She’s the woman behind America’s most famous pom-poms, so who is DCC’s Kelli Finglass?
She's an icon
61-year-old Kelli Finglass is the DCC Director featured on season three of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. You may know her as a strict and brutally honest figure within DCC, but there’s a whole lot more to her. So, let’s dive in to who Kelli Finglass is on DCC.
She’s a former DCC
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Hailing from Lindale, Texas, just east of Dallas, Kelli’s been dancing since a young age. She graduated from the University of North Texas after studying Modern Dance at Texas Christian University.
From 1984 to 1989, she was the first cheerleader to be invited back without having to go through the customary audition process. Now an alumna, Kelli was a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader for five seasons. So really, she’s a DCC through and through, having seen many different perspectives into the organisation.
She’s been the director of DCC for over three decades
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After leaving the squad, Kelli was hired in 1989 by Jerry Jones, the owner, manager, and president of the Dallas Cowboys. She became the assistant director of DCC until 1990. In 1991, Kelli took a promotion and became director of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
As well as director, she also acts as a business manager. Kelli’s since expanded the organisation, creating a business out of the DCC brand. With ties to the DCC for over 40 years, she’s devoted her entire career to the organisation.
She’s been married since 1996 and has two children
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Kelli’s been married to Joel Finglass since 1996. They have two children, a son named Ryan and a daughter named Samantha. They currently live in Coppell, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.
Her husband of over 30 years, Joel, also previously worked for the Dallas Cowboys in the team’s business operations. So the entire family has ties to the Dallas Cowboys it seems.
While most of their marriage and relationship remains private, Kelli does occasionally post him and their children on social media. From family vacations abroad, to her daughter going into her medical residency, she shares glimpses of her personal life from time to time.
This isn’t her first reality TV gig
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From 2006 to 2021, she served as an executive producer and starred in CMT’s hit series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. Running for 16 seasons, it followed the same premise of America’s Sweethearts and documented the journey of DCC auditions.
She was in the former reality TV series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.
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