# Sonya Curry
**Sonya Curry** (born Sonya Alicia Adams) is an American educator and school founder, known as the mother of NBA players Stephen and [Seth Curry](https://www.edgepedia.org/seth-curry) and of volleyball player and content creator Sydel Curry-Lee, and as the founder and head of school of the Christian Montessori School at [Lake Norman](https://www.edgepedia.org/lake-norman) in Huntersville, North Carolina[1](https://paperzz.com/doc/7654639/nothing-but-net---american-montessori-society) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4931408/bio/). She is also the author of the 2022 memoir *Fierce Love: A Memoir of Family, Faith, and Purpose*[3](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sonya-curry/fierce-love-family-faith/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Sonya Alicia Adams[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4931408/bio/) |
| Hometown | Radford, Virginia, where her family lived in a trailer home in a poor African-American community[4](https://andscape.com/features/sonya-curry-stephen-curry-mother-turns-experiences-with-racism-into-lessons-for-her-children/) |
| College | First in her family to attend college; Virginia Tech, degree in education, standout volleyball player[5](https://www.caa.com/caaspeakers/sonya-curry/) • [4](https://andscape.com/features/sonya-curry-stephen-curry-mother-turns-experiences-with-racism-into-lessons-for-her-children/) |
| Marriage | Married basketball player Dell Curry in 1988; three children, Stephen, Seth, and Sydel[4](https://andscape.com/features/sonya-curry-stephen-curry-mother-turns-experiences-with-racism-into-lessons-for-her-children/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4931408/bio/) |
| School | Founder and head of school, Christian Montessori School at Lake Norman, Huntersville, North Carolina; all three of her children attended until sixth grade[1](https://paperzz.com/doc/7654639/nothing-but-net---american-montessori-society) |
| Memoir | *Fierce Love: A Memoir of Family, Faith, and Purpose*, released May 3, 2022[3](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sonya-curry/fierce-love-family-faith/) |
| Credentials | Montessori administration training; North Carolina Early Childhood and Administration Credentials[6](https://nabainc.org/reports/IN23_SourceBook_R03.pdf) |
## Early life in Radford
Curry grew up in Radford, Virginia, a small city more than 150 miles north of Charlotte, in a poor African-American community where her family lived in a trailer home[4](https://andscape.com/features/sonya-curry-stephen-curry-mother-turns-experiences-with-racism-into-lessons-for-her-children/). Her mother, Candy Adams, walked about 5 miles as a child to the closest all-black school in nearby Christiansburg in the 1950s and 1960s, and was a junior in high school when she took part in the first desegregated class at Radford High[4](https://andscape.com/features/sonya-curry-stephen-curry-mother-turns-experiences-with-racism-into-lessons-for-her-children/).
Curry has described learning early that "racism is real." At age 11, while keeping score at a championship game for a women's softball league in Radford, she saw a Ku Klux Klansman in white garb ride a white horse across the outfield and light a cross before the game; her mother's all-black team and the all-white opposing team ended up in a fistfight and the game was never finished[4](https://andscape.com/features/sonya-curry-stephen-curry-mother-turns-experiences-with-racism-into-lessons-for-her-children/). Radford High was "less than 1 percent black" when she attended, and she has said her athletic talent shielded her from racism there: "I had to be the best to force them to play with me"[4](https://andscape.com/features/sonya-curry-stephen-curry-mother-turns-experiences-with-racism-into-lessons-for-her-children/).
**A three-sport athlete.** Starting volleyball for Radford High in eighth grade, she captained the school to a Virginia AA title in her senior year, helped the girls' basketball squad capture a pair of state championships, and reached the state level both in the 400-meter hurdles and as a relay runner[4](https://andscape.com/features/sonya-curry-stephen-curry-mother-turns-experiences-with-racism-into-lessons-for-her-children/).
## Education and marriage
To become the first college student in her family, Curry took the same classes as the top white students at Radford High, a strategy she described as her own personal competition, and it led to her acceptance at [Virginia Tech](https://www.edgepedia.org/virginia-tech) as a student and volleyball player[4](https://andscape.com/features/sonya-curry-stephen-curry-mother-turns-experiences-with-racism-into-lessons-for-her-children/). She graduated with a degree in education[5](https://www.caa.com/caaspeakers/sonya-curry/).
At Virginia Tech she met [Dell Curry](https://www.edgepedia.org/dell-curry), a four-year starter on the Hokies' men's basketball team who went on to a 16-year NBA career, much of it with the [Charlotte Hornets](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlotte-hornets)[4](https://andscape.com/features/sonya-curry-stephen-curry-mother-turns-experiences-with-racism-into-lessons-for-her-children/) • [7](https://time.com/4157580/stephen-curry-and-the-greatest-show-on-earth/). The couple married in 1988, and their first son, Stephen, was born in [Akron, Ohio](https://www.edgepedia.org/akron-ohio), while Dell played for the Cleveland Cavaliers[4](https://andscape.com/features/sonya-curry-stephen-curry-mother-turns-experiences-with-racism-into-lessons-for-her-children/). The family moved to Charlotte in 1988 when Dell joined the Hornets[1](https://paperzz.com/doc/7654639/nothing-but-net---american-montessori-society). IMDb records the marriage as lasting from August 27, 1988, with a divorce filed on August 23, 2021[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4931408/bio/).
