When we think of our favourite celebrities, we rarely think of who they were before they became famous. You might be surprised to find out what celebrities were all about shaking those pom-poms. They strutted their stuff, wearing school colours no doubt, and cheered on their favourite team. It’s not just ladies that have been cheerleaders, there are men on this list as well. We’re not joking, just like in the movie Bring It On, men like to cheer just as much as women do.

There are some pretty cool chicks on this list and some of them you just wouldn’t believe would be the “cheerleading" type. Maybe it was peer pressure or the need to fit in, but whatever the reason, these boys and girls decided to become cheerleaders and we are shocked by it. They walk around like they are above the “cool kid” phenomena, and yet, they were attending cheer camp.

Would you be surprised to know that train Lindsay Lohan and cool girl Jennifer Lawrence were cheerleaders? Even Steve Martin was a male cheerleader — sorry it’s just really hard to picture that one. You would be surprised, just like we were, to find out the celebrities that came from a cheerleading background. This is sure to put you in the mood to pop in that Bring It On DVD and get back to the glory days.

Lindsay Lohan

Doesn’t she look cute and innocent? Yes, she does, we would have to agree. Too bad she isn’t any longer. We were definitely surprised to hear that Lindsay Lohan used to be a cheerleader. We were even surprised to hear that she attended school for an extended period of time. She was a student at Calhoun High School in Merrick, N.Y. There she is with that red hair that we love. We wish she would go back to that amazing color it suits her so much better. She’s certainly had a rough go at her career lately and we’re not sure if she’s ever going to be able to bounce back. “Everyone has highs and lows that they have to learn from, but every morning I start off with a good head on my shoulders, saying to myself, 'It's going to be a good day!'”

Madonna

This is what Madonna looked like before she was a mega superstar when she was basically around Miley Cyrus’s age. She looks completely different and more approachable as a girl. She looked no different than most teenagers at that time and judging by the photo; she really had her groove going on back then. This picture is from when she was a senior in high school. No doubt judging by the performances she does now, she was probably a high energy cheerleader back in the day. We love that she’s always been a strong person, “I guess some people are brilliant enough to be brilliant on their own and never doubt anything and come up with fabulous things. But I think it's good to get into arguments with people and have them say, 'That sucks' or 'You're crazy' or 'That's cheesy' or 'What do you think of this?'”

Blake Lively 

We are not at all surprised by this one; Blake Lively totally seems like the cheerleading type. It’s amazing looking back at these photos; she just looks like a regular happy cheerleader. It’s amazing how far she has come. Though she was never a stranger to acting, she’s from a whole family of actors. At first, she had no interest in acting. She focused on school and cheerleading, making sure that she graduated from Burbank High School in California. She must have got that acting bug at some point however because she’s been killing it in Hollywood since she arrived. Working in the industry has inspired Lively in many ways. “I've been so lucky to work with such great people: people that are such hard workers and have such a respect and appreciation for one another.” We just love her.

Sandra Bullock

We would never have expected Sandra Bullock to be part of a cheerleading squad. But the proof is here in this picture with Bullock brightening the room with her smile. At the time, she was attending Washington-Lee High School in Virginia. This cheerleader loved acting right from the beginning because she was part of the school theatre productions that were going on there. She graduated from the school in 1982. “I think most of us are raised with preconceived notions of the choices we're supposed to make. We waste so much time making decisions based on someone else's idea of our happiness - what will make you a good citizen or a good wife or daughter or actress. Nobody says, 'Just be happy - go be a cobbler or go live with goats.'” Living with goats would be awkward Sandra.

Jessica Simpson

Oh, yes! Of course, this blonde beauty was a cheerleader. She could probably cheer for Tony Roma during his Cowboys games. Right? She could slap on her Daisy Dukes and she would be ready to go. Her smile is bright and wide in this photo and she couldn’t look more innocent. Well, she was a pastor’s daughter at the time. She was attending high school in Texas but only until junior high because she dropped out to focus on her singing career. We doubt she has any regrets. Like most girls, she was insecure when she was in school. “At school, my boobs were bigger than all my friends' and I was afraid to show them. Now, I feel they make my outfits look better. They're like an accessory.” We totally get it; high school is a weird time for everyone.

Dakota Fanning

We had no idea that Dakota Fanning ever actually attended a regular school because she’s been acting since she was five years old. She did however and she was a cheerleader for the Vikings at Campbell Hall School. She graduated from the school in 2011, which is pretty cool that she actually stuck with it despite her fame. We wonder how her classmates dealt with a student who hung out with Denzel Washington in her spare time. She was totally involved with school as well and was even voted Homecoming Queen. This girl certainly made sure that she got to experience everything. She even went on to study at NYU after that. “I think you learn something from everybody that you've worked with. I really learned how to behave on set through the people that I worked with, like the importance of being on time and the importance of being professional. I don't bring my cell phone on set; I leave it in my trailer.” She’s a total class act.

Megan Fox

That sexy siren was once a cheerleader before and we can’t say that we are surprised. How do you think she got all her moves when she was that demonic cheerleader in Jennifer’s Body? Those moves don’t just come out of nowhere. She’s always been a beautiful girl and we can imagine that she was pretty popular in high school. She was a cheerleader back home as a sophomore in high school and she looked cute as a button. She believes that you can learn a lot from the high school experience that isn’t taught in textbooks. “I think you accidentally learn things in high school that turn out to be life lessons when you are able to step back a bit and study them in more depth.” Maybe that’s where she got all her moves when she was running away from the Transformers.

