Serena Williams says her 7-year-old daughter, Olympia, fangirls over Taylor Swift rather than Disney princesses.
While interviewing Williams, 42, at the INBOUND conference on Thursday, September 19, journalist Kara Swisher asked the retired tennis great if Olympia was interested in Frozen.
“She’s not into princesses, she’s into Taylor Swift,” Williams said, adding, “I am, too.”
Williams shares Olympia and daughter Adira River, 1, with husband Alexis Ohanian, a tech entrepreneur and founder of the online forum Reddit.
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Williams told Swisher, 61, that she is wary about her daughters growing up in a “scary world. It’s a digital world for kids right now. I’m always on with my daughter, but we don’t allow her on certain platforms.”
She continued, “It’s so interesting that with everything available online and the access that kids have — in a second, you never know what can come to them.”
But, she added, “I’m trying to think positively. I feel like we might try to take it slow with her and go a little bit slower with electronics, and just let her be a kid for as long as you can.”
When Swisher solicited parenting advice from her, Williams joked, “Parenting advice? Please give it to me, thank you very much.”
She then offered her tips: “Just show up. Wake up. That’s all I do. And I could barely wake up today!”
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Williams explained that parents don’t “have to be winning Wimbledon or winning a gold medal to be a champion.” As she put it, “a champion really is just being there for your kids.”
She recalled returning home after her flight was delayed and making lunch for her kids. “I knew that I wouldn’t be there to see them eat it, but I knew I made it, and that made me feel good. And I tell you, that made me feel like a champion mom.”
In July, Williams and Ohanian, 41, took Olympia to the Paris Olympics, where Williams was one of the final torchbearers, arriving at the Olympic cauldron alongside Rafael Nadal, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comăneci. At the time, Olympia informed a reporter that she was looking forward to “every one of” the athletic events.
