Sports activities represent a very important part of society as a whole. It is a reminder of everything we as human beings are capable of. All the incredible feats that echo throughout history. Most importantly, it shows what people with focus, determination, and persistence can achieve.
Sports promote good health, clean living, and a competitive spirit. It's a culmination of the cultivation of the mind and body. With all that said, here is a list of some of the most famous female athletes. They have achieved world-renown in what they do and rose up to be the best. It doesn't hurt that they're all so gorgeous, too!
Maria Sharapova, Age 32 - Tennis
Maria Sharapova is a world-famous tennis pro who needs little introduction. She started playing tennis when she was four years old and soon started training with professionals. At six, she was at the Moscowian tennis clinic. Later, she moved to the US to continue training under the IMG group.
Maria entered the junior tennis scene in 2000 and debuted professionally in 2001 at 14. Maria reached the #1 world rank in 2005, and she's the first female Russian tennis player ever to do so. Now, she has five Grand Slam titles, thirty-six singles titles, and many other honors. Her current prize money sum total is set at $38.7M.
Danica Patrick, Age 37 - Race Driving
Danica Patrick is a former racing driver, who competed professionally since 1998. She was born in 1982, in Wisconsin, and began karting as a teenager. Danica dropped out of school in 1998, which would have been her junior year, to pursue her racing career.
After the famous racing driver Bobby Rahal hired Danica for his team in the early 2000s, she quickly rose to fame. Today, Danica is officially declared as the most successful female open-wheel racing driver in American history. She's the only woman to ever win the IndyCar Series, which happened in 2008. 10 years after that win, Danica went into retirement.
Alex Morgan, Age 30 - Soccer
Alex Morgan is a famous professional soccer player. She's currently playing as a striker for the NWSL's Orlando Pride and is in the US national team. Alex hails from San Dimas, California, and she was born in 1989. She started playing soccer as a child and was with the AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization).
While at Diamond Bar High, Alex was already named All-American three times by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. At the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, a 22-year-old Alex was the youngest member of the US national team, and they won the silver medal. In 2019, she won the Silver Boot.
Lindsey Vonn, Age 35 - Alpine Ski Racing
Lindsey Vonn is a world-famous alpine ski racer, born in Minnesota back in 1984. She wanted to ski ever since she was a little girl, and her grandfather became her first trainer. She continued her training all throughout school and climbed the U.S. Ski Team ranks. At sixteen, Vonn made her debut at the World Cup.
During her career, Lindsey won a total of four World Cups. She's one of the only two female skiers to achieve this feat, and she also won the 2010 Winter Olympics gold medal. She may have already retired in 2019, but she's still the overall second-highest in super ranking of all genders in skiing.
Robin Bone, Age 25 - Pole Vaulting
Robin Bone is a famous pole vaulter born in Toronto in 1994. She represents Canada and has competed professionally at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Robin aspired to be a gymnast as a child, but an injury she sustained when she was 16 made her switch lanes.
That injury is also the reason why Robin always wears a helmet when pole vaulting. She won fifteen Gymnastics State Championship gold medals. Aside from that, she was also a two-time CIS National pole vault champion. Reportedly, her personal best height is 14.304ft.
Ronda Rousey, Age 32 - Judo, Mixed Martial Arts, And Wrestling
Ronda Rousey is a world-famous professional wrestler, former MMA fighter, judoka, and an actress. She currently performs under WWE but is on hiatus. Ronda's mother was actually a decorated judoka, and this is why Ronda was into judo ever since she was at the young age of 11.
She won several medals and accolades and had competed at the Olympics. Eventually, she switched to MMA when she was 22. Her pro wrestling career began in 2018, and she immediately rose to worldwide fame. Ronda was even seen in movies like The Expendables 3, Furious 7, Mile 22, and in 2019's Charlie's Angels.
