See the 5 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Whose Moms Were on the Team
See the 5 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Whose Moms Were on the Team
Julie TremaineSun, June 21, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC
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Madeline Salter and her mom Shannon; Cassie Trammell Loftin with her mom Judy and daughter Lennon.Credit: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders/Tiktok; Cassie Trammell Loftin/Instagram -
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders head choreographer Judy Trammell's daughter, Cassie Trammell Loftin, cheered on the team and now works with the Junior DCC squad
America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders season 3 rookie candidate Dayton Bramhall, daughter of associate choreographer Shelly Bramhall, has tried out for the team four times
Billie Gosdin Mitchell's daughter, Amber Gosdin Montgomery, became the team's first second-generation DCC
Anyone who's seen America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleadersknows that the cheerleaders on the squad act like family — but for some Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, it's even more true because their moms were also on the squad.
"Coming in as a legacy cheerleader was an amazing experience altogether, but an even more special one for my mom and I since we got to celebrate everything together," Meredith Oden, who was on the DCC squad from 2007-2011, said in a video for Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team in 2022. Her mother Kim Oden was a Cowboys cheerleader from 1982-1984.
But some ties to the team go even deeper. Judy Trammell, who was a Cowboys cheerleader from 1980-1984, is the longtime choreographer of the DCC squad and raised her daughter Cassie Trammell with Cowboys football. Cassie was on the squad from 2008-2013 and now works with the Junior DCC squad.
"It's just been a dream of mine to follow in her footsteps," Cassie said on Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.
Here's everything to know about the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders whose moms were on the team.
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Judy Trammell & Cassie Trammell Loftin
Cassie Trammell Loftin with her mom Judy and daughter Lennon.Credit: Cassie Trammell Loftin/Instagram
Judy Trammell was on the DCC squad from 1980-1984. After her four years as a Cowboys cheerleader, she joined the team in a different way, heading up the squad's choreography. That means that for all of her daughter Cassie's life, she's been a part of the team, both unofficially and later officially.
"She has been around the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders since she was born," Judy said of her daughter in a 2022 Making the Team video. "She has been in the studio since she's learned how to walk."
Growing up around the sport definitely had its advantages. Cassie followed in her mom's footsteps, and won two world championships with Cheer Athletics in 2004 and 2006 before joining the DCC squad at 19 years old.
"Cassie has really excelled as a cheerleader," Judy added. "She's been a world champion two times and she's just really good at it."
Cassie helps mentor aspiring Cowboys cheerleaders as the director of the Junior DCC squad and at DCC Academy.
She's also training a future DCC at home — her daughter Lennon is a Junior DCC. "Will Lennon continue the Trammell legacy?" Cassie's DCC bio asks. "Time will tell, but she loves dancing, just like her mother and grandmother."
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Shannon & Madeline Salter
Madeline Salter and her mom Shannon.Credit: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders/Tiktok
"The moment I put that uniform on, it was almost like I saw my mom in the reflection," Madeline Saltersaid on America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Her mother Shannon Salter was on the squad from 1987 to 1990 — but Madeline isn't just a legacy because of her mom. Her father was a cinematographer for the team as well.
"If it wasn't for the Cowboys, Maddie wouldn't be here," Shannon said on the show. "People joke about it, but it's kind of true."
When she was young, Madeline spent her summers in New York studying under the Radio City Rockettes, and majored in dance performance in college. But having family in the organization wasn't a guarantee that she'd make the squad.
In fact, the first year she auditioned, Madeline didn't make the cut. "I consider myself a daughter of a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, but not a legacy because to be called a legacy in my eyes, you need to earn your spot on the team," she said in 2022 on Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.
"[My mom is] literally the strongest person that I look up to and the happiness that she had with the DCC with her years, I would love to have myself," she added.
Madeline joined the squad in 2021 and retired after the 2025-26 season. She recently got engaged to sports card investor Joe McBride.
