It would be pretty thrilling for most all of us to make the cover of Vogue. Gracing the front of the fashion and lifestyle magazine is nothing short of a declaration and a guarantee to the world that you are beautiful, stylish, and important. But how cool would it be to be on the cover of an internationally renowned major magazine with your brand new baby daughter? That’s beyond bucket-level stuff, and something only someone on the level of Serena Williams could make happen.
Seriously, is there anything Serena Williams can’t do or hasn’t done? She’s objectively the best tennis player of all time—and we’re not throwing “female” in front of that statement. Williams is the best, period, full stop. She’s won major tournaments (or “Grand Slams”) in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles more times than any of her contemporaries, and she’s been ranked No. 1 for 319 total weeks, including 186 straight at one point. Oh, and she also has four Olympic gold medals.
The Olympics are clearly important to Williams—her baby’s name is Alexis Olympia Ohanian. (The dad: her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.) Born only last September, Alexis is definitely one of the youngest Vogue cover models of all time—if not the youngest. Smiling mom and resting-cool-face baby adorn the February 2018 cover. Photographer Mario Testino took the shot, which features Williams in a killer red dress and humungous diamond ring, and young Ohanian in a white one-piece.
“When I first saw this @voguemagazine cover it brought tears to my eyes,” Williams wrote. “All Vogue covers are special but to share this one with my beautiful daughter @olympiaohanian also the youngest Vogue cover star makes it moment I will never forget.”
Inside the magazine (available January 16) is a profile of Williams, where she discusses the birth of the baby, the subsequent difficult health problems she faced, and the challenging nature of motherhood.