20 Celebrities Who Were Cheerleaders Before They Hit The Big Time

Do you know what Jennifer Lawrence, Madonna, Blake Lively, Meryl Streep, etc… have in common? Of course, they’re famous and beautiful, but they all were once cheerleaders. These megastars have cheered for their teams as NBA cheerleaders, college cheerleaders, high school cheerleaders, and more.
You may think that celebs and cheerleaders seem not to be relevant, but they are. In fact, cheerleaders are often high-spirited girls with a lot of personality and charisma who serve as the spirit pack's leader. While celebrities have something special that makes them stick out in a crowd. That's probably one factor that determines who they will be in the future: people who make others feel inspired. And now, they are actually respected celebrities who are doing their best.
Take a look at these 20 superstars who were cheerleaders before they got big in this post. Maybe your idol was one of them and you’ll be surprised about that. Scroll down to check them out.

#1 Lindsay Lohan

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Lindsay Lohan has had an impressive acting career. She started acting when she was only 3 years old and has left many remarkable roles, especially in teen movies. Not many people, including fans, know that she was a part of the cheerleading teams during her high school time. In fact, the actress of Mean Girls was a member of the cheerleading teams at both Cold Spring Harbor High School and Sanford H. Calhoun High School before converting to homeschooling. In addition, Lohan called herself a "floater" in high school because she participated in soccer, tennis, and basketball.

#2 Jennifer Lawrence

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It's hard to believe that Jennifer Lawrence, as demanding and fiery as she appears today, formerly performed as a cheerleader. She was a cheerleader in high school, where she attempted cheerleading, basketball, and hockey. However, Lawrence might not have enjoyed it as she participated in sports and athletics at her parent's insistence.

#3 Blake Lively

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Blake Lively has had a busy time during her high school days. The actress was not only swamped with homework, acting for the movie '’The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’', but also cheerleading. The actress admitted that he was "impressively athletic" while sharing a throwback picture from her cheerleading days.

#4 Meryl Streep

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Meryl Streep always satisfied fans with her top-notch acting. Before becoming a remarkable movie star, she was a skilled cheerleader in high school. She was also a Prom queen, demonstrating that she has been an exceptional person her entire life.

#5 Jayma Mays

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Jayma Mays leaves a mark with her incredible performance in Red Eye and Glee. The actress was a spirited cheerleader in high school. This demonstrates that she faced the same adolescent struggles as the rest of us.

#6 Mandy Moore

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Mandy has accomplished a lot in her career, not only did she star in 2001's 'The Princess Diaries' (as Lana Thomas, she wore pom poms), but she also had a hit song at the age of fifteen, "Candy." She has been in the film “A Walk to Remember” and in the television show 'This is Us.' But Mandy got her start as a celebrity by cheering the neighborhood Pop Warner football team, which likely assisted her in developing the acting and active talents that have ultimately helped her succeed in life.

#7 Jenna Dewan

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Jenna Dewan may not appear to be a cheerleader due to her graceful and daring nature, but she can truly bust a move on the dance floor. She demonstrated her abilities in Step Up, and everyone was impressed. Dewan was a cheerleader before she became famous for her dance abilities on the big screen. When you consider how much enthusiasm she gives to her roles, it's easy to see her as a cheerleader.

#8 Chrissy Teigen

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Chrissy Teigen is most commonly associated with modeling and her marriage to the well-known singer John Legend. Additionally, she has experience as a TV host for programs like Lip Sync Battle. The multi-talented celebrity has dabbled in acting, making appearances in movies including Seeing Double and Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation. She attempted to be a cheerleader in high school, though, before going into the Entertainment industry. She can laugh about it now even if she wasn't as good at it as she would have liked to be.

#9 Dakota Fanning

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Unlike many others on this list, acting came long before cheering for Dakota Fanning. After leaving huge arrays of impressive roles as a child star, Fanning has focused on her education. She attended NYU and was a member of the varsity spirit cheerleading squad at Campbell Hall School, where she also served as homecoming queen.

#10 Madonna

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When she was in middle school, Madonna was known for both her excellent academics and her erratic conduct, which included doing cartwheels and handstands in the hallways between classes and dangling by her knees from the monkey bars at recess. She earned straight=A 's while attending Rochester Adams High School and participated in cheerleading. She attended the University of Michigan on a dance scholarship but left after one semester and came to New York City in 1978. She labored hard to become a pop music icon there. It took her six years to put her first two singles, "Borderline" and "Lucky Star," on the market.

#11 Lucy Hale

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Lucy Hale has portrayed a young character in Pretty Little Liars for almost ten years, so it's not that hard to picture her as a teenager. She was a real cheerleader when she was a young adolescent, and that spirit is still present in her today. She has a picture of her grandma cheering, so apparently, cheerleading runs in the family. She believes that this old photograph is the "greatest photograph of all time."

