Ready? Okay! Jenna Dewan, Mandy Moore & More Celebs Who Were Once Cheerleaders (2024)

Megan Fox

Before playing a demonic cheerleader in Jennifer’s Body, Fox rooted for the Morningside Academy Eagles. Still, “I was not, even for a second, popular," she told Seventeen in 2008.

Ciara

The singer and her football star husband Russell Wilson clearly are on the Homecoming Court of life, as she proved in this cute throwback Instagram.

Chrissy Teigen

The Cravings author was inspired to post this throwback shot after watching Netflix's show, Cheer.

"Watching Cheer on Netflix got me reminiscing about how I sucked at cheerleading almost as much as I sucked at doing my brows," she wrote in the photo's caption. "Truly no idea how I made this team. The best part is they claimed there was no JV/varsity but one squad got to cheer for basketball and football and the other (mine) got volleyball and wrestling. I still remember my mat cheers though. Go fight win baby. Go fight win."

Chrissy Teigen

"Eyebrows were not mandatory," wrote Teigen, commenting on her thin brows in this squad pic.

Mandy Moore

"I loved cheerleading. I was not the most physically adept cheerleader but I was very vocal," the This Is Us actress recalled to James Corden.

Jessie James Decker

"15 and freshman year cheerleading...," wrote the country crooner, adding the hashtag: "#hidethebraces"

Jenna Dewan

The pro dancer threw it way back by posting a pic from her "Texas high school cheerleader days."

Jenna Dewan

During her early years as a cheerleader in the '80s, Dewan had the major curls that would make the Dallas Cowboys cheer squad envious.

Reese Witherspoon

The Oscar winner was on top of the world … or at least on top of the pyramid. "#TBT to my days as a proud General," she wrote, captioning her cute throwback snap on Instagram.

Fergie

Back in 1992, the crooner spent her days smiling and shaking her pom-poms at football games as a cheerleader at Glen. A. Wilson High School.

Eva Longoria

Years before landing her career-making role on Desperate Housewives, Longoria cheered for Roy Miller High School in Corpus Christi, Texas, as well as for Texas A&M-Kingsville in college.

Kylie & Kendall Jenner

Gimme a K! Before they became jetsetting supermodels and beauty moguls (and moms!), the youngest members of the Jenner clan were happy to watch the action from the sidelines (shown here in 2011).

Sandra Bullock

Need proof the Oscar winner is totally ageless? Look no further than her high school yearbook photo.

Kelly Ripa

Reminiscing about her cheerleading days, the Live with Kelly and Ryan cohost admitted her beauty choices were rather questionable. "I had tanorexia," Ripa said, adding that she also had "hair as big as it could possibly get."

Cameron Diaz

Despite the pom-poms, the actress-turned-author was actually part of the drill team at Long Beach Polytechnic High School. "I was terrible at it," she told pal Drew Barrymore in 2022. "I always had the missteps. I was really bad at walking with a flag and counting my steps and then making a left turn. I'd run into people."

Halle Berry

She did it all! On top of bringing her infectious energy to school events, the actress also worked on the school newspaper and served as prom queen.

Dakota Fanning

After being homeschooled for years, the young actress decided to attend L.A.'s Campbell Hall high school, where she joined the cheerleading squad and was voted homecoming queen.

Brooklyn Decker

The actress and model was full of school spirit as a high school cheerleader - more than a decade before making a splash on Netflix's Grace and Frankie.

Rashida Jones

"Get fired up it's Friday y'all," wrote the actress, sharing a little cheer in honor of Flashback Friday.

George W. Bush

Before he led the country, the 43rd president led his high school cheerleading team. The New York Times reports that he would rally spirits during weekly school-wide assemblies at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.

Madonna

Ever the performer, the multi-hyphenate artist cheered for her high school in Rochester, Michigan. Perhaps this served as inspiration for her 2012 Super Bowl set?

Jessica Simpson

Before she rose to fame, the singer cheered for Richardson North Junior High. In an interview with Dr. Oz, she revealed that she dropped out of her position as head cheerleader after facing extreme bullying from her peers.

Steve Martin

During his junior year at Garden Grove High School in California, the actor joined the squad for its comedic potential, writes childhood friend (and cheerleading teammate) Morris Wayne Walker in Steve Martin: The Magic Years.

Meryl Streep

Back in '60s-era Bernardsville, New Jersey, the Oscar winner brought spirit and a smile to the field with her high school cheer squad.

Stephanie Seymour

"#haventchangedabit," the supermodel said in an Instagram post of her younger self as a cheerleader, pom-poms in hand with cropped hair and wide glasses.

Katie Couric

The journalist was full of pep on Yorktown High School's cheer team in her hometown of Arlington, Virginia.