Supermodels, singers and actors: 7 celebrities who almost became Olympians

He’s one of Hollywood’s favourite action stars, but eight years before making his acting debut, British star Jason Statham was a committed diver who was trying to earn a spot in the Olympic Games.

After discovering a love for diving while on holiday with his parents in Florida, the then-teen signed up for a club in the UK and was part of the British team within a year. He represented his country at the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand, and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, but failed to earn a podium spot.

“It’s a bit of a sore point that I never got to the Olympics,” he told the BBC in 2008. “I started too late. It probably wasn’t my thing. I should have done a different sport.”

Vera Wang

People dream of having a custom-made Vera Wang wedding dress, but for the fashion designer herself, she dreamed of becoming an Olympic gold medalist.

At age 8, Wang began competing as a figure skater and by 19, she had made a name for herself in the sport earning a spot in the 1968 US National Championships in Philadelphia.

“I was completely dedicated to it,” she told South China Morning Post’s Post Magazine in 2020. However, she and her partner missed out on a spot in the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble. “I was devastated when I did not qualify for the Olympic team,” she said.

The loss ultimately resulted in a “nervous breakdown” and the end of Wang’s skating career. She went on to study in Paris for a year where she discovered her love for fashion, and has now become one of the most recognised designers in the world.

Robert Anderson

His acting career spanned over 50 years and included huge credits like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and The Princess Bride but, before the late English star embarked on his successful Hollywood stint, he had another — fencing.

Anderson began fencing as a young boy and despite a brief break when he served in the