#12 Alicia Silverstone

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It's unlikely that Alicia Silverstone would have predicted that her early acting and cheering experiences would pave the way for a career known for its beauty queen roles. She was born in San Francisco to British parents. At the age of six, her father's photos helped her land a modeling contract and a spot in television ads.
The actress improved her performance skills at San Mateo High School by cheering for her fellow Bearcats. After graduating from high school, Silverstone received her first acting roles in The Wonder Years and The Crush. Director Marty Callner was impressed by her work in the latter and hired her to appear in the music videos for Aerosmith's "Cryin'," "Amazing," and "Crazy." A year later, she was cast as Cher Horowitz in Clueless, the part of a lifetime.

#13 Eva Longoria

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We fell in love with Eva Longoria as an actor thanks to The Young and the Restless. Even before she participated in Desperate Housewives from 2004 to 2012, her involvement in the series made her immensely well-known.
But she wasn't only a great actress; back in the day, she was also a very good cheerleader. She danced for The Pussycat Dolls and was a cheerleader in both high school and college as a young woman. In other words, Longoria possesses a huge range of skills.

#14 Ann-Margret

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The fact that some of our most well-known stars were cheerleaders is genuinely astonishing. Ann-Margret, who was fantastic in the 1963 film Bye Bye Birdie and the 1971 film Carnal Knowledge, is a prime example. Ann-Margret was a cheerleader in the 1950s, just like many other celebrities on this list. She was a fan of the Illinois New Trier High School in Winnetka.

#15 Ciara

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Knowing that Ciara was formerly a cheerleader is not surprising given how aggressive she can be on stage. She still seems to have the ideal shape. The singer was a cheerleader when she was a teen, and with her prowess on the dance floor, she frequently puts many hip-hop dancers to shame. She was more than just a cheerleader because, as a senior in high school, she served as the team captain.

#16 Kathie Lee Gifford

Source: Daily Mail

Kathie Lee Gifford was born in Paris and relocated to Bowie, Maryland when she was four years old. By the time she was fourteen, she was a cheerleader. This future household figure triumphed at Maryland's Junior Miss Pageant in 1970, launching her into stardom.
Gifford studied music and acting at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after graduating from high school. Few people are unfamiliar with this cheerleader after her fifteen-year tenure on "Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee."

#17 Denise Richards

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Denise Richards was able to win over many moviegoers with her performances in Starship Troopers, Wild Things, and The World is Not Enough. She appeared in Paper Empire and The Bold and the Beautiful as well. But as a cheerleader in high school, she delighted many spectators. The aptitudes eventually paid off when she made an appearance in the 2019 cheering movie The Secret Life Of Cheerleaders.

#18 Halle Berry

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Halle Berry, who is the daughter of a mental nurse and a hospital employee, excelled in all areas at Cleveland's Bedford High School, where she was a cheerleader, honors student, newspaper editor, and prom queen. Berry competed in a number of beauty pageants following his enrollment at Cuyahoga Community College. She won Miss Teen All-American in 1985, followed by victories in Miss Ohio and Miss USA's first runner-up competitions. She made her television debut in 1989, and two years later, in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever, she became a major movie star.

#19 Cameron Diaz

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Cameron Diaz began her career as a performer and a cheerleader at Long Beach Poly High. She was born into a Cuban household in Southern California. Snoop Dogg, a classmate, recalls Diaz running "with all my little cheering homegirls" in a Yahoo! Music article and termed her "fly."
She started her career as a fashion model at the age of 16, working for brands like Calvin Klein and Levi's. She was on the cover of Seventeen's July 1990 edition and filmed a Coca-Cola commercial in Sydney the following year. She debuted as a sex symbol when she appeared in The Mask with Jim Carrey at age 21 in 1994.
She won a Golden Globe for her performance in There's Something About Mary in 1998. Being John Malkovich, Any Given Sunday, Charlie's Angels, Vanilla Sky, Shrek, and My Sister's Keeper are just a few of the films in which she had standout performances. Diaz was named the wealthiest Hispanic female celebrity by Forbes in 2010. She was recognized as the highest-paid actress over 40 in 2013 by The Hollywood Reporter.

#20 Miley Cyrus

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Many people have followed Miley Cyrus's career, so we all may know everything there is to know about her. She used to be a cheerleader before she became the rebellious and energetic lady she is today. She was a cheerleader in high school, in addition to appearing in Hannah Montana and producing songs when she was younger. She is a member of the Premier Tennessee All-Star cheerleading squad, which is extremely outstanding. Having said that, we can always expect Miley to surprise us, and this is undoubtedly one of them.