Champion Tennis Player & Co-Founder of the Williams Sister Fund
Venus Williams
Speaking Fee: $150,000 to $200,000
Travels From: MIA - Miami, FL
Primary Topic Category: Sports
Venus Williams At A Glance:
Legendary tennis champion, New York Times bestselling author, and entrepreneur Venus Williams has made a lasting impact on and off the court with her entrepreneurship, advocacy, and fight for equality. Venus has won 7 Grand Slam titles, 5 Wimbledon championships, and 4 Olympic gold medals, and was formerly ranked No. 1 in the world. One of the most accomplished and inspiring women in the history of sports, she has been a steadfast advocate for equal pay, women’s empowerment, and social justice.
With 7 Grand Slam titles, 5 Wimbledon championships and 4 Olympic gold medals, tennis champion Venus Williams is arguably one of the most accomplished and inspiring women in the history of sports.
Beginning her rise to the top at the age of 14, Williams quickly took the world of tennis by storm rising to the top-ranked position, breaking countless records, and winning numerous championships.
Encouraged by her mother at an early age to explore her creative side, Williams enrolled in fashion school where she was instantly drawn into the world of fashion and interior design. True to her bold spirit, Williams parlayed her fine-tuned business acumen with her healthy competitive spirit into two successful design ventures.
In 2002, after obtaining an Interior Decorator certification, Williams founded V Starr, a full-service commercial and residential design firm. Continuing with her love for design, Williams obtained an Associate of Science in Fashion Design and in 2012 she launched the fashion-forward activewear brand, EleVen by Venus Williams. In May 2020, Venus partnered with Credo Beauty to debut an award-winning line of clean, mineral-based SPF products under the EleVen by Venus umbrella. Her entrepreneurship in the health, wellness and beauty space also includes her role as Chief Brand Officer to Asutra and in December 2020, Williams launched her plant-based protein company, Happy Viking.
Sticking to her entrepreneurial spirit, in 2009 Williams along with her sister, Serena became the first female African Americans to have a stake in an NFL franchise after joining the ownership group of the Miami Dolphins. The following year, Venus published her motivational book, Come to Win which reached No. 5 on the New York Times Best Sellers list.
Most recently, Venus served as Executive Producer on the Academy Award-winning Warner Brothers biopic King Richard, which detailed the influence her father and coach, Richard Williams, had on her childhood and careers as she became a tennis icon and changed the sport for generations to come.
Throughout her career, Williams has been a steadfast advocate for equality. In 2006, UNESCO, the United Nations’ cultural organization, titled her as the first “Promoter of Gender Equality.’ In 2007 it was her unwavering fight, which led Wimbledon to award women players the same pay as their male counterparts and most recently, she launched an awareness initiative called the #PrivilegeTax in conjunction with EleVen to bring attention to the wage inequality and unveiled a platform of
resources for young women to get inspired and address the issue on a grassroots level.
Williams’ achievements throughout her legendary career have merited her a plethora of additional accolades, including being honored as Variety’s “Power of Women”, Glamour Magazine’s ‘Woman of the Year,’ CARE Impact Award for Gender Equality, ESPN’s ‘WTA Player of the Year,’ and Forbes’ ‘Celebrity 100’ among others. In September 2009, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) honored Williams with the Americanism Award for publicly speaking up for Israeli player Shahar Pe’er who was barred
from the Dubai tennis tournament.
Williams holds Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Indiana University East and an Associate of Science in Fashion Design from The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.
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In Conversation with Venus Williams
In this moving and personal conversation with legendary tennis icon Venus Williams, she shares her journey to the top of her game, and how she has become an inspirational leader both on and off the court. As an athlete and entrepreneur, Venus has overcome barriers through resilience, focus, and innovation, built her brand, and continues to give back. She shares her unmatched insights in this memorable talk. -
Women’s Empowerment: One Woman’s Success is Everyone’s Success
In this uplifting talk, legendary athlete Venus Williams shares the lessons she learned from her mom growing up – celebrating her individuality and having the confidence to do what’s right. To overcome obstacles in the workplace and in our lives, Venus offers motivational strategies for creating empowerment – both for ourselves and in community – and shares her powerful message that one woman’s success is everyone’s success. -
Cultivating Innovation in Business
Tennis icon Venus Williams shares her journey as a founder of numerous successful and innovative businesses in this sought-after talk. Venus touches on developing grit and resilience, tapping into your mission to build success, and amplifying important issues to give back. -
Health & Wellness: A Holistic Approach
As a world-renowned athlete, Venus Williams is an expert in peak performance. So, when she received a diagnosis for Sjogren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune disease, she leveraged her background to create a holistic approach to manage her chronic illness and continue to thrive. Her nutrition company Happy Viking is a part of her strategy to create holistic solutions not only for herself, but for the world, and she shares her health and wellness insights in this uplifting talk. -
Activism and Equality: What Needs to Change
A steadfast advocate for equality throughout her career, Williams shares her story with audiences about how sexism has impacted her life, then expands to the issues many women face. Empowering audiences with the tools they need to take action, she encourages listeners to make change and stand up for what’s right. Touching on issues such as the wage gap, equal opportunities, representation, and more, Williams tackles gender inequality in her moving, passionate discussions.
Venus was absolutely incredible. Everyone is still talking about her fireside chat. She was so gracious with her time and brought such amazing energy to the event.— (eXp World Holdings)
