15 Celebrities and Their Gymnastics History.

Many gym fans can name a plethora of current gymnasts, from elites to collegiate to Junior Olympic. Many gym fans also know of former gymnasts, mostly those who were elites, collegiate, or JO, but there are, of course, many who are not known for their gymnastics. While flipping through several issues of Glamour Magazine, a feature on celebrity secrets revealed that actress Salma Hayek was an elite gymnast in Mexico who hoped to compete in the Olympics. From the discovery of this knowledge, an internet search was conducted to find other celebrities who were gymnasts.

• ·         Nicole Anderson, best known for being on Disney’s JONAS LA and ABC Family’s Make It or Break It, was a competitive gymnast for ten years. She quit the sport after suffering too many injuries during her last year of competition.
• ·         Mississippi native Katherine Bailess began gymnastics when she was four years old. She was also a cheerleader and dancer. Bailess portrayed Erica Marsh, a recurring character in the CW/WB’s One Tree Hill, and Coleen Lipman, a role in Bring It On Again.
• ·         One of Make It or Break It’s actresses, Candace Cameron Bure, who plays Summer on the gymnastics teen-drama, took gymnastics classes for about a year around the age of four. Bure claims that she did not possess much flexibility or talent in the sport, but it is her favorite Summer Olympic sport. Her father was also a gymnast, who competed in high school. Although Bure was a main character of MIOBI, Bure is most famous for playing DJ Tanner on Full House.
• ·         English actress Alison Carroll, the “Official Lara Croft” of the Tomb Raider series, is very familiar with gymnastics. Carroll has 20 years of gymnastics training and has represented Great Britain in several international competitions.
• ·         Nina Dobrev, star of Gabby Douglas’s favorite show, The Vampire Diaries, was actually a rhythmic gymnast in Canada. Dobrev represented Canada and competed internationally. 

                                 

• ·         Actor Richard Gere received a scholarship to the University of Massachusetts in Amherst for men’s gymnastics but only attended college for two years to pursue his acting career.
• ·         Mexican actress Salma Hayek was an accomplished elite gymnast for Mexico and was chosen to be on the Mexican National Team. Hayek wanted to be in the Olympics, but never achieved her dream because her father did not want her to travel worldwide for international competitions.
• ·         Olivia Holt, a young adult actress for the Disney Channel, first appeared on the youth channel in a short commercial segment called My Life that highlighted her cheerleading and gymnastics skills. Holt was a competitive gymnast for five years and was also a competitive cheerleader. 

            

• ·         One Tree Hill’s Bethany Joy Lenz also participated in gymnastics as a child, like former co-star Katherine Bailess. Like Bailess, she was also in the sequel to the popular cheerleading movie Bring It On Again.
• ·         Victoria’s Secret Angel and model Miranda Kerr had hopes of becoming a gymnast and used to compete, but Kerr says she grew too tall for the sport. Her love of yoga, exercise, and fitness stems from her gymnastics career. Though she was unable to become an accomplished gymnast, she can pass those hopes on to her child, Flynn, who is enrolled in gymnastics classes.
• ·         Josie Loren, another MIOBI star, was a gymnast as a child, but says the only event she excelled at was floor. Loren believed she could not be a successful competitive gymnast due to lack of talent on the other apparatuses, so she used her talent to become a competitive cheerleader and was the main tumbler for her team.
• ·         True Blood’s Anna Paquin has been active for a large part of her life. She currently enjoys taking gymnastics-like fitness classes, such as trapeze classes. Her interest in gymnastics-like class stem from her childhood gymnastics training.
• ·         Singer Pink expressed her love for the Fierce Five and the sport of gymnastics on her most recent appearance on the talk show Ellen. Her adoration for the athletes and sport is due to the fact that she is a former gymnast. Pink even performed on silks during a performance once.
• ·         As a main character of both Bring It On: In It to Win It and MIOBI, it is no surprise that Cassie Scerbo did gymnastics when she was seven or eight. Despite being a former gymnast, Scerbo hardly remembers it.
• ·         Before her infamous days on MTV’s Jersey Shore, Snooki was a gymnast for 10 years, from the ages of three to 13. Her gymnastics background assisted her in becoming a cheerleader later on in life. The reality star stated that her favorite and best events were floor and vault. She despised the uneven bars.

Written By: Amanda