Catching Up With the Currys: The Busiest Couple in Basketball Is Ready to Conquer Hollywood

Stephen Curry changed the NBA (and won four championships) with a signature style of play: explosive three-point shots with lightning-fast release from seemingly anywhere on the court. But when it came time to make an impact off the court with their Eat.Learn.Play. Foundation, he and wife Ayesha Curry — who met as teenagers at their North Carolina church — took the opposite approach: slow and methodical, with the goal of making a difference at one specific place on the map.

“We always knew we wanted to do something in the Oakland community,” explains Ayesha of staying close to Stephen’s — and, yes, she calls him Stephen, not Steph, as the rest of the world seems to — onetime home base with the Golden State Warriors. “And we spent 10-plus years doing a deep dive on what that could look like and how we could make the most impact.”

Launched in 2019, Eat.Learn.Play. embraces a “whole child, whole school” approach through the three pillars that inspired its name: access to nutritious meals, quality reading resources and opportunities to be active. Over the course of the past seven years, the nonprofit has invested more than $100 million in resources and support for Oakland students, covering 35 million meals for kids and families experiencing food insecurity, $20 million for literacy programs and resources, more than 1 million new books, and the overhaul of 24 schoolyards and six gyms. The Currys also opened their wallet — and kept it open — by funding all operating costs so that 100 percent of donations go directly to supporting Oakland students.

Their philanthropic work comes on top of his rigorous training and NBA schedule, the pressures of raising four kids — daughters Riley and Ryan, and sons Canon and Caius — and the demands of building multipronged business and entertainment careers.

Stephen has built out Unanimous Media, a full-service production company that covers film, TV, podcasting and publishing projects under a deal at Comcast NBCUniversal. He’s jumped in front of the camera to star in Peacock’s mockumentary comedy Mr. Throwback and behind it to co-direct the documentary short The Baddest Speechwriter of All, about Martin Luther King Jr. confidant Clarence B. Jones, which was acquired by Netflix after it won a grand jury prize at Sundance.

Together, they lent their voices to Sony’s animated GOAT, which he also produced, while she returned to acting — a passion she first pursued as a teenager in L.A. — by appearing opposite Lindsay Lohan in Netflix’s Irish Wish and starring in the forthcoming rom-com Second Chance Holiday for Roku. Offscreen, Ayesha became a lifestyle mogul by launching Sweet July, which encompasses a skin care brand (available at Ulta Beauty) and cafes (including a Santa Monica location).

In a joint Zoom interview, they talk about their wins (the animated GOAT grossing nearly $200 million), the losses (Mr. Throwback being canceled after a short stint) and what’s next (“one more” championship, says Ayesha). But no matter what happens on the court, they say that their legacy (even if they don’t love tackling that concept prematurely) will be defined by how many lives they touch with the work of Eat.Learn.Play.

“When I’m on the court, I want people to enjoy the way that I played,” Stephen says. “I want them to feel something and be inspired to achieve greatness in whatever they decide to do. Family-wise, we want to have a cohort of hopefully thousands of kids whose lives have been impacted because of the work that we’ve done. We don’t need a parade for that. It’s who we are.”

How would you describe yourrespective roles in building out Eat.Learn.Play.? What does each of you bring tothe table?

AYESHA CURRY I feel like I’m the big-ideas girl. I always have big, loud ideas that I want to accomplish now — or yesterday. The hardest thing for me, personally, has been reeling back a bit to come to the understanding that baby steps are important.

STEPHEN CURRY I try to be the connector, especially when we’re reaching out to our network. We’re building a family, in a sense, of people who, again, believe in our mission and want to commit time and resources, whether that be financial or otherwise.

What have been some of the biggest challenges along the way?

STEPHEN It’s always a hard thing once you have a little bit of success with something. It leads to more inbound: “Hey, why don’t y’all take the mission to other parts of the country?” To Ayesha’s point, baby steps are important to really solidify and get data on the impact that we’re having so that we can create the model. Patience is important, even though it can be tough to say no to amazing opportunities.

Has there been a moment that crystallized the impact of the work you do?

AYESHA At one of our first playground builds, final touches were being done and the kids were brought out for a little ceremony to celebrate the opening of the playground, the outdoor learning center and the gardens. The kids were celebrating, but one little girl came out a little hysterical. As she was being consoled, everyone was wondering what was wrong. She asked, “Where are we going to school now?” It took a minute to realize that she asked because she thought other kids were going to come in and use that space. She didn’t think that she was deserving of a new space. That, for me, was a very foundational moment of realizing that these kids deserve better. They shouldn’t feel like it’s a present. This should be the expectation and the standard of what they deserve. It was a huge eye-opening moment.

If we got together in 10 years for an update on Eat.Learn.Play., what is the headline?

STEPHEN The headline would be that we’ve transformed the school experience for a generation of kids. A click down, hopefully, would be that we’ve lessened the literacy gap in underserved minority communities in Oakland. With the tutoring programs we’ve implemented over the past year and a half, there’s strong data to support that high-level, one-on-one tutoring is working because we’re meeting kids where they are. The third-grade reading-level milestone is a big target for us in early childhood literacy. If we can see our graduation rates increase within the Oakland Unified School District, that alone is success because you’re talking about changing lives because of opportunity.

We would also love to see middle-school sports participation increase because it’s been in crazy decline for a long time. We’re making a big investment there because we know what sports teaches kids about life skills and the ability to connect with classmates.

President Trump has worked to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. The NEA said that already has impacted underserved communities like Oakland. Do you feel a responsibility to fight these changes?

