their girls that they began to win grand slam tournaments when they began to play pro.
Oracene and Richard have won multiple tournaments with their daughter Serena Willams and with the William sisters. Below is a quick list of some of their important victories.
- Career Golden Slam – (singles with Serena)
- 7 times Australian Open – (with Serena)
- 3 times French Open – (with Serena)
- 12 times Wimbledon – (with William sisters)
- 8 times U.S Open – (with William sisters)
- 2 times Olympic gold medal – (with William sisters)
- 6 times WTA Tour Champions – (with William sisters)
- 28 times WTA Tier I/Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 -(with William sisters)
- Career Golden Slam – Doubles – (with William sisters)
- 4 times Australian Open – (with William sisters)
- 2 times French Open – (with William sisters)
- 6 times Wimbledon (with William sisters)
- 2 times US Open – (with William sisters)
- 3 times Olympic gold medal Fed Cup champions (with William sisters)
- 2 times Hopman Cup (with Serena)
4. Oracene Home-schooled Her Children with Richard Williams
The celebrity mother has said that she took time to homeschool her children; Serena and her sister from elementary through high school so that they could have more time to practice tennis.
Her estranged husband has also said that homeschooling gave his girls the opportunity to train for several hours every day until they were ready to attend public high schools.
5. Her First Daughter was Shot Dead Near a Crack House in 2003
Price’s first daughter, Yetunde was murdered on September 14, 2003, at age 33. Her death happened while she was chatting with her boyfriend, Rolland Wormley, in her SUV which was parked near a crack house in Compton, California.
She was shot in the head by members of the Southside Compton Crips street gang, who were guarding the crack house. The gang perceived Yetunde to be a member of a rival gang, Lime Hood Piru. After she was shot, her boyfriend drove her to a relative’s home, where he called emergency service.
However, Yetunde was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital. It was agreed in the trial that Yetunde was an innocent victim passing through the area.
13 years later, her sisters opened the Yetunde Price Community Center, a community center in Compton for victims of violence and their families.
Before her death, Yetunde was a mother of 3 who worked as a personal assistant and personal nurse to her sisters, Serena, and Venus Williams.
SEE ALSO: Lyndrea Price Is Serena Williams’ Sister Also A Tennis Star? 10 Facts About Her
6. Her Daughter Serena Williams Officially Retired from Tennis in September 2022
Prices’ daughter Serena Williams retired from tennis in September 2022.
Before her retirement, she was widely considered one of the greatest women’s tennis players of all time since after making her professional debut in 1995.
In her retirement speech, Serena said she was evolving away from tennis toward other things that are important to her. According to Serena, she initially dislike the word retirement and preferred evolution.
7. Price’ Family’s Story Was Narrated in the Movie King Richard
Oracene Price’s family was the inspiration behind King Richard 2021. The movie is an American biographical sports drama that starred actors like Will Smith as Richard Williams and Aujanue Ellis as Oracene Price.
The movie is a glimpse of how Price and Richard became instrumental in shaping their daughter’s athletic careers.
Oracene said in a youtube interview that she was impressed with the movie and how Ellis portrayed her for who she was in the movie.
The movie premiered at the 48th Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2021, and was theatrically released on November 19 2021 by Warner Bros Pictures and the HBO Max streaming service.
The movie was named one of the best films of 2021 by the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review. It also earned 6 nominations at the 94th Grammy Awards. More so, for his performance in the movie, Will Smith won multiple awards including the Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award.
8. She Describes Herself as a Deeply Spiritual Woman
The 72-years-old celebrity mother has described herself as a deeply spiritual woman and a devout follower of the Jehovah’s Witness faith. She also believes that the biggest influence on her daughters has been stability, faith, and discipline.
9. Price Does Charity Alongside Her Daughter Serena
Oracene has confirmed that she does charity with her daughter Serena. The duo said they are committed to helping less privileged kids, especially in African countries to be in school. They have had charity tours in Kenya, South Africa, and Senegal to build schools.
10. How Rich is Oracene Price?
Serena Williams’ mother is generally reported to have a net worth of $1.5 million. This is ultimately tied to her coaching career with her daughters which lasted for 9 years.
More than her coaching career, being the mother of the world’s No. 1 singles tennis player will justifiably set her up as a rich woman too. Her daughter has prize money of US$94,588,910 and a total net worth of $250 million according to celebrity net worth.
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