They’ve got spirit, yes they do!
Long before they were enamoring us on TV and movie screens or packing out stadiums, these stars knew how to get a crowd’s attention and bring the house down. Celebrities including Cameron Diaz, Ciara, Jenna Dewan and Meryl Streep were all cheerleaders in their younger days, showing team spirit at a wide range of ages — from grade to high school.
Ahead, see celebrities who were once cheerleaders, and find out whether they were on top of the pyramid (Reese Witherspoon) or just comic relief (Steve Martin).
01 of 30
Alex McCord
Alex McCord
Credit: Alex McCord/Instagram
Real Housewives of New York City alum Alex McCord took a walk down memory lane ahead of her high school reunion in 2025. “Never have I ever…attended my high school reunion…until this weekend,” the reality TV star wrote alongside a carousel featuring this pom pom-heavy snap. “Wish me luck! Here are some HS pics.”
02 of 30
Trista Sutter
Trista Sutter
Credit: Trista Sutter/Instagram
“The picture is grainy and my hair seems to have been attacked by hot rollers but I was (and still am!!!) a very proud Hoosier!!!!” Trista Stutter wrote alongside this gem, showcasing her uniform from the Indiana University Redstepper dance team, in January 2026. “Every home football game, the football stadium was my home and I was with my Redstepper family, even if the football team wasn’t even close to how good they are now.”
03 of 30
Megan Fox
Megan Fox as a cheerleader
Credit: Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
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.
04 of 30
Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon as a cheerleader
Credit: Reese Witherspoon/Instagram
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.
05 of 30
Cameron Diaz
Cameron Diaz as a cheerleader
Credit: Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
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.”
06 of 30
Halle Berry
Halle Berry as a cheerleader
Credit: Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
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.
07 of 30
Ciara
Ciara as a cheerleader
Credit: Ciara/Instagram
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.
08 of 30
Eva Mendes
Eva Mendes
Credit: Eva Mendes/Instagram
The bangs! The bow! The big smile! Eva Mendes clearly had the rah-rah spirit needed to be a standout member of her school’s drill team.
09 of 30
Chrissy Teigen
Chrissy Teigen as a cheerleader
Credit: Chrissy Teigen/Instagram
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.”
10 of 30
Chrissy Teigen
Chrissy Teigen as a cheerleader
Credit: Chrissy Teigen Twitter
“Eyebrows were not mandatory,” wrote Teigen, commenting on her thin brows in this squad pic.
11 of 30
Mandy Moore
Mandy Moore as a cheerleader
Credit: Mandy Moore/Instagram
“I loved cheerleading. I was not the most physically adept cheerleader but I was very vocal,” This Is Us star Mandy Moore recalled to James Corden.
12 of 30
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock as a cheerleader
Credit: Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
Need proof the Oscar winner is totally ageless? Look no further than her high school yearbook photo.
13 of 30
Jessie James Decker
Jessie James Decker as a cheerleader
“15 and freshman year cheerleading…,” wrote the country crooner, adding the hashtag: “#hidethebraces”
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Jenna Dewan
Jenna Dewan as a cheerleader
Credit: Jenna Dewan Tatum/Instagram
The pro dancer threw it way back by posting a pic from her “Texas high school cheerleader days.”
15 of 30
Jenna Dewan
Jenna Dewan as a cheerleader
Credit: Jenna Dewan/Instagram
During her early years as a cheerleader in the ’80s, Dewan had the major curls that would make the Dallas Cowboys cheer squad envious.
16 of 30
Constance Zimmer
Constance Zimmer
Credit: Constance Zimmer/Instagram
Constance Zimmer dug into her archives and pulled this pic out when her 17-year-old daughter asked to wear her cheerleading uniform for Halloween 2025.
17 of 30
Fergie
Fergie as a cheerleader
Credit: Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
Back in 1992, the pop star spent her days smiling and shaking her pom-poms at football games as a cheerleader at Glen. A. Wilson High School.
18 of 30
Eva Longoria
Eva Longoria as a cheerleader
Credit: Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
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.
19 of 30
Kylie & Kendall Jenner
Kylie and Kendall Jenner as cheerleaders
Credit: Miguel Aguilar/Juan Sharma/Pacific Coast News
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).
20 of 30
Kelly Ripa
Kelly Ripa as a cheerleader
Credit: Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
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.”
21 of 30
Dakota Fanning
Dakota Fanning as a cheerleader
Credit: Pacific Coast News
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.
22 of 30
Brooklyn Decker
Brooklyn Decker as a cheerleader
Credit: Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
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.
23 of 30
Rashida Jones
Rashida Jones as a cheerleader
Credit: Rashida Jones/Instagram
“Get fired up it’s Friday y’all,” wrote the actress, sharing a little cheer in honor of Flashback Friday.
24 of 30
George W. Bush
George W. Bush as a cheerleader
Credit: Darren McCollester/Newsmakers
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.
25 of 30
Madonna
Madonna as a cheerleader
Credit: Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
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?
26 of 30
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson as a cheerleader
Credit: Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
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.
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Steve Martin
Steve Martin as a cheerleader
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.
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Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep as a cheerleader
Back in ’60s-era Bernardsville, New Jersey, the Oscar winner brought spirit and a smile to the field with her high school cheer squad.
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Stephanie Seymour
Stephanie Seymour as a cheerleader
Credit: Stephanie Seymour/Instagram
“#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.
30 of 30
Katie Couric
Katie Couric as a cheerleader
Credit: Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
The journalist was full of pep on Yorktown High School’s cheer team in her hometown of Arlington, Virginia.
Read the original article on People