7 Stars You Forgot Were Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
7 Stars You Forgot Were Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
Emily BlackwoodThu, June 25, 2026 at 10:30 AM UTC
0
Brandi Redmond at the NFL Pro Bowl on Feb. 13, 2005 in Honolulu, Hawaii; Brandi Redmond during Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen on December 18, 2019Credit: Kirby Lee/Getty; Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty -
Several former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have gone on to have careers in the spotlight
Alumni, like Brandi Redmond and Melissa Rycroft, have used their time on the squad to launch reality TV careers
Others, including Jill Marie Jones and Sarah Shahi, leveraged the opportunity to pursue acting
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have their fair share of famous alumni.
Since the team became an official organization in 1972, it has jump-started the careers of several recognizable names, including Bravo star Brandi Redmond and actresses like Jill Marie Jones and Sarah Shahi.
"In Texas, to be a Dallas Cheerleader is a very big deal," Shahi told Fox News in March 2014. "It was very competitive ... I learned a great deal about what it's like to be disciplined and rehearse. ... To be able to have that kind of foundation going into Hollywood was fantastic."
So, who else has cheered with America's Sweethearts? Here are seven stars who have Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader listed on their résumé.
01 of 07
Jill Marie Jones
Jill Marie Jones at the EBONY Power 100 Gala on November 4, 2025, in Los AngelesCredit: Chad Salvador/Variety via Getty
Before she made a name for herself on shows like Girlfriends, Jones danced with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in the '90s.
Looking back on her experience during a June 2025 interview for Still Watching Netflix, the actress reflected on what it was like being one of the few Black women on the squad and the support system she found there.
"I've been used to being a speckle of pepper in a sea of salt," she said, noting that there were only five other Black cheerleaders when she was on the team. "So I really leaned on not just the sisterhood, because everyone was amazing, but my Black sisters. It was really important to me."
02 of 07
Bonnie-Jill Laflin
Bonnie-Jill LaflinCredit: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
Basketball Wives star Bonnie-Jill Laflin got her start cheering for a different sport.
Before she worked as a sports correspondent and became the first female NBA scout, she was a member of the DCC for one season in 1996.
Laflin told PEOPLE in April 2017 that the popularity from the gig "was a stepping stone" for her career and led to "a lot of jobs later on."
03 of 07
Sarah Shahi
Sarah Shahi attends the unveiling of her new flagship clinic Naturopathic Longevity on May 30, 2026 in CaliforniaCredit: Monica Schipper/Getty
Despite having no previous experience, The Rookie star landed a coveted spot on the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in 1999 by faking her "way through the dance line."
"There were 500 girls that auditioned," Shahi later recalled to Fox 11 Los Angeles, adding that she joined the team to become an actress. "I just stayed at the end of the line and would copy what they were doing, so that way I had like a little bit of an idea when I got up to the front."
During her short time on the team, the DCC had a cameo in Robert Altman's movie Dr. T & the Women. The actress revealed in a February 2026 interview on Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowethat after he told her she had a shot in Hollywood, she quit the team and moved to Los Angeles.
Advertisement
04 of 07
Brandi Redmond
Brandi Redmond at at the NFL Pro Bowl on Feb. 13, 2005, in HonoluluCredit: Kirby Lee/Getty
Redmond's Dallas roots run deep: The Real Housewives of Dallas alum cheered with America's Sweethearts for five years between 2000 and 2005.
She later opened up to Bravo's The Daily Dish about people's misconceptions of cheerleaders.
"They are full-time mothers; there have been teachers, doctors, you name it," Redmond said.
05 of 07
Abigail Klein
Abigail Klein of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders performs on January 3, 2010, in Arlington, TexasCredit: Ronald Martinez/Getty
From 2007 to 2010, Abigail Klein was a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, according to her IMDb.
Though she later left the team to pursue a career in acting — starring in shows like Days of Our Livesand movies like That's My Boy — she told Soap Opera Digestthat cheerleading was her first love.
"I decided my first allegiance was to the Cowboys, that I was going to do that first," she said in an October 2022 interview. "But it was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to move to L.A. … and I wanted to pursue something that I had always had a passion for."
06 of 07
Melissa Rycroft
Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Melissa Rycroft on November 29, 2007, in Irving, TexasCredit: Bob Rosato /Sports Illustrated via Getty
Prior to competing on The Bachelor and Dancing with the Stars, Melissa Rycroft cheered with the DCC from 2006 to 2008, per The Hollywood Reporter.
She told the Dallas Observerin September 2017 that her most memorable experience as a cheerleader was the first time she walked onto the field in that iconic blue-and-white uniform.
"It is such a process to become a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, from the audition to the three-month training camp," Rycroft continued. "There are so many elements you have — the crowd, techno, pyro — and you have the players behind you. Overall it is an exciting experience."
Rycroft later returned to the organization as a recurring judge on the CMT reality series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team until 2018, according to her IMDb.
07 of 07
Jasmine Goode
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Jasmine Goode performs on August 25, 2012, in Arlington, TexasCredit: Ronald Martinez/Getty
Fellow Bachelor alum Jasmine Goode was part of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and appeared in season 7 of Making the Team as well.
According to Texas Monthly, she was cut from the team before training camp in season 10.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
