7 Celebrities Who Tried Thier Hand At Pro Sports

Usually, the path goes one way. After retiring from their sport, many athletes give acting a shot — and plenty of them thrive. Just look at Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Terry Crews, or Arnold Schwarzenegger. Their backgrounds in wrestling or bodybuilding made the leap into action-packed roles feel natural.

But what about the reverse? How often do famous actors or entertainers step out of the spotlight and into the world of professional sports? It’s far less common, yet several well-known celebrities have taken that unexpected detour, testing their skills in competitive arenas where fame doesn’t guarantee success.

Click through the slideshow to discover 7 celebrities who have tried their hand at professional sports.

Would you start a new sports career in your 40s? Life's too short, so why not? Redfoo seems to be living this way. The popular LMFAO singer started his tennis career back in 2013, although it wasn't until 2025 that he made his professional debut during the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour.

Around the same time that his singing career was growing, Cody Simpson was also a competitive swimmer. In 2009, he won gold medals at the Queensland Swimming Championships. While focusing on his singing career, he stopped competing until 2019.

Kaley Cuoco, best known for her role in "The Big Bang Theory," has always been an athletic person. She was a tennis player as a child, but stopped to pursue acting. Now, as an adult, Cuoco is an excellent horseback rider. She mainly does it for fun though instead of competition, finding peace with her horses.

Jake Paul, who is a big social media star, got into boxing at a later age. So far, out of 13 fights, he has won 12 of them, including one against the legendary Mike Tyson.

Not a lot of people know Tyler Winklevoss, but they should. He was the co-founder of ConnectU, which was the basis of Facebook. At the same time he developed this social website, he competed in the Olympics. He competed in the 2008 Olympics men's coxless pair event with his brother, ending in 6th place.

Some actors, like Tom Hardy, get into a sport because of training for a film. While training for a film, Tom Hardy learned Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Since learning, he's competed in multiple competitions, including the UMAC Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open Championships in September 2022. Currently, he holds a purple belt.

It's such a flex to tell people that not only are you an actor, but you've competed in the Olympics - twice! Hillary Wolf, who starred in the Home Alone franchise, also won the world judo championships for juniors in 1994. A few short years later, she competed in judo at the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 2000 Summer Olympics.