Serena Williams

One of the most celebrated professional tennis players of the early 21st century, Serena Williams entered the ranks of that sport alongside her older sister Venus. The two did so thanks to the prompting of their dad, onetime security company owner Richard Williams, who had apparently witnessed the astronomical salaries given tennis players and promptly ushered two of his daughters onto the courts after learning the sport himself via instructional videos. The gambit paid off, as each Williams girl battled her way to the very pinnacle of the tennis leagues and earned the number one spot. Serena's records included winning eight Grand Slam singles titles and the Australian Open, and netting an Olympic gold medal in women's doubles, and she also made international headlines by signing a 40-million-dollar endorsement contract with Reebok -- one of the highest such contracts in all of women's sports at the time of its finalization. Serena later began an acting career, with television appearances on such series as The Simpsons (2001), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2004), and ER (2005). She also was a stockcar-driving participant in the competitive reality series Fast Cars & Superstars (2007), in which she squared off against John Elway and Laird Hamilton.