Venus Williams

Venus Ebony Starr Williams was born June 17, 1980 in Lynwood, CA. Her family moved to West Palm beach when she was ten so that she and her sister Serena could attend the tennis academy of Rick Macci. Williams' father had taken his daughters to national junior tennis tournaments, but when she was 11 years-old, he decided to stop sending both girls so they could take it slow and focus on school work. At the time that decision was made, Williams held a 63–0 record on the United States Tennis Association junior tour and was ranked No. 1 among the under-12 players in Southern California. Williams turned professional on October 31, 1994, at the age of fourteen.

Williams has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate occasions, the first time on February 25, 2002, becoming the first American black woman to achieve this feat during the Open Era. Her seven Grand Slam singles titles tie her for seventh on the all time list, and is more than any other active female player except for her younger sister Serena. Her five Wimbledon singles titles tie her with two other women for eighth place on the all-time list. Williams has won four Olympic gold medals, one in singles and three in women's doubles. She and her sister Serena have won more Olympic gold medals than any other female tennis players. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Williams became only the second player to win Olympic gold medals in both singles and doubles at the same Olympic Games, after Helen Wills Moody in 1924.

In late June 2010, Venus Williams released her first book, titled "Come to Win; on How Sports Can Help You Top Your Profession", which she co-wrote with Kelly E. Carter.The book hit the top 5 The New York Times Best Seller List. In 2011, Williams was forced to withdraw from the US Open before her second-round match, after she was diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome. After that, she adopted a vegan diet.