Children’s parties in the celebrity world are big business. You only have to look back at North West’s mermaid extravaganza, Blue Ivy’s flower farm bash, or the Kardashian’s iconic Kidchella for all the proof you need. But Serena Williams has confirmed (opens in new tab) that you can definitely count her daughter, Olympia, out of anything similar. The tennis star has revealed that she won’t be doing anything similar for her baby’s first birthday (opens in new tab) next week on September 1.
Williams explained that she and husband Alexis Ohanian (opens in new tab) will not be celebrating the upcoming first birthday of Olympia in September—it goes against their religious values as Jehovah’s Witnesses. The revelation came during a press conference for the 2018 U.S. Open earlier this week as a reporter asked: “Is there a birthday party planned?” The sportswoman revealed in response: “Olympia doesn’t celebrate birthdays. We’re Jehovah’s Witnesses so we don’t do that.”
Serena, who is off to a strong start at the currently ongoing tennis tournament, has never been one to shy away from talking about her religion, having recently told Vogue (opens in new tab): “Being a Jehovah's Witness is important to me, but I've never really practiced it and have been wanting to get into it. Alexis didn't grow up going to any church, but he's really receptive and even takes the lead. He puts my needs first.”
Alexis Olympia was born on September 1 last year via an emergency C-section, but complications in the surgery nearly resulted in Serena’s death. Williams opened up about the traumatic experience (opens in new tab), recalling her ordeal to CNN: "It began with a pulmonary embolism," she said, "which is a condition in which one or more arteries in the lungs becomes blocked by a blood clot. Because of my medical history with this problem, I live in fear of this situation. So, when I fell short of breath, I didn’t wait for a second to alert the nurses. This sparked a slew of health complications that I am lucky to have survived."
If anything, the birthday calls for a celebration of Serena being some kind of superwoman.
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