Chloe Kim, Age 19 - Snowboarding
Chloe Kim is a famous snowboarder who started competing when she was just six. She's the youngest female competitor ever to win an Olympic gold medal in snowboarding. In fact, she won the Olympic snowboarding championship in the women's snowboard halfpipe when she was just 17.
Chloe is also a four-time champion of the X Games. Also, she's the only female snowboarder with two Winter Youth Olympic Games championship wins. She is the current world champion in X Games, Youth Olympics, and the Olympics in the halfpipe, making her the only female ever to achieve this feat.
Aly Raisman, Age 25 - Gymnastics
Aly Raisman is a world-famous gymnast. She competed twice at the Olympics with the US women's gymnastics teams. She was captain both times, first in 2012's Fierce Five team, and then in 2016's Final Five team. They won their competitions respectively.
Aly also won the 2016 Olympic silver medal for individual floor and all-around categories. She was born in 1994 and started training in gymnastics when she was just two. Aly also helped the American team to win the World Championship in 2011 and 2015. Among all of this, she's also a successful model.
Paige VanZant, Age 25 - Mixed Martial Arts
Paige VanZant is a famous MMA fighter, model, and author. She was born in 1994 and hails from Dundee, Oregon. She took her first jabs at martial arts after her family moved to Nevada. Having taken up boxing as a teen, she won her first fight at only 18 years old.
At that same age, in 2012, Paige debuted at the professional mixed martial arts scene. At that time, she won the UWF's Tournament of Warriors held in Texas. Paige is currently signed to Ultimate Fighting Championship's flyweight division and is ranked #14. She is also famous for appearing on Chopped and Dancing with the Stars TV.
Michelle Jenneke, Age 26 - Hurdling
Michelle Jenneke is a competitive hurdler from Australia. She is an Olympic silver medalist who became an internet sensation after the warm-up dance she does before every race went viral in 2012. Michelle was born in New South Wales, Australia. Currently, she studies mechatronics in Sydney.
She was into sports throughout school and has trained in athletics since she was 10. Her first major win happened when she won the sprint medley relay in the 2010 Australian Junior Championship. Michelle represented Australia on multiple occasions and was also on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2013.
Ali Krieger, Age 35 - Soccer
Ali Krieger is a famous professional soccer player. She is currently playing for the NWSL's Orlando Pride and is a part of the US national team. Ali was born in Virginia, and her father was a soccer player and coach. He coached Ali for twelve years, between 7 and 19 years old.
Ali played for the Prince William Sparklers and then captained her team at Forest Park High. In 2005, she rose to prominence as her senior career began in Northern Virginia Majestics. She has been in Orlando Pride since 2017. However, she has spent five years in FFC Frankfurt and won the UEFA Women's Cup with them.
Michelle Waterson, Age 33 - Mixed Martial Arts
Michelle Waterson is a professional MMA fighter. She's a UFC competitor and was the champion of the Invicta FC Atomweight Championship. She was initially into modeling throughout her school years. However, she started training in karate when she was just 10.
Michelle holds the American Freestyle Karate black belt. Her portfolio includes Muay Thai, Wushu, boxing, wrestling, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. She rose to fame through the reality shows Fight Girls and Bully Beatdown. She was #1 in women's atomweight in 2013-2014. Now, she is #8 in the strawweight rankings of women's UFC.
Hope Solo, Age 38 - Soccer
Hope Solo is a world-famous former soccer goalkeeper. She won two Olympic gold medals and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup with the US national team. Hope was born in 1981, and she learned to play soccer with her dad when she was just a child.
She played for the Richland High as a forward and did pretty good. However, she switched to the goalkeeper position during her college career. She started playing professionally in 2003 for Philadelphia Charge, and she ended her career in 2016 in Seattle Reign. She played a total of 202 games for the US national team.
Camila Giorgi, Age 28 - Tennis
Camila Giorgi is a successful tennis pro born in Macerata, Italy. She was coached by her father since she was only five, but renowned tennis coaches took her in pretty soon. At 14, she reached the Nike Junior Tour finals in 2005.
