5 facts you didn't know about Steph Curry's mom, Sonya Curry

Steph Curry was born in March 14, 1988 in Akron, Ohio to parents Dell and Sonya Curry. The Golden State Warriors superstar was the eldest child and had two other siblings.

Seth Curry also plays in the NBA, currently for the Brooklyn Nets, while Sydel Curry was a collegiate volleyball player at Elon University. She's married to Phoenix Suns guard Damion Lee.

Sonya was born in May 30, 1966 and grew up in Radford, Virginia. She was a student athlete at Virginia Tech, where she met her future ex-husband Dell. These are just some facts about Steph's mom, but here are some you didn't know.

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5 facts you didn't know about Sonya Curry

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1. Racism was rampant in Virgnia when she was growing up

Sonya Curry with her siblings. (Photo: Sonya Curry/Instagram)

Sonya Curry was born and raised in Radford, Virginia. She and her three siblings, India, Rissa and Cleive Jr., grew up in poverty. Their parents, Cleive Sr. and Candy Adams, did enough to provide for their children while living in a trailer home in a predominantly white area.

Racism was rampant in Virginia at the time and Sonya experienced it first hand. She used sports to combat racism, but it got out of hand. There was even an incident during her high school softball game wherein a Ku Klux Klan member burned a cross before the first pitch.

"The game was getting ready to start," Sonya told Andscape. "And then all of the sudden out in the field a guy in white garb from the Ku Klux Klan on a white horse rode across the outfield and lit the cross right when the game was about to start."

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2. Sonya Curry has an education degree

Sonya Curry playing volleyball at Virginia Tech. (Photo: Virginia Tech Volleyball/Twitter)

As mentioned earlier, Sonya Curry was a student athlete at Virginia Tech. She primarily played volleyball, but was also involved in track and field, and basketball. She studied education and earned her degree in 1987.

Curry became an educator and later founded the Christian Montessori School of Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina, in 1995. She continues to serve as the school's president to this day.

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3. Steph Curry and his siblings knew they were privileged because their mother told them

Seth, Dell and Steph Curry

At an early age, Sonya Curry taught her children about privilege and explained to them how lucky they were growing up. Sonya would tell stories about her experiences with racism in Radford.

"I understand that there was stuff going on and stuff that she dealt with on a daily basis in Radford that were necessary for us to understand," Steph told Andscape. "Even though we were brought up in a different space, I never had to live it, per se, but I definitely understood. You could see it in her eyes when she talked about it."

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4. Sonya and Dell Curry were married for 33 years

Dell, Sonya and Ayesha Curry

Dell Curry met Sonya Adams when they were student athletes in Virginia Tech. They were married in 1988 and had Steph Curry that same year. The couple's relationship lasted for 33 years before Sonya filed for divorce in North Carolina back in 2021.

"After exploring a trial separation over the past year and much thoughtful consideration, we have decided to end our marriage," Dell and Sonya said in a statement. "As this comes with a great deal of sadness, our focus and desire is for our family's continued happiness." (h/t PEOPLE Magazine)

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5. Sonya Curry almost didn't have Steph Curry

Steph Curry with his mom, Sonya.

Sonya Curry revealed in her tell-all memoir Fierce Love published in May last year that she had an abortion before she had her first child. She also noted that she thought about ending a second pregnancy that turned out to be Steph Curry.

The 56-year-old grandmother of six explained that her history helped shape her motherhood and accepted her fate as a mother. She would go on to have two more kids in Seth and Sydel Curry.

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