Celebrities who were Cheerleaders

The list of celebrities who were cheerleaders. Some of the women on the list will make you think, “ah, yes, of course she was a cheerleader.” Others? Yeah, they’ll surprise you. 

25. Snooki

 I don’t know what it is but, side by side, I find these two photos of Nicole Polizzi to be absolutely hilarious. Can you believe this tiny nut-job is a celebrity? These are indeed crazy times.

24. Diane Sawyer

Today she’s a respected journalist, but back in the day Diane Sawyer was a cheerleader. Of course, back then cheerleaders were a little more modestly dressed, so it doesn’t seem that out of character.

23. Katie Couric

 Speaking of journalists who used to be cheerleaders, how about America’s sweetheart Katie Couric? No, that Y isn’t for Yale. Couric went to another very good school, the University of Virginia.

22. Amy Poehler

I bet Amy Poehler was probably the funniest cheerleader on the squad.

21. Madonna

Even in high school Madonna was smug. Look at the two girls holding her—they have huge smiles. Madonna? Nope. Just a wry grin.

20. Rachel Ray

It’s definitely no surprise that someone as bubbly and outgoing as Rachel Ray was a cheerleader in high school, is it?

19. Meryl Streep

 Even in high school Meryl Streep was practicing for her Academy Award-winning acting career. Doesn’t it look like she’s carrying that megaphone like a trophy?

18. Jayma Mays

 Ironically, given the role she plays on Glee, constantly doing battle with cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, Jayma Mays was a cheerleader herself in high school.

17. Kirstie Alley

Don’t let her yo-yo dieting these days fool you: back in the day, Kirstie Alley was a stone cold fox…though, not when she was a cheerleader apparently. What’s with that hairdo?

16. Alicia Silverstone

Before she was in Aerosmith videos and feature films, Alicia Silverstone was just a regular high school cheerleader in San Francisco.

15. Kirsten Dunst

It seemed like Kirsten Dunst went directly from child star (remember Interview with a Vampire?) to regular grown-up movie star (hello, Mary Jane). So I don’t know when she found the time to attend a regular middle school, but she did…and she was a cheerleader. Then she also attended a regular high school and, interestingly, the first movie she made after graduating was about cheerleaders (Bring it On). Funny how that works.

14. Paula Abdul

 Paula Abdul wasn’t just a cheerleader in high school. She got her start at a dancer as one of the world famous Laker Girls.

13. Cameron Diaz

I’ve never been a big fan of Cameron Diaz, but I must say she was pretty cute in high school. I totally would have dated her. (Though, obviously, she wouldn’t have dated me.)

12. Kelly Ripa

 Here’s another one that is no surprise. Kelly Ripa just seems like she’d make a natural cheerleader. That must make her new morning show co-host—Michael Strahan—feel right at home on the set.

11. Fergie

Fergie wears a ton of makeup and hides behind some really ridiculous outfits, but she’s actually got an all-American sweetheart kind of look. Again, back in high school, I totally would have dated her.

10. Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock’s entire career is based on her cuteness. As you can see here, it’s not a characteristic she just developed over night.

09. Denise Richards

Sure she’s gorgeous, then and now. But you have to remember: this woman was married to Charlie Sheen. That’s called a red flag.

08. Lindsay Lohan

Like the other child star on this list (Kirstin Dunst), I find myself wondering when Lindsay Lohan found the time to attend a normal high school. She did, however—Sanford H. Calhoun High School, Merrick, New York.

07. Eva Longoria

I’m a big Eva Longoria fan, but what’s up with her face here? Was she halfway through putting on clown makeup when someone was like, “hey gurrll, yearbook photo time!!!”

06. Jessica Simpson

No, I’m not just counting all the Dallas Cowboys games she attended while dating Tony Romo. Jessica Simpson was an actual cheerleader back in high school.

05. Jennifer Lawrence

Now, you want to talk about someone blossoming later in life? Just take a look at Jennifer Lawrence. In the photo on the left, she’s the average-looking one in the top left corner. And in the photo on the right? Absolutely smoking hot.

