Fire for the home team! Sarah Shah, Teri Hatcher And Phyllis Smith are among the few celebrities who were professional cheerleaders before making it big in Hollywood.
Shahi — who joined the Dallas Cowboys cheerleading roster in her home state of Texas in the late 1990s — used her time on the field as training to become an actress.
“It was very competitive, I have to say, but it was also a great learning experience,” the sex/life star told Fox411 in April 2016. “These cheerleaders make show business look like babies’ foreplay. They weigh you to the hundredth of a pound. If you’re over your target weight, you have to sit out of the game that week.”
The rookie graduate recalled that “the veterans go first” when the team took water breaks, noting that the roster is “not a democracy.”
Shahi continued, “For everything that has been said, I’m not trying to portray them as villainous in any way. I learned a lot about being disciplined and rehearsing. We practiced eight hours every day and I was a full-time college student. To be able to have that kind of foundation in Hollywood has been fantastic.”
For her part, Smith was one of the first NFL cheerleaders for the St. Louis Cardinals roster when she joined her in the 1970s. (The Cardinals team, which had its first cheer team in 1964, later moved to Arizona and became the Arizona Cardinals. The Rams played in St. Louis from 1995 to 2015 before moving to California and becoming the Los Angeles Rams transformed.)
“I auditioned for the St. Louis City Opera. At that audition, the lady who was also the choreographer for the St. Louis Cardinal Cheerleaders asked me to audition for the cheerleading team — and I did it!” The bureau graduate told Yahoo! Entertainment in September 2012. “It was just the perfect job for me at the time.”
The former OA actress added: “I really enjoyed it because I loved football so I got to watch the game, dance and be there and watch the cute boys on the other side of the field. So it was the triple threat there.”
Bachelor Nation Star Melissa Rycroft gave back to her former team, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, by serving for years as a showmanship coach at Texas training camp. She even made cameos on the CMT series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team as a mentor to the athletes trying to earn a spot on the field.
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Scroll down to see other notable celebrities who have been professional cheerleaders:
1 of 11
Melissa Rycroft
Rycroft was a member of the Dallas Cowboys organization from 2006 to 2008. She later served as a showmanship mentor for DCC candidates at boot camp documented in multiple seasons of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. The Logically Irrational podcast co-host rose to fame after winning season 13 of The Bachelor, which aired in 2009. However, Rycroft was later dropped from Bachelor Jason Mesnik for his runner-up Molly Malaneywhom he married in February 2010.
The former Dancing With the Stars contestant moved on Tye Stricklandwhom she married in December 2009. The couple have three children together: daughter Ava and sons Beckett and Cayson.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Melissa Rycroft Strickland/Instagram
2 of 11
Teri Hatcher
The actress was a cheerleader for the 1984 San Francisco 49ers. The following year, the California native made her acting debut as Amy on The Love Boat from 1985-86. Hatcher’s big break in Hollywood came when she landed the role of Lois Lane in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which ran from 1993 to 1998. She later starred in Desperate Housewives as Susan Mayer from 2004 to 2012. Hatcher shares one child, daughter Emerson, with her ex-husband Jon Tenney.
Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock
3 out of 11
Sarah Shah
The actress was a cheerleader for the Dallas Cowboys from 1999 to 2000. The Texan native made her acting debut shortly after leaving the troupe when she played a cheerleader on an episode of City Guys in 2000. Shahi continued to make a name for himself in Hollywood after starring in The L Word, Life, Pretty Legal and Person of Interest.
Shahi was married Steve Howy for 11 years before retiring in 2020. The Black Adam actress shares son William and twins Violet and Know with the shameless alum. She moved on romantically with her sex/life co-star Adam Demos end of 2020.
Credit: David Fisher/Shutterstock
4 out of 11
Stacy Keibler
Keibler joined the Baltimore Ravens’ cheer team in 1997 at the age of 18. She began her professional wrestling career in 1999 as part of World Champion Wrestling’s Nitro Girls and retired from WWE in 2006. The Maryland native later became a model and TV host.
The former Dancing With the Stars contestant has started dating George Clooney from 2011 to 2013. She got married Jared Poor in 2014 and the couple share three children: daughters Ava Grace and Isabella Faith and son Bodhi Brooks.
Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock
5 out of 11
Camille Kostek
Kostek was part of the New England Patriots organization from 2013 to 2015. The Connecticut native later became a professional model and landed on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2019. She hosted Wipeout from 2021-2022 and appeared in several Hallmark films including 2020’s Fashionably Yours and 2021’s Love, for Real.
Kostek was dating a former New England Patriots player Rob Gronkowski since autumn 2013.
Credit: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
6 out of 11
Jill Marie Jones
Jones wore the iconic Dallas Cowboys cheerleading uniform from 1993-1995. The Texas native was a model before making her acting debut in 2000. From 2000 to 2020 she played Antoinette “Toni” Marie Childress Garrett in Girlfriends. She also starred in Gillian in Georgia. Delilah and monogamy.
Credit: Lisa O’Connor/Shutterstock
7 out of 11
Phyllis Smith
Smith was a cheerleader for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1970s before taking on a variety of odd jobs, including movie ticket collector, warehouse worker at JC Penney, and casting staff. In 2005, the Missouri native made her Hollywood breakthrough when she landed the role of Phyllis on The Office, which ran for nine seasons and ended in 2013. Since then, Smith has starred in Bad Teacher, Inside Out and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Maram.
Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock
8 out of 11
Charisma carpenter
The actress was part of the 1991 roster of the San Diego Chargers. After breaking onto the Hollywood scene in 1994, Carpenter starred in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Veronica Mars, The Lying Game and Going Home.
The Las Vegas native was married Damien Hardy from 2002 to 2008. The exes share one son, Donovan.
Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock
9 out of 11
Emily “Starr” Spangler
Spangler danced on the sidelines at Dallas Cowboys games from 2005 to 2008. She appeared in seasons 1 and 2 of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team, which aired in 2006 and 2007, respectively. However, reality TV lovers may know her as the winner of season 13 of The Amazing Race, which aired in 2008. she married Tyler Rey in October 2013.
Photo credit: Youtube
10 out of 11
Leah van Dale
Van Dale, best known by her Raw ring name Carmella, was a cheerleader for the New England Patriots for three seasons before retiring in 2010. She was Laker Girl in the 2010-2011 season. The Massachusetts native joined WWE in 2013 and made her NXT debut the following year.
The professional wrestler married another WWE star Matthew Polinskywhose ring name is Corey Graves, April 2022. Van Dale is the stepmother of Polinsky’s three children.
Credit: Mediapunch/Shutterstock
11 out of 11
Erica Kiehl Jenkins
Jenkins was a cheerleader for the Dallas Cowboys from 2007 to 2009. Her journey to becoming a rookie was documented in Season 2 of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team in 2007 and she then returned for Season 3. The star is part of the second listing for The Pussycat dolls. The girl group originally formed in 2003, but the five singers — including Nicole Scherzinger — left the band in 2008. Three years later, The Pussycat Dolls reformed with Jenkins, Christina Sager, Paula van Oppen, Vanessa Curry And Lauren Bennett. Jenkins left the group in 2012 and is currently an actress and model.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Erica Kiehl Jenkins/Instagram
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