Kriti Mehrotra
It was in the summer of 2025 that Jenna Waller won millions of hearts across the globe as she made her debut on Netflix’s ‘America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.’ The second installment of this original production actually features her failed attempt from the previous year to fulfill her lifelong dream, only for everything to change in real time. That’s precisely what season 3 underscores, shining a light upon her ambition, grit, passion, and resilience, along with how they enabled her to secure a spot in the titular organization.
Jenna Waller Prepared Herself Both Mentally and Physically to be a Part of DCC
Jenna Waller was merely 2 years old when she started moving her body to music, shortly following which she stepped into the world of competitive studio dancing and team dancing. That’s when she fell in love with performing, resulting in her decision to pursue a career in the same before she even found her calling in becoming a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. However, she waited to move ahead until after CMT’s long-running ‘Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team’ concluded in 2021 because she preferred to navigate her early professional journey off-camera.
Little did Jenna know she would find Netflix cameras everywhere when she ultimately did audition in 2024 – season 1 hadn’t aired by that point, so she had no idea what she was getting into. She flew through the initial auditions to make it to training camp, but her worst fears became a reality when she ended up being the last person cut for the 2024-2025 season. According to her journey on the show, she told Director Kelli Finglass she’d be back next year but expressed her desire to cap her auditions at two attempts to protect her peace of mind.
Since Jenna’s training camp experience was even more grueling and stressful than she ever imagined, she knew she had to do something different to prepare for her second/final attempt. She thus began working with a former Cowboys dancer and dance trainer named Jennifer Amburn to not only learn how to manage her nerves but also build stamina as well as strength. So, things were different for her in the 2025-2026 season, especially as she was able to focus solely on healthy nerves and implementing feedback, which led to her landing a spot in the squad.
Jenna Waller is Embracing Life as a Dancer and Public Figure
As a proud native of San Diego, California, Jenna trained at local dance studios and school programs until she enrolled in an out-of-state university for further studies at the age of 18. It was through these channels that she learned everything from ballet to contemporary and jazz to power poms, resulting in her landing a spot on Boomer in her freshman year itself. Boomer is the “Pom Squad” or cheerleading dance team at the University of Oklahoma, which the Rancho Bernardo High School graduate attended for a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology. For a large portion of these years, she was insecure about her cleft lip, but she still never shied away from dancing because it was her solace.
Jenna graduated from college in 2024, immediately after which she relocated from Norman, Oklahoma, to Dallas, Texas, to chase her childhood dream of becoming a professional dancer. However, she had technically already kick-started her career with the position of an Extended Student Services Program Aide at the Poway Unified School District from 2019 to 2020. She continued down this social work path in 2023, securing a part-time job as a Youth Development Professional at the Center for Children & Families, which she maintained until she moved.
Jenna has since evolved into not only a full-time Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader but also an influencer/public figure with an incredible fan following, positions she is grateful to represent her community in. As an Asian American and Pacific Islander, she understands that visibility matters, so she truly hopes that young girls can now see her and know there is room for them in the limelight, too. The 2026 DCC Rookie of the Year also wishes to remain on this path for as long as possible, meaning the rising personality plans on returning to the organization for the 2026-2027 season. Yet, her ultimate career goal is to just have a great relationship with dance for as long as possible, all the while doing something to bring about positive change for people or the world.
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Jenna Waller Splits Her Time Between Texas and California
While Jenna has essentially settled down in Dallas, Texas, she currently splits her time between her base and her hometown of San Diego, California, owing to her family. The cat mom to an adorable little fur baby named Norman actually hails from a tight-knit, supportive family, so she likes to spend quality time with them whenever possible. Whether it be her loving parents, her kind siblings, or her family pets – Joey, Gus, Benny, and Zeke – she likes to be by them as often as she can because she knows she wouldn’t be who she is without them. In other words, they are her source of inspiration, motivation, and optimism, which is why she has never shied away from publicly admitting precisely how much they mean to her. On a more personal level, we should also mention that Jenna is a travel enthusiast. She explored England, the Netherlands, France, and Italy in the summer of 2023, and she has visited several US States, but the dream vacation spot she has yet to travel to is the Maldives.
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