Camila began earning her first tennis paychecks at 10k tournaments held in Jakarta and Baku. She debuted as a senior pro in 2006 and won her first title at the 2009's ITF. Camila soon climbed to the top-100 WTA rankings list, and in 2015, she won the 2015 Topshelf Open tournament. During her senior career, her current prize money total is estimated at $3.665M.
Ellen Hoog, Age 33 - Field Hockey
Ellen Hoog is a professional field hockey player from the Netherlands. In 2004, she was included in the Netherlands national team for the first time. Since then, she has played a total of 127 matches and scored thirty-two goals.
Ellen also won two Olympic gold medals and one silver in 2008, 2012, and 2016 respectively. Currently, she plays for the Amsterdamsche Hockey & Bandy Club. Her career highlights are two victory shots that she scored. The first was against New Zealand at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The second was against Germany at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
McKayla Maroney, Age 24 - Artistic Gymnastics
McKayla Maroney is a former artistic gymnast. She's famous as a member of the American national team, the "Fierce Five" as they were dubbed. Along with them, she won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, as well as individual silver.
McKayla was born in California and showed inclinations towards gymnastics since she was two. She started training at 9 years old, and her junior career began in 2009. She was a senior pro in 2011, winning the City of Jesolo Trophy. McKayla is the first female gymnast from the US to defend her title, winning the 2013 World Championship.
Caroline Wozniacki, Age 29 - Tennis
Caroline Wozniacki is a world-famous pro tennis player, who is the world's No. 1 in the singles category. She was born to parents who were both into professional sports. Her father coached Caroline when she was 14 years old, but she had other prominent instructors.
While competing as a junior, Caroline achieved #2 world rank. She also competed in prominent tournaments in Denmark while still a teenager. She's the first Scandinavian woman to become the world's No. 1. She was ranked #20 in the Open Era and has won the 2018 Australian Open Grand Slam title. Her prize winnings are currently set at over $34M.
Becky Lynch, Age 32 - Wrestling
Becky Lynch is a professional wrestler, famous for her performances under the Raw brand in the WWE. She was born as Rebecca Quin in Limerick, Ireland and was into sports since early on. Wrestling came along while she was a troubled teenager, and she stuck to it since.
Becky has competed on the independent circuits, like the SuperGirls Wrestling Canadian promotion and other all-female ones. After she signed to WWE in 2013, she found her ring name Becky Lynch, and currently, she's the Raw Women's Champion and the longest-reigning at that.
Gabby Douglas, Age 24 - Artistic Gymnastics
Gabby Douglas is a world-famous artistic gymnast. She's the champion of the 2012 Olympic competition and the silver medalist of the 2015 World competition. She was born in 1995 and started training in gymnastics when she was six.
Gabby already started winning competitions at eight years old, and at 14, she already dedicated herself entirely to her training. Besides the 2012 Olympics, Gabby also won gold medals with the American national teams in the 2011 and 2015 World Championships. She's the first woman of African descent to become an individual champion in the history of the Olympics.
Antonija Sandrić, Age 31 - Basketball
Antonija Sandrić is a Croatian basketball player, who started her professional career in 2005. She was born in 1988 and was into sports since she was a child. After joining the Jolly JBS Croatian team in 2007, Antonija already led her team to win both the Croatian Cup and the national championship a year later.
Antonija also played for the national team, winning bronze at the 2009 Mediterranean Games. She is beloved by audiences because of her looks and was chosen as the Miss Mediterranean Games. Antonija currently plays for the CCC Polkowice Polish basketball team and represents her country in the national team.
Whitney Miller, Age 30 - Miss USA 2012 And Martial Arts
Whitney Miller rose to fame in 2012 when she was crowned as the Miss United States. She was born in Texas and was into sports—mostly surfing and fitness—throughout her schooling. She initially competed in Miss Texas just one week after finding out about the competition.
