Inside the life and career of Serena Williams, who has 23 Grand Slam titles and a net worth of $27 million
Williams was born in 1981, the youngest of Richard and Oracene Williams' five daughters.
She was born in Saginaw, Michigan, but her family soon relocated to the Compton area of Los Angeles.
Of course, one of her sisters is the equally legendary tennis champ Venus Williams.
Their father was formerly a Louisiana sharecropper and wanted his daughters to have a better life than he did. So he began training Serena and Venus in tennis at a very young age, based on information he’d gathered from videos and books.
By 1991, Serena Williams was ranked No. 1 in the 10-and-under division on the junior United States Tennis Association tour.
Although Serena and Venus were doing well, Richard relocated his family to Florida so that his girls could get better instruction and rise to the professional level.
Williams turned pro in 1995 and rose 205 spots in the world rankings in just one year.
She drew attention for her powerful playing style and fierce athleticism. Soon, she graduated from high school and signed a $13 million deal with Puma. In 2000, she and Venus won gold medals in the doubles event at the Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
She won the French Open, the U.S. Open, and Wimbledon in 2002 – beating Venus in each final.
In 2003, she became one of six women to earn a career Grand Slam (or "Serena Slam," as she calls it) in the open era when she won the Australian Open, again defeating Venus in the final. She went on to repeat the feat — winning all four majors in a row — in 2015.
Over the years, she has continued to be one of the best players of the sport but has also suffered setbacks due to injury.
She had knee surgery in 2003 and underwent several procedures in 2011 due to a blood clot in her lung. Many wondered if she would retire.
She got engaged to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in 2016.
They met in 2015 amid rumors that Serena was dating rapper Drake. Williams shared the news of their engagement with a poem on Reddit:
"I came home / A little late / Someone had a bag packed for me / And a carriage awaited / Destination: Rome / To escort me to my very own "charming" / Back to where our stars first collided / And now it was full circle / At the same table we first met by chance / This time he made it not by chance / But by choice / Down on one knee / He said 4 words / And / r/isaidyes"
In 2017 she won the Australian Open, her 23rd Grand Slam, later disclosing that she was pregnant at the time.
She told Vanity Fair that she had taken a pregnancy test before the tournament at the behest of a friend. She couldn’t believe the result.
“Oh my God, this can’t be — I’ve got to play a tournament," she recalled thinking. “How am I going to play the Australian Open? I had planned on winning Wimbledon this year.”
She went on to win in straight sets — again beating Venus.
Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. was born in September in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Williams later revealed that she had a blood clot scare after her daughter’s birth, and that hospital staff didn’t heed her warnings when she identified the problem.
“I told you, I need a CT scan and a heparin drip,” she remembers telling the medcial team, according to Vogue. “I was like, listen to Dr. Williams!”
She was right — a scan found a series of small blood clots in her lungs. Doctors quickly administered the treatment she had asked for initially.
Williams and Ohanian got married in New Orleans in November 2017.
Wedding guests included Beyoncé, Eva Longoria, and Kim Kardashian.
She currently owns homes in Palm Beach Gardens, Paris, Beverly Hills, and Bel Air.
She has reportedly been spending most of her time at her $2.5 million Palm Beach Gardens home with her husband and daughter. She owns a second Palm Beach Gardens home with Venus.
Meanwhile, she’s trying to sell the $10 million Bel Air mansion, and she’s been hinting at moving to San Francisco, where Reddit is headquartered.
Her new $6.7 million Beverly Hills home spans 6,000 square feet in the popular Summit Estates neighborhood.
The five-bedroom, seven-bathroom home features a yoga and massage room, a wine cellar, and views of the San Fernando Valley.
Williams also has her own clothing line with HSN, the Serena Williams Signature Statement collection.
“My designs are inspired by all women. I want women to know that it’s okay to love and embrace who you are … to be unapologetically bold and beautiful in anything you’re wearing,” she writes on her personal website. “Through HSN, my Signature Statement collection is about empowering fans everywhere to connect with this message.”
She also makes time for charity, running the Serena Williams Fund.
The organization has built schools in Kenya and Jamaica to provide education to underprivileged youth.
A new HBO documentary about her life, 'Being Serena,' debuts May 2.
The five-part series will take a look at this particular moment in Williams’ professional and personal lives, including her pregnancy and marriage.
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