For those who believe that their child's name has an impact on their destiny, Richard Williams and Oracene Price may have helped advance that theory when they named their fourth daughter Venus Ebone Starr. Venus is the second planet from the Sun and is the the brightest natural object in the night sky, after the moon. When Venus won her singles title in Wimbledon  2000 (in addition to winning the and the Sydney Olympics, and winning doubles titles at Wimbledon and Sydney with her younger sister Serena) she became the second black tennis star since Althea Gibson in 1957 and 1958 and the blaze of her victories lit the heavens.

Venus is a former World No. 1 and she has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate occasions. She became the World No. 1 for the first time on February 25, 2002, becoming the first black woman to achieve this feat during the open era. Her 21 Grand Slam titles ties her for twelfth on the all time list^[ and is more than any other active female player except for her younger sister Serena  In 2002, Venus became the first black female tennis player to be ranked No. 1 in the world by the Women's Tennis Association.

In 2001 Venus repeated as Wimbledon and US Open champion (defeating Serena in the US Open finals) and she won again at Wimbledon in 2005, 2007 and 2008. Although plague with a series of injuries. Although plagued with a series of injuries, Venus teamed with Serena to capture the doubles title at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Venus and Serena are also part owners of the Miami Dolphins with which had made them the first African-American females to obtain ownership in an NFL franchise. She has also been a powerful advocate for equal pay for female tennis players when in the French Open and Wimbledon still refused to pay women's and men's players equally After The Times  published Venus article in 2006 accusing Wimbledon of being on the "wrong side of history," British Prime Minister Tony Blair and members of Parliament publicly endorsed Williams' argument. Later that year, the Women's Tennis Association and UNESCO  joined forces to promote gender equality in sports, asking Williams to lead the campaign.Under enormous pressure, Wimbledon announced in February 2007 that it would award equal prize money to all competitors in all rounds, and the French Open followed suit a day later.

To celebrate her birthday we suggest another award winner - the Grand Slam Cheesecake and watch Venus in the 2011 TV documentary 125 Years of Wimbledon: You Cannot Be Serious.
 

Grand Slam Cheesecake