What’s so Venus-retrograde-in-Gemini about Venus Williams? More than just her name, it seems. This is the fourth in our series of profiles of famous people with Venus retrograde in Gemini in their charts, and it looks like a pattern is emerging. Johannes Brahms, Brigham Young and Julie Nixon-Eisenhower all have something interesting going on in their personal, romantic relationships: a famous love triangle and otherwise avoidance of women (Brahms); large-volume polygamy (Young’s 50-plus wives); functioning simultaneously as ‘First Lady’ / ‘Daddy’s defender’ and actual wife to another (Nixon-Eisenhower). How does Venus Williams fit the pattern?
Born Venus Ebony Starr Williams (her name just keeps getting better, doesn’t it?) on June 17, 1980, Williams is a champion tennis player known as much for her boasting and masculine stature (she’s 6’1″) as her playing. Her 21 Grand Slam titles tie her for 12th on the all-time list, and are more than any other active player except her younger sister, Serena. Her Wiki page is full of impressive stats — and contains some clues about her life off the court.
You don’t have to look any further than her Mars-Saturn conjunction in Virgo in the 12th — square her Venus — to see where it comes from. That conjunction is her essence as an athlete: powerful, masculine, disciplined, a little rigid, and pissed off. Despite her first name, Williams isn’t known for her elegance — though that may come through in her secondary career pursuits, where her Venus guides her eye for design.
With an Associate’s degree in fashion design and working on a business degree, Williams has launched an interior design firm (located in Jupiter, Fla. – insert astrology punchline here) and a clothing line. She and Serena have become part owners of the Miami Dolphins. In 2005, she was credited with finally persuading Wimbledon and the French Open to pay women equal prize money – a goal of former champ Billie Jean King and others. So she has business smarts, knows how to handle her resources, and doesn’t shy away from initiating and leading in the public sphere.
What about her personal life? Details here are a little slimmer: she credits her faith as a Jehovah’s Witness as helping her cope with her sister Yetunde Price’s murder in 2003. As a young player, her father insisted she and Serena still ‘get to be kids’ and focus on their schoolwork and, aware of racist overtones at competitions, pulled both girls from national youth tournaments – later taking over their coaching himself.