Whitney won it, and her Miss USA title came right after. That same year, in 2012, she entered her first MMA tournament. But before that, she's done other Jiu-Jitsu competitions, as well. Whitney also worked as a reporter on Glory Kickboxing. She does modeling and features her training routines on her Social Media accounts.
Serena Williams, Age 38 - Tennis
Serena Williams is a world-famous professional tennis player who needs no special introduction. She was No. 1 and has 23 other major titles in singles. That's more than any player in the Open Era, regardless of gender. She was born in Saginaw, Michigan, but her family moved to California early on.
She started competing when she was 10, and to this day, Serena was ranked #1 on eight occasions by the Women's Tennis Association. At one point, she even held her rank consecutively for 186 weeks. In total, Serena held the position for 319 weeks. Her current prize money gross is set at $92.5M.
Jennie Finch, Age 39 - Softball
Jennie Finch is a medal-winning, All-American former professional softball player. She's now retired but was included in the All-Star pro team two times already. In 2001, she won the Women's College World Series. Jennie was also in the US national team when they won the 2004 Summer Olympics.
She was born in 1980, in La Mirada, California. Her father coached her in playing softball since she was eight. Throughout her school years, she participated in many prominent competitions. Now, after retiring in 2010, she works as a color commentator on ESPN.
Anna Kournikova, Age 38 - Tennis
Anna Kournikova is a renowned former professional tennis player, who hails from Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. She got into tennis when she was just five and was soon enrolled in a children's program. She started competing while in school and was already competing in the junior league at eight years old.
She rose to prominence throughout the '90s and debuted when she was 14 at the WTA Tour. Anna's highest rank was world No. 8, and she won the Grand Slam Australia in doubles with Martina Hingis in 1999 and in 2002. She retired in 2007 with a money prize pool of $3.584M.
Stephanie Rice, Age 31 - Swimming
Stephanie Rice is a former professional swimmer and a three-time gold medal winner from the 2008 Summer Olympics. She hails from Australia and was born in 1988. At seventeen, she won the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 200 meters, as well as 400-meter individual medleys in 2006.
Two years later, her three medals from the Olympics came, and she was also honored with the Medal of the Order of Australia. In 2014, she announced her retirement from further competitions. She was inducted into both the International Swimming and Sport Australia Halls of Fame in 2019.
Natalie Gulbis, Age 36 - Golf
Natalie Gulbis is a famous professional golfer, currently playing on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) US-based tour. She was born in 1983 and developed an interest in golf since she was four. She competed in her first tournament at the age of seven.
In 1997, Natalie's amateur career began on the boys' team of Granite Bay High School, where she became the top player. She turned pro in 2001, winning her first tournament in her sixth season. Her first major win came at the 2007 Evian Masters held in France. As of 2019, her prize cash total earned in competitions amounts to around $4M.
Alana Blanchard, Age 29 - Surfing
Alana Blanchard is a professional surfer from the World Surf League. She hails from Hawaii and was born in 1990. She started surfing since before she was a teenager and was #1 at the 2005 T&C Women's Pipeline Championships.
She has been a friend of Bethany Hamilton, who's also a famous surfer, ever since they were children. Alana was present when Bethany lost her arm in a shark attack. These events, as well as Alana, are all present in the 2011 film Soul Surfer based on Bethany's autobiography. Alana is also a model and designs wetsuits for surfing.
Blair O’Neal, Age 38 - Golf
Blair O’Neal is a former professional golfer, model, and TV personality. She was born in 1981 and began training in golf during her junior year. In fact, Blair started playing for the American Junior Golf Association when she was 13.
Audiences know her from the Big Break: Prince Edward Island reality TV show and also for her modeling work. She has hosted talk shows like Morning Drive, School of Golf, and others on the Golf Channel. Blair retired from professional golfing in 2015, and her accumulated earnings throughout her career are estimated to be close to $1M.
