These Celebrities Came to the Limelight Through Sports

In the modern world of today, skill is all that matters. If you can do a job well, you would be embraced by the industry with open arms. This holds good for any line of work including the acting. That’s exactly why we are seeing more and more career switches these days. 

Quite interestingly, it turns out that there are many sports stars that have a knack for acting it out in front of the camera. In some cases, they have been even better on screen than in the field of play. These stars are not just restricted to action sequences, since they proved themselves in movies of all genres. Here are some celebrities that came to limelight through sports. 

Gina Carano

Gina Carano is an American actress and a former mixed martial artist who was quite popular in MMA circles in the late 2000s. She regularly featured in the mixed martial arts events of the organizations such as Strikeforce, EliteXC, and World Pro Fighting Championships.

Carano fought eight fights in her short career and won seven of them. Being a specialist herself, she also participated in twelve Muay Thai-only fights and lost only one of them. She hung up her gear to try her hand at acting in 2009. She has been featured in big titles such as *Fast and Furious 6*, *Deadpool*, and **The Mandalorian**.

Terry Crews

Seeing Terry Crews in comedic roles today, one cannot fathom him tackling and head-bunting on a football field. Yet, it's true. The actor played in the NFL as a linebacker and a defensive end before coming to Hollywood.

Terry played in the position for some of the big guns in the league, like the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and Washington Redskins. He left the league in 2000 and embarked on his journey to become an actor. Terry became immensely popular and has big titles to his name, such as *Get Smart*, *The Expendables*, and *The Longest Yard*.  

Stacy Keibler

Stacy Keibler is an American actress, model, dancer, and former wrestler and cheerleader. She was a huge success in the wrestling world and franchise, the WWF. Moreover, Stacy was an integral part of the Nitro Girls in WCW, where she was ultimately launched into the role of Miss Hancock, the manager.

Stacy left the wrestling ring and all her fame as an athlete behind to try her luck in the acting world. In the industry, she went on to appear in a number of TV series and also became a host for many reality shows. Stacy also rose to prominence for her relationship with veteran actor George Clooney.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

Dwayne is a household name and immensely successful as an actor. He shuffled through a lot of careers before ending up in Hollywood. During his college years, Johnson was a good football player and played for the University of Miami and later for the Calgary Stampeders in the CFL.

After being cut by the team, he became a professional wrestler and became extremely popular in WWE as 'The Rock.' As a wrestler, he won multiple championships and accolades. Afterward, Dwayne hung up his gear and came to Hollywood. He has a long list of blockbuster movies, such as the *Fast and Furious franchise, Get Smart*, and *The Game Plan*.