Cameron Diaz

This is a pretty old photo of the popular actress, but it has been a favorite on the internet, pretty much since it started up. Diaz is an absolute fox even back then and she must have had the guys going nuts especially with that giggly laugh of hers. She looks like she might even have her eye on the prize, the team Captain right there as she sits in the bleachers. She attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School but dropped out when she was 16 to pursue her modeling career. That’s right, Diaz pursued modeling before she went into acting. Either way, they both worked out for her as she became a pretty bankable star. “I'm very happy with the way I look. I wake up some morning, catch myself in the bathroom mirror, and go, 'hey girl, you're alright'. But on the other hand, I find the website stuff, and the polls, something completely removed from my own personal life. You can't take anything like that too seriously, otherwise, you'd end up in the loony bin.”

Jennifer Lawrence

This one surprised us quite a bit because Jennifer Lawrence always goes around Hollywood acting like she doesn’t care about things like this. She doesn’t worry about popularity or fitting in; she literally trips on the stairs when accepting an award. She’s the awkward girls that fumbles during interviews, we would never have expected her to be a cheerleader. But her cheerleading days were a long time ago, in middle school when she attended Kammerer Middle School in Louisville, KY. So, we’ll forgive her for her youthful choices. “I picked up an issue of Cosmopolitan the other day that had tips for job interviews, because I was like, 'I need to get better at interviews.' The article was basically about how to get someone not to hate you in 20 minutes. Every single thing they told you not to do, I was like, 'I do that every day.'” This is why we love her.

Steve Martin

We could not help but add this photo to the list because it’s hilarious. Between the cardigan and that floppy hat, this becomes the perfect picture of Steve Martin. We know him as the hilarious comedian who has made an extraordinary career in Hollywood but who knew that he was actually a male cheerleader at one time. He actually tried to write some of the cheers for his squad, but that never went over very well. “Die, you gravy-sucking pigs,” wasn’t exactly what the team was looking for. “I loved to make people laugh in high school, and then I found I loved being on stage in front of people. I'm sure that's some kind of ego trip or a way to overcome shyness. I was very kind of shy and reserved, so there's a way to be on stage and be performing and balance your life out.”

Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon is the perfect person to be a cheerleader because she has that peppy attitude that you would expect from a cheerleader. She was a cheerleader in grade school and she was actually modeling at the time as well. She was a pretty busy little girl. She actually started modeling when she was 7 years old and it’s no wonder because she was cute as a button. When she was 11, she was also the winner of a Ten-State Talent Fair. Reese Witherspoon went to an all girl’s school when she was younger. She attended Harpeth Hall School and then went on to attend Stanford University as an English major. “I had parents who believed I could do anything - and I know how that made me feel. I think both my parents, having careers in the medical profession, feel they are helping people on a daily basis, and that was inculcated in me as a value. I had to struggle with giving up the idea of becoming a doctor myself.”

Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep has always been a beautiful woman and wasn’t she just stunning as a young woman? We love how spirited she looks in these photos. Apparently, these pictures were released after someone got a hold of her yearbook. We are so happy that they came out in 2012 because they are really fun to see. She’s accomplished so much since she was a varsity cheerleader at Bernards High School in New Jersey. When these photos were taken, she probably had no idea that she would become such an icon in Hollywood. She has always had some amazing advice about what we put out into the world and we couldn’t agree with her more. “Everything we say signifies; everything counts, that we put out into the world. It impacts on kids, it impacts on the zeitgeist of the time.” It’s so important to be careful with what we say to our kids.

Halle Berry

Halle Berry was an everyday girl who attended Bedford High School in Cleveland. Her parents were a hospital attendant and a psychiatric nurse. She came from humble beginnings and as we can see with this photo, she was a cheerleader when she was in high school. She was actually quite the busy bee when she was in high school. Not only was she a cheerleader but she was also the editor of the school paper, an honors student, and prom queen. She must have been one popular girl in high school. After that, she attended Cuyahoga Community College and while there she also became involved in the pageant world. She did quite well and became Miss Teen All American in 1985 and then went on to win Miss Ohio the following year. Her big break into Hollywood came in 1989 for Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever. She certainly has come a long way.

Katie Couric

Katie Couric was part of the Virginia public school district and was a cheerleader for Yorktown High School. Look how happy she looks as she springs in the air, doing her job as a cheerleader. She was also a very busy girl in high school, while she was attending she also interned at WAVA, a radio station that is in Washington, D.C. She stayed in Virginia when she attended University just like her father did. While there she was, of course, a sorority sister. Can you picture all of this now? We can’t really say that we are that surprised that she was a cheerleader, she has that outgoing personality that would make her a perfect cheerleader. “I think sometimes people project things on you, but I'm trying to handle everything that's happened to me with a certain amount of grace, dignity and good manners. You just can't necessarily win all the time.”

Stacie Ann Ferguson

She’s a natural performer, right? That much is obvious; we see that every time that she is on stage as Fergie. She was known as an “it girl” when she was growing up and we can totally see that. Even before high school she was a Girl Scout as well as a spelling bee champion. When she was a cheerleader, she attended Glen A. Wilson High School and she maintained being a straight-A student while being a cheerleader. She’s not only talented, but she’s smart too. She’s clearly come a long way and we absolutely loved how peppy she looks as a cheerleader. She looks like a super fun girl to hang out with. She’s always been huge into fashion and that’s why we always see awesome costumes on stage. “I have always loved fashion because it's a great way to express your mood. And I'm definitely a shoe lover. The right pair of shoes can change the feel of an outfit, and even change how a woman feels about herself. A woman can wear confidence on her feet with a high stiletto, or slip into weekend comfort with a soft ballet flat.”