Lauren Sesselmann, Age 36 - Soccer
Believe it or not, the Canadian soccer defender Lauren Sesselmann was raised in Wisconsin. She played basketball and soccer while at Notre Dame Academy, but she later focused on soccer. In 2009, the Chicago Red Stars drafted her. She was also in FC Kansas City before acquiring Canadian citizenship and moving there in 2010.
She was immediately called into the Canadian national team and helped them win the bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics. Currently, she plays for the Santa Clarita Blue Heat. Lauren also hosts the fitness program Fit As A Pro with Lauren Sesselmann and works as a trainer.
Silje Norendal, Age 26 - Snowboarding
Silje Norendal is a prominent snowboarder born in 1993. She hails from Norway and competes in slopestyle, halfpipe, and boardercross. She competed for the first time when she was just six years old.
Silje's professional career began in 2007. However, she rose to international fame when she won a gold medal in slopestyle at the Winter X Games Europe in 2013. The following year, she won in the same category at the Winter X Games held in Colorado and again in 2015. She also bagged the silver medal in the 2019 Utah World Championship.
Allison Stokke, Age 30 - Pole Vaulting
Allison Stokke is a successful track and field athlete who started out while she was at school. She broke several records in the United States, most notably the high school freshman pole vault record, which she set at 3.86 meters.
After images of Allison competing reached the internet in 2007, they went viral, and she became a sensation at just 17 years old. She achieved All-American honors twice at the NCAA Division I Championships and continued to compete on a national level. Allison is also into fitness modeling and represents Athleta and Nike.
Hilary Knight, Age 30 - Ice Hockey
Hilary Knight is a famous professional ice hockey player. She currently plays for Les Canadiennes de Montreal and for the United States women's national ice hockey team. Her current club competes in the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Back in the US, she also played for Boston Pride.
Hilary was born in Palo Alto, California, and she started skating and playing hockey as a child. So far, her greatest success comes in the eight gold medals that she won with the US national team. Seven were won at the IIHF World Women's Championship, and one is from the 2018 WInter Olympics.
Misty May-Treanor, Age 42 - Beach Volleyball
Misty May-Treanor is a former professional beach volleyball player. She was born in 1977, and her mom and dad were both playing sports at a national level. Misty started playing as a kid and participated in her first tournament when she was eight. While she was at Newport Harbor High, Misty led the school team to win the state volleyball championship in 1992.
She began her professional career in 1998 and again led Long Beach State 49ers to the NCAA Women's Championship. Misty's greatest success is the three Olympic gold medals she won in beach volleyball with Kerri Walsh Jennings, her teammate. They won in 2004, 2008, and in 2012.
Jennifer Lacy, Age 36 - Basketball
Jennifer Lacy is a professional WNBA player born in 1983. She hails from Queens, New York, but she began her career predominantly on the west coast. She attended Pepperdine University, where she played college basketball. Her father, Lee Lacy, used to be a Major League Baseball player.
Jennifer started her WNBA career in 2006, while she was in Phoenix Mercury. She was also in Atlanta Dream, Tulsa Shock, and Los Angeles Sparks. Since 2015, she's been playing for the Connecticut Sun. Her career-high scores are 933 points and 103 games—both for Pepperdine.
Eugenie Bouchard, Age 25 - Tennis
Eugenie Bouchard is a world-famous tennis player born in 1994. She hails from Canada and is its first representative ever to reach Grand Slam finals when she was at the 2014 Wimbledon Championship. Eugenie began playing tennis when she was only five.
After nearly fifteen years of training and several under-18 tournaments wins, Eugenie turned pro in 2009. She later became the winner of the 2012 Wimbledon girls' title. She also got the WTA Most Improved Player award and numerous other accolades. So far, Eugenie's prize money earned from tournaments is estimated at $6.285M.