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Shelly & Dayton Bramhall
Dayton Bramhall and her mom Shelly.Credit: Dayton Bramhall/Instagram
Shelly Bramhall joined the DCC squad in 1989, and was a cheerleader with the team for five years. After, she transitioned to a role behind the scenes, working as an associate choreographer and event coordinator for the team.
Like Cassie, Shelly's daughter Dayton Bramhall grew up with the squad. "There is a lot of pressure because people definitely expect me to perform exactly like my mom did or maybe even stronger," she said in 2022 on Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.
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Dayton tried out for the DCC squad for the first time in 2018, but didn't make it to the team. She returned to audition again in season 2 of America's Sweethearts, and talked about what it was like to be a legacy who struggled to get placed. "Getting cut did kind of leave some scar tissue there," she said on the show.
Cutting her from the team was an even harder decision for the judges because of their relationship with Shelly.
"Everybody wants their child to succeed and be the best, but I tried very hard to not be stage mom," Shelly said in 2022 on Making the Team.
"She's probably my number one fan," Dayton added. "My mom, she left a good legacy, but it's my turn. I want to be my own person."
On her second attempt to make the team, Dayton made it to the 2024 training camp. However, she was eventually cut during the training process.
Dayton auditioned again in 2025, but didn't make the squad that year.
"You feel for your friends," Judy told PEOPLE in 2025. "I mean, Shelly's definitely a good friend of ours besides a coworker, so we do feel for her and how she struggled with this."
Dayton's fourth audition was covered in season 3 of America's Sweethearts.
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Billie Gosdin Mitchell & Amber Gosdin Montgomery
Amber Gosdin Montgomery.Credit: Sarah Hepola/Instagram
While other Cowboys cheerleaders have gone on to raise future DCC squad members, Billie Gosdin Mitchell holds a special distinction. She and her daughter, Amber Gosdin Montgomery, were the first mother-daughter duo on the team.
Billie was a member of the squad for the 1979-1980 season, when Amber was 2 years old. "She didn't tell her husband until she had made it to the third round, which consisted of a quick dance and an interview," according to her DCC bio. "Back in the 70s, Finalists waited for a letter in the mail to let them know of their fate. Billie's letter came, and it her life changed."
Amber grew up with cheerleading, and was on the varsity squad at her high school. "She grew up in awe of the DCC, and the reality that her mother had once performed on the sidelines," her bio reads.
Amber joined the squad in 1995, and left in 1997. Six years later, after she had finished college and started a career, Amber came back in 2003 and was a DCC for another two years.
"They have enjoyed watching other mothers and daughters experience what they have done, and appreciate that each legacy brings something different to the team," according to the DCC site.
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Kim Oden & Meredith Oden Root
Meredith Oden Root and her mom Kim.Credit: CMT's Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
Kim Oden was married and working as an English teacher when she decided to audition for the Cowboys cheerleaders in 1982. She made the squad and cheered for the 1982 and 1983 seasons, in addition to embarking on USO tours with the squad and appearing in telethons across the country.
"It was a wonderful, new experience to be on a team with ladies who were diverse in age," she told the DCC site in an interview. "In the past, I had been on performance teams with ladies my own age, but I found it marvelous to have teammates from 18-29. We all learned a great deal from each other."
Daughter Meredith joined the DCC team in 2007 and was a cheerleader on the squad for four years.
"She's always told me so many fun stories, jokes, everything there is to know — showed me pictures all about her two years of what she says was the best time of her life," she said of Kim in 2022 on Making the Team.
The night that Meredith made her debut as a DCC, Kim visited the squad to share some words of support.
"Twenty-five years ago tonight I was here waiting for my rookie debut," Kim said. "Meredith is having her rookie debut tonight. So we're so proud of you. We want you to smile and have a great time. You may go down the tunnel 50 more times before your cheerleading career's over, but you're, you know, you're rookies, you will never forget this time today. So veterans remember what it was like and rookies have a great time."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
