Most people are familiar with Serena Williams as a tennis legend and fashion queen, but Melinda French Gates recently shared how Williams helped her love her own body.
During a touching conversation captured in a season 2 episode of her Moments That Make Us YouTube series, the 60-year-old philanthropist thanked the tennis player for boosting her confidence. She started the first season in honor of her 60th birthday.
Season 1 featured powerful interviews with influential figures of all ages, including Michelle Obama, Megan Rapinoe, Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, and Gayle King, who openly discussed some of their most significant personal transformations.
In the most recent episode, French Gates told how she first met Williams at a dinner where attendees were asked to dress up in costumes before joining the “joyful” event. However, the clothes were provided and limited in sizes.
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The mother of three reminded the 43-year-old athlete, “You and I are looking at the costumes, and we both come in late.” “I’m looking at these costumes and I’m thinking to myself, ‘There is no way one of these is going to fit in my hips’. And I said it out loud.”
The billionaire activist recalled, “You said, ‘And you think one of them is going to fit me!'”
“I just went, ‘Oh my God. Here’s somebody who’s so real in our bodies to celebrate who we are,” French Gates remembered thinking at the time, noting that she told Williams her positive realization that night.
According to French Gates, she “didn’t follow tennis that much,” but the “one time” she did see Williams play, she was mesmerized by the athlete’s confidence and strength.
“I happened to sit behind you [at the match] and I thought, ‘There is a woman who is so strong in her body… Why are we not all celebrating our bodies?’ And it gave me the confidence to do that,” the philanthropist said.
Williams replied, “Super wow. Thank you for saying that.”
The tennis player also remembered complimenting French Gates’ figure at the party while they were experimenting with costumes that night.
“I looked at you. I said, ‘Oh, you got body!'” Williams reminded her in the episode, which caused the two to smile.
French Gates added, “You made me feel much better about it.”
Williams emphasized, “You got a nice body!” She told her, “I’m like, ‘Sis, where do you get that from?’ “
“I loved it, I loved it,” French Gates replied.
French Gates described the “sweet” encounter she had with Williams and the uplifting moment they shared at the event in an exclusive interview with People.
“That is something that we connected over the first time we met,” she said. “We were at dinner together with a group of women the night before, and then I saw her the next day. Same group of women, but a different setting.”
“It was just one of those vulnerable moments… Everybody else was in these costumes and there was one that fit everybody,” French Gates continued. “I think most women don’t realize that all of us struggle with some form of body issue. You might not like your arms or your legs or your hips or whatever.”
“And here she is just this incredibly strong, powerful woman on the court,” she gushed of Williams.
William has been acknowledged for her influence on fashion. She studied fashion design at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. She became the first athlete to be recognized as a fashion icon by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in 2023.
The tennis legend also recently established a children’s clothing line.
She told Essence at the time, “I’ve designed in different spaces before, but creating a children’s line felt really personal. Becoming a mom changed my perspective on fashion—I wanted to design something that reflects the joy, energy, and love that comes with this stage of life.”