04. Olivia Munn

Everyone on the internet says the photo on the left is of Olivia Munn. Personally, I can’t tell. But hey, the internets is never wrong, right?

03. Brooklyn Decker

Funny: Brooklyn Decker was a cheerleader in high school. Then she married a pro athlete (Andy Roddick). Coincidence?

02. Halle Berry

It looks like Halle Berry had some real team spirit back in high school. I’d make that same joke about how I totally would have dated her when I was in high school, but she’s so gorgeous that I feel like I would be insulting cosmic forces beyond my control to even kid about it.

01. Megan Fox

Megan Fox: so gorgeous, and yet married to Brian Austin Green from 90210.

Anyway, she takes the top spot because she was almost as hot when she was a cheerleader as she is today. And that’s rare.

Kawazu Nanadaru Bridge

How do you build a bridge on a mountainside when the grade is so steep that a linear ramp isn’t possible? Build a loop, and if one is not enough, build two. This is what engineers did when the built the Kawazu-Nanadaru Loop Bridge, also known as the Japanese Double loop spiral, in Kawazu, Japan. This double spiral brings cars up and down a full 45 meters while being seemingly suspended in a valley between two mountainsides. The spirals measure 80m in diameter and the whole ramp section is 1.1km long.

The bridge on Highway 414 between Tokyo and the Izu peninsular was finished in 1982 and has become a well known landmark since. 

The Motherland Calls, also called Mother Motherland, Mother Motherland Is Calling, simply The Motherland, or The Mamayev Monument, is a statue in Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, Russia, commemorating the Battle of Stalingrad. It was designed by sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich and structural engineer Nikolai Nikitin. Declared the largest statue in the world in 1967, it is the last non-religious statue to be declared the largest; every record holder since has been a Buddhism-related sculpture. Compared with the later higher statues, The Motherland Calls is significantly more complex from an engineering point of view, due to its characteristic posture with a sword raised high in the right hand and the left hand extended in a calling gesture. The technology behind the statue is based on a combination of prestressed concrete with wire ropes structure, a solution which can be found also in another work of Nikitin's, the super-tall Ostankino Tower in Moscow.

Construction and dedication

The Making of Motherland Calls — When the memorial was dedicated in 1967 it was the tallest sculpture in the world, measuring 87 metres (279 feet) from the tip of its sword to the top of the plinth. The figure itself measures 52 metres (170 feet), and the sword 33 metres (108 feet). Two hundred steps, symbolizing the 200 days of the Battle of Stalingrad, lead from the bottom of the hill to the monument. The lead sculptor was Yevgeny Vuchetich, and the significant structural engineering challenges of the 7,900 tonnes (7,800 long tons; 8,700 short tons) of concrete sculpture were handled by Nikolai Nikitin. The statue appears on both the current flag and coat of arms of Volgograd Oblast.

The duplication of the wording in the title "Mother Motherland" does not exist in the original. The Russian word for "Motherland", is derived from "birth" and can be literally translated as "birth place". The title The Motherland that gave Birth to me is Calling would be an alternate translation, but The Motherland Calls is probably better idiomatic English.

The model who posed for the statue, Valentina Izotova, a native of the city, is still recognized for her resemblance to the statue. She was recruited by Lev Maistrenko, an artist who was working on the memorial complex in the early 1960s.

According to some sources the statue was partially inspired by the Winged Victory of Samothrace,[citation needed] with somewhat more extended drapery. Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov is buried in the area of the monument, as is famous Soviet sniper Vasily Zaytsev, who killed 225 Axis soldiers in the battle of Stalingrad.

The statue is currently leaning due to groundwater level changes causing movement of the foundations; the leaning is rapidly getting worse. The statue is not fixed to its foundations and is held in place only by its weight. It has moved by 20 centimetres and is not expected to be able to move much farther without collapsing. While local authorities deny that the statue is in danger, conservation and restoration works started in 2010.