Is Killing the Competition a True Story? Is Elizabeth Fenwick Based on a Real Person?

Lifetime’s ‘Killing the Competition’ is a thriller movie revolving around Elizabeth Fenwick, a mother whose affection for her daughter Grace turns into unedifying obsession when the latter fails to make it into the high school dance team. Subsequently, Elizabeth embarks on a crusade to ensure her daughter lives up to her expectations, regardless of the consequences of her overbearing attitude. However, her increasing toxicity only leads to her taking more and more desperate measures that border on unethical and criminal territory. As such, the Lee Gabiana directorial probes into the inner dynamics of a draconian mother-daughter relationship where the boundaries between accountability and interference are blurred, leading to catastrophic results that take some cues from reality.

Killing the Competition is Partly Inspired by Real-Life Cases of Overparenting Gone Wrong

‘Killing the Competition’ presents a dark and relatable tale of parental control blown out of proportion. The script was penned by Jane Espenson and Christina Welsh, inspired by real incidents while taking creative liberties with most of the characters and specific events. As such, the writers likely drew from the actual case it is based on while constructing the contextual drama surrounding the central thriller plot. However, the exact plot remains fictional, even though cases of overbearing parents spiraling out of control have happened in the past. In contemporary culture, parents can often be overzealous on the sideline, especially when their kids are involved in sports or athletic activities, which the Lifetime movie depicts quite accurately.

Lily Brooks O’Briant, who plays Grace, explained in an interview that she drew upon “real stories of teens dealing with extreme parental pressure” when depicting her character. Her story is a sad indictment of the immense pressure parents inadvertently put on their kids despite their best efforts to shine themselves. The actress looked at true-life cases of other kids in a similar situation to find an emotional foothold and to portray Grace’s indignation authentically. However, her mother’s disturbing obsession only derails her own confidence and makes her doubt herself. It highlights the need for trust in parent-child bonds and finding the ideal balance between demanding and loving.

A 2022 report mentioned a significant proportion of children end up quitting sports by age 13 because of the toxic environment created by parents who put an excessive amount of pressure on their kids. In the film, Elizabeth tries to vicariously live out her unfulfilled dreams by ensuring her daughter follows in her footsteps. However, in doing so, she only creates a rift in the relationship. It speaks to the narcissistic tendencies often depicted by some parents who unwittingly undermine their child’s confidence by taking too much responsibility in every facet of their life. Parental-child relationships are vital to a kid’s overall psychological and emotional growth as they enter adulthood. Thus, ‘Killing the Competition’ pulls on these true-life issues to craft a disturbing tale of kidnapping that can feel real despite being fictional in its specific details.

Elizabeth Fenwick is a Fictional Character With Vague Roots in Reality

As mentioned before, ‘Killing the Competition’ is inspired by true events, which mainly extends to its thematic context. However, the characters and events described are fictional, including Elizabeth Fenwick. While she does not exist in reality, she can be seen as a representation of parents who are unable to regulate their duties in a healthy manner and try to micromanage their kids at every opportunity. Melissa Joan Hart, who plays Elizabeth and also serves as executive producer, stated that she drew upon her own experiences as a mother of three sons while trying to understand the internal conflict raging within her character. She saw parallels between her interactions with her kids and Elizabeth’s conversations with Grace, which helped inform the drama more authentically.

The actress connected her situation with Elizabeth’s by explaining, “Women of my age, women in their 40s, are starting to go through a mid-life, perimenopause situation. You feather that in the lack of need from your child, who you’ve taken care of the moment you found out they were in your belly. Now you’ve got the right combination of total chaos.” She described the ordeal as a consequence of a parent watching their child moving away from them and requiring their assistance less and less every day. Hart also mentioned that ‘Killing the Competition’ was largely drafted as a true-crime drama, which added a few more challenges when portraying the character, like maintaining a level of seriousness despite some exaggerated elements that can come off as amusing at times.

Elizabeth can be seen as a woman struggling to gain control over any part of her life. The character largely exists in a vacuum and cannot be found in reality. However, parents like her who have a skewed vision of their children’s needs do exist in reality and can often turn the lives of their kids into a nightmare. As such, she presents a cautionary tale of learning the pitfalls of overparenting and stepping back to assess the situation when things get too overwrought with complexity and drama. Still, she remains a fictional character primarily rooted in the imagination of the writers.