After cheering for the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, these nine alumni went on to star in TV series, movies, and reality TV.
Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders are “often imitated but never equaled”—and that star power doesn’t end on the football field. Many of these hard-working, talented women have found fame (and sometimes fortune) after retiring from the team.
From actors to reality TV stars, these Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders leveraged their dancing skills and training regimen to give them a leg up in the entertainment industry. Some have become so well-known as actors that it’s easy to forget they got their start as cheerleaders!
Learn more about nine of these talented former Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders below.
1. Jill Marie Jones (DCC 1993-1995)
After leaving the DCC in 1995, Jill Marie Jones turned to acting, which she continues to do. She has appeared in “The Perfect Holiday,” “The Longshots,” “American Horror Story,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Black-Ish,” “Girlfriends,” “Delilah,” “The Chi,” and “Bel-Air.”
2. Bonnie-Jill Laflin (DCC 1996-1997)
After cheering for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, Bonnie-Jill Laflin had a short stint with the DCC. She later appeared in four episodes of “Baywatch” as well as a variety of other TV shows, often as a dancer, and in Dierks Bentley’s “Come A Little Closer” music video.
She was the first (and only) female scout for the NBA, worked as a reporter for many high-profile networks, including ESPN and NBA TV, co-hosted the “Women’s Western Sports Roundup” on the Cowgirl Channel, and has been the afternoon drive host for 98.7 “The Spot” in Dallas since 2023.
3. Sarah Shahi (DCC 1999-2000)
Since her time in the DCC, Sarah Shahi has gone on to have a prolific career in Hollywood, acting in “Paradise,” “Red, White & Royal Blue,” “Black Adam,” “Sex/Life,” “Chicago Fire,” “Person of Interest,” “Fairly Legal,” “The L Word,” and “Rush Hour 3.”
She credits her time as a cheerleader for helping her make it in show business. In a March 2014 interview with Fox News, she described the team as “very competitive,” adding, “Those cheerleaders make show business look like babies foreplay.”
4. Brandi Redmond (DCC 2000-2003, 2004-2006)
Brandi Redmond was a DCC for five years and then went on to star in “The Real Housewives of Dallas” for five seasons. The fiery redhead defended her time as a cheerleader in an April 2016 interview with Bravo’s The Daily Dish.
“[People think] that they’re airheads and ditzy,” she said. “And what I will always say to that [is that] with the [Dallas] cheerleaders they are full-time mothers; there have been teachers, doctors, you name it across the board. … So I’m like, ‘Suck it, people. We work so hard.’”
5. Jenni Croft (DCC 2002-2005)
After cheering with the DCC for several years, Croft went on to join Brad Womack’s season 11 of “The Bachelor,” where she was one of the final two women. (Womack famously sent home both of his final girls.)
Since her time on the reality show, she danced for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and started working at the front office of the team’s dentist, Dr. John Badolato—whom she ended up marrying, per Bustle. Now, she lives in Arizona with her husband and three kids.
6. Starr Spangler (DCC 2005-2007)
The world first got to know Starr Spangler when she appeared on CMT’s “Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team,” chronicling her audition process. After cheering for three years, she went on to compete on Season 13 of “The Amazing Race” with her brother, Nick, winning $1 million.
Now, she doesn’t do anything for TV, but according to her LinkedIn, she works for Meta and runs the Dance Starr Fitness studio in California.
7. Melissa Rycroft (2006-2008)
Melissa Rycroft has dabbled in reality TV over the years. She was proposed to on Jason Mesnick’s Season 13 of “The Bachelor,” before he broke up with her and chose his runner-up, now-wife Molly Mesnick. Rycroft was on “Dancing With the Stars” in 2009 and won its all-star season in 2012, and she even had her own brief reality series on CMT, “Melissa & Tye” with her now-husband, Tye Strickland.
She served as a mentor in “Making the Team,” where she explained the mental fortitude required to be a cheerleader. In a Sept. 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Rycroft shared that the biggest misconception about cheerleaders is that “they’re stupid and pretty.”
“What I love about this show [‘Making the Team’] is that it lets people know that these girls have to be intelligent and articulate to make the cut,” she added.
In Sept. 2025, Rycroft was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Texas and was released on a $1,000 bond. Afterward, she responded to a fan on an Instagram post, per E! News, “Life really sucks right now. I’m trying to march forward. Thank you for the sweet words in what seems like a negative world.”
8. Abigail Klein (2007-2010)
She was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader for three years, but Abigail Klein is perhaps best known for her role as Stephanie on “Days of Our Lives,” which she has played since 2022. Other acting credits include “Christmas on Ice,” “American Housewife,” “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” “Drop Dead Diva,” and “That’s My Boy.”
In an Oct. 2022 interview with Soap Opera Digest, Klein talked about her twin loves of cheer and acting. “I decided my first allegiance was to the Cowboys, that I was going to do that first,” she said. “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.”
9. Jasmine Goode (2012-2015)
Jasmine Goode competed on Nick Viall’s season 21 of “The Bachelor,” and then appeared on “Bachelor in Paradise.” She has also starred in Bravo’s “The Valley” since 2024.
After watching Netflix’s “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders,” which led to the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders receiving a 400% pay increase, Goode praised the team in a June 2025 Instagram Q&A.
“To see these women finally getting the pay and respect they deserve? It’s about damn time,” Goode said, per Taste of Reality. “They are world-class athletes and performers. And this should be the standard for every dancer in the NFL and NBA.”
