In tennis, there’s only one greatest player of all time, and it’s champion Serena Jameka Williams. She’s a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion (with 14 wins in doubles) and four-time Olympic gold medalist with a whopping 367 career wins overall.
But, not only is she a beauty mogul, thanks to her founding Wyn Beauty, a brand inspired by her on-court movement, she’s a trendsetting beauty icon.
We’d be remiss to mention the champion without acknowledging her relationship with hair beads. Since her first Grand Slam at the U.S. Open in 1999, Williams (and her iconic sister, Venus) rocked multi-colored beads as their first signature look.
Although she ditched the beads in 2001 (see: her French braid at Wimbledon), she never lost her footing in beauty, cycling through a number of looks over the years: from blonde box braids to brown wigs, natural bobs to curtain bangs.
Just like her iconic hair moments, her makeup beats are equally noteworthy. We’ve seen her in shimmering lip gloss and thick black eyeliner at the 2013 French Open. Then, a nude matte lip at the 2017 Met Gala, and a set of full brows at the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. More recently? Purple eyeshadow and curled lashes at Louis Vuitton’s 2024 Paris Olympics Party.
To celebrate the tennis star’s 43rd birthday, take a look at 9 moments that mark her iconic beauty evolution.
Serena Williams’s First Grand Slam at the 1999 U.S. Open
11 Sep 1999: Serena Williams celebrates her win over Martina Hingis of Switzerland after the singles final of the US Open at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Squire/ALLSPORT
2000 ATP Lipton Tennis Championship
Serena Williams poses for a portrait during the ATP Lipton Tennis Championship on 23 March 2000 in Key Biscayne, Florida, United States (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Wimbledon 2001
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – JULY 03: WIMBLEDON 2001, London; Serena WILLIAMS/USA (Photo by Bongarts/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Portrait Series 2005
LOS ANGELES – 2005: American tennis star Serena Williams poses for a portrait in 2005 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry Langdon/Getty Images)
Wimbledon 2008
LONDON – JULY 03: Serena Williams of United States serves during the women’s singles Semi Final match against Jie Zheng of China on day ten of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 3, 2008 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
ITF World Champions Dinner 2013
PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 04: Serena Williams of United States of America poses with the Women’s Singles World Champion award during the ITF World Champions Dinner at Pavillion D’Armenonville on June 4, 2013 in Paris, France. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
2017 Met Gala
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 01: Serena Williams attends the “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between” Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images For Entertainment Weekly)
2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 27: Serena Williams attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 27, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Daniele Venturelli/WireImage)
Louis Vuitton’s 2024 Paris Olympics Party
PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 25: Serena Williams attends The Prelude to The Paris Games 2024 on July 25, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Marc Piasecki/WireImage)