## Montessori school
Curry's background is in elementary education, and after moving to Charlotte she taught her son Stephen at home before he entered a church preschool[1](https://paperzz.com/doc/7654639/nothing-but-net---american-montessori-society). She went on to found the Christian Montessori School at Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina, where she served as head of school; all three of her children attended the school until sixth grade[1](https://paperzz.com/doc/7654639/nothing-but-net---american-montessori-society). The curriculum combines [Montessori education](https://www.edgepedia.org/montessori-education), a child-centered method developed in Italy more than 100 years ago by Dr. [Maria Montessori](https://www.edgepedia.org/maria-montessori), with what Curry describes as "a working knowledge of all academic disciplines rooted in Biblical truth"[8](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nba-sensation-stephen-curry-says-montessori-education-a-key-to-his-success-229710251.html) • [9](https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/sonya-curry-book/).
She has completed hours of training in Montessori administration and earned the North Carolina Early Childhood and Administration Credentials[6](https://nabainc.org/reports/IN23_SourceBook_R03.pdf). [Stephen Curry](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-curry) has credited the Montessori approach in a video for the American Montessori Society, saying "Montessori has helped me become the person that I am today"[8](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nba-sensation-stephen-curry-says-montessori-education-a-key-to-his-success-229710251.html).
## Public profile and memoir
Curry became a familiar courtside presence at [Golden State Warriors](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-state-warriors) games, and her demonstrative support of her children made her a sports media figure in her own right[1](https://paperzz.com/doc/7654639/nothing-but-net---american-montessori-society) • [9](https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/sonya-curry-book/). At the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte, where the Curry family served as official hosts, she hit a half-court underhand shot during a shooting competition, a shot she developed a couple of days earlier while practicing; her husband has said numerous times that she is the best athlete in the family[4](https://andscape.com/features/sonya-curry-stephen-curry-mother-turns-experiences-with-racism-into-lessons-for-her-children/).
In May 2022 she published her first book, *Fierce Love: A Memoir of Family, Faith, and Purpose*, which traces her childhood in rural Virginia, her faith, the raising of her three children, and the founding of her Montessori school[3](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sonya-curry/fierce-love-family-faith/) • [5](https://www.caa.com/caaspeakers/sonya-curry/). She has said the idea grew over about a decade as fans repeatedly complimented her children, and that she was reluctant until, in her account, she felt called to share how God had worked in their lives[9](https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/sonya-curry-book/). She has since appeared on the TV show *Raising Fame* and speaks publicly on parenting, education, and faith; she is a member of the NBA Moms Organization[10](https://www.essence.com/beauty/sonya-curry-beauty-routine-motherhood-fierce-love/) • [5](https://www.caa.com/caaspeakers/sonya-curry/).
## Family
Her three children all became athletes. Stephen Curry is a four-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player with the Golden State Warriors; Seth Curry has had a long NBA career, including starring at [Duke University](https://www.edgepedia.org/duke-university); and Sydel Curry-Lee played Division I volleyball at [Elon University](https://www.edgepedia.org/elon-university) and became a content creator[4](https://andscape.com/features/sonya-curry-stephen-curry-mother-turns-experiences-with-racism-into-lessons-for-her-children/) • [1](https://paperzz.com/doc/7654639/nothing-but-net---american-montessori-society) • [10](https://www.essence.com/beauty/sonya-curry-beauty-routine-motherhood-fierce-love/). Curry has eight grandchildren[10](https://www.essence.com/beauty/sonya-curry-beauty-routine-motherhood-fierce-love/).
## References
1. [Nothing but Net, American Montessori Society / Montessori Life Winter 2013–14](https://paperzz.com/doc/7654639/nothing-but-net---american-montessori-society)
2. [Sonya Curry Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4931408/bio/)
3. [Fierce Love, Kirkus Reviews](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sonya-curry/fierce-love-family-faith/)
4. [Sonya Curry turns experiences with racism into lessons for her children, Andscape (Marc J. Spears, February 18, 2019)](https://andscape.com/features/sonya-curry-stephen-curry-mother-turns-experiences-with-racism-into-lessons-for-her-children/)
5. [Sonya Curry, CAA Speakers](https://www.caa.com/caaspeakers/sonya-curry/)
6. [NBA Business Alliance Source Book, Sonya Curry profile](https://nabainc.org/reports/IN23_SourceBook_R03.pdf)
7. [Stephen Curry and the Greatest Show on Earth, TIME (December 21, 2015)](https://time.com/4157580/stephen-curry-and-the-greatest-show-on-earth/)
8. [NBA Sensation Stephen Curry Says Montessori Education a Key to His Success, PR Newswire (October 29, 2013)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nba-sensation-stephen-curry-says-montessori-education-a-key-to-his-success-229710251.html)
9. [Sonya Curry Shares How She Raised Three Superstar Kids In New Memoir, Essence](https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/sonya-curry-book/)
10. [For Sonya Curry, Motherhood Is All About Fierce Love, Essence](https://www.essence.com/beauty/sonya-curry-beauty-routine-motherhood-fierce-love/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › Basketball players and coaches (biographies)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license