Pretty much everyone in the United States knows who Danica Patrick is, even if they’ve never watched a single race in their life. That’s because not only is she a great athlete, but she’s a total babe, which has gotten her a ton of publicity over the years.
She’s graced the covers of a ton of magazines, including “Sports Illustrated” – on multiple occasions. Including right after her first Indy 500 when she became the first woman ever to lead a lap during the event. She is widely regarded as the most successful woman in the history of open-wheel racing.
Marta Menegatti
This Italian pro-beach volleyball player has been playing her sport since before she even turned 10 years old. Talk about an early start! Now, she’s the proud holder of 2 golds, 7 silvers, and 7 bronze medals on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. In September of 2015, she and the rest of the Italian women’s national team won their first World Tour title.
For a while, she was dating another pro volleyball player from her country named Alex Rangheri but the two are reportedly no longer together. She stays very active on her Instagram, where she has nearly 50,000 followers.
Gabby Douglas
This amazingly talented professional gymnast was already winning medals at the age of 8, thanks to her older sister, who taught her how to do her first cartwheel when Gabby was just a toddler. She started training full-time at 14, and by 2010, she was earning gold medals in major competitions. 2012 was a huge year for her and the rest of the Fierce Five, who walked away from the Summer Olympics in London with the team gold.
Gabby also racked up one of her own, as the All-Around Gold Medalist. That made her the first African American in the history of the games to do so. She is currently training hard in anticipation of competing in Tokyo in 2020.
Serena Williams
Pretty much everyone in the world knows of Serena Williams. They don't even have to like tennis. She, along with her sister Venus, are two of the most well-known names in professional women’s tennis. To be fair, they’re two of the most well-known in all of professional tennis and professional sports, period.
Aside from winning more than 20 major titles, Serena has launched her own fashion line, and in early 2019, a venture-capital investment firm for women, Serena Ventures, which has already invested in over 30 companies, according to Inc.com. Some of the companies she’s invested in include Billie, MasterClass, and LOLA.
Lindsey Vonn
In 2019 it was announced that Vonn would be inducted into The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. She is one of just two female skiers in the sport’s history to win 4 World Cup Overall Championships, not to mention her gold medal for the downhill race at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
But aside from her abundant talent, she’s also gorgeous, which is why she’s appeared in several magazines, including the "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue" – three times, with the latest being in 2019. The other two appearances date to 2010 and 2016. You don't get to look like that and then NOT appear on Sports Illustrated.