AYESHA We’ve done our fair share of lobbying and advocating in Congress. During the pandemic, a lot of food funding for school lunch programs was going to be erased. We testified to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the next day we heard that the funding was going to be there. Soon, you will hopefully see us working more in Congress and testifying to different needs.

Unfortunately, I don’t foresee anything happening [right now] just because there’s some permanent red tape, it seems, from people we see on a daily basis on our TVs, but what we’re doing right now is behind-the-scenes work so that in a couple of years we will be able to come in hot with our asks.

You two have emerged as the people whom other top athletes are watching to see how it’s done. What impact have you seen among players and families?

AYESHA Correct me if I’m wrong, Stephen, but I think we see it most with a lot of the younger guys. They’re so eager and willing to come and support anything that Stephen is doing. We had Trayce Jackson-Davis come out and be Santa Claus for us with the kids. Those little moments are so impactful as a passing of the torch, but it’s also cool to watch.

STEPHEN Will Richard came out last year to our food drive at Alameda County Community Food Bank. He came for three hours and helped bag fresh produce and vegetables for families. Moses Moody has come out to a bunch of events. I get to pay it forward and go to Arkansas at the end of the month to see what he’s doing at home and be a part of his foundation for a day or two. Leaguewide, it’s a very active era. Everybody has a specific interest, and it’s not necessarily a copy-and-paste of what Eat.Learn.Play. is doing. I see so many programs, whether it’s education, after-school initiatives, gun-violence prevention or anything to keep kids on the straight and narrow. JaVale McGee is doing a fresh-wells project in Africa through his Juglife Foundation. There are so many examples of crossover and finding ways to support each other. It is contagious. You need everyone to play their specific role, and that might just mean making a difference in the community that you grew up in. Presence matters.

Beyond philanthropy, you’re both making a mark in business and Hollywood. With all that you do, I’m surprised we got the two of you together at the same time.

STEPHEN It’s absolutely crazy. The thrive-in-chaos lifestyle is a real thing. I have nine months of my year completely scheduled with 82 games in pursuit of winning championships. It’s a lot of sacrifice for her. We have four kids, and that’s a lot of responsibility. We asked for it, and it’s not a complaint. But I made one of the dumbest comments in probably my third or fourth year in the league when we were experiencing our first moment of being overwhelmed. I said, “Well, this summer’s crazy, but next summer is going to be way more chill. It’s going to be super quiet and you’re going to have the whole summer. We’ll go wherever you want.” I really meant it and believed it at the time. Every summer since has been 10 times crazier.

But it’s the growing in life together that we enjoy. And there are amazing opportunities. What are we complaining about?

What are some of those opportunities you never expected?

STEPHEN Most things in Hollywood. I never thought I’d act in any show, even if it was a parody of myself. I never thought I’d have a media company. I never thought I’d host the ESPYs. Everything that I do that I have fun with, I never thought that I’d be able to do. When I was grinding to be the best basketball player I could be, I never thought doors would open. Ayesha grew up acting and in that space. It’s weird when I show up and say, “Hey, there’s this new concept for me to play myself in a scripted show called Mr. Throwback.”

I also never thought I would be on the team to help bring Dr. Clarence Jones’ story to life at that stage in his life before he passed away. None of that was ever on my radar. But God has a very funny sense of humor.

I loved Mr. Throwback. You were so great and such a natural. I’m mad it got canceled.

STEPHEN Me too. We still have the IP, and hopefully we find another home for it down the road. I’m still mad at NBC because they wanted to go buy the NBA rights and maybe we lost a little bit of the budget, but who knows?

What did you learn from the experience of co-directing the documentary on Clarence Jones?

STEPHEN We know what [Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.] committed his life to doing and how impactful his voice was, and what the experience illuminated for me was how it takes a team around you to accomplish anything great. Dr. Clarence was his right-hand man. He wanted to be behind the scenes, and you need people like that. I don’t think he was pressed that it took 86 years for his story to finally be told. That level of sacrifice is incredible.

Ayesha, this is a big moment for you. You have a new romantic comedy, Second Chance Holiday, set to premiere on Roku this holiday season. It’s your first lead in a film. What does this moment mean to you?

AYESHA Gosh, honestly, it’s such a big moment for me, personally. It’s a rom-com, so of course it’s silly and playful. That’s fine. But for me, it was my first No. 1 on the call sheet for a movie. Stephen was like, “You go and do it. I got this.” I actually got to see a bunch of footage yesterday, and it made me think, “Wow, I did it.” It’s my ultimate dream. I love acting so much, whether it’s in the theater or on film. But now I have the bug. I’m like, “What are we going to do next?” Ryan Murphy, I’m here. Do you needme?

Stephen, what else are you itching to do with Unanimous?

STEPHEN The next step is hopefully getting to a point where we can fund our own projects from the jump to take more big swings. GOAT was awesome. It was a real labor of love. So GOAT 2 is hopefully coming soon.

Being that you were sidelined a little bit last year by injury, does it change your fire or preparation heading into a new season?

STEPHEN It does. But it also adds to the understanding of basketball mortality and the fact that I won’t be able to play forever. You don’t dwell on it, but it changes the intentionality. It gives me a sense of urgency about trying to get the most out of what’s left. I have to train differently. My body is different at 38 than it was even five years ago. I try to work smarter when it comes to everything that I do. I still want to be the hardest-working guy in the room and try to live on that. Whatever happens, it all takes care of itself on the court. When I get back into the season, that’s the fun part.

AYESHA I just know you have one more chip in you. I tell him this every other week. One more.

Read more about the Philanthropists of the Year:
– Michael J. Fox: Getting Back to Acting “Really Prolonged My Life”
– John Mayer on Why He Keeps Quietly Funding Brain Research Studies

This story appeared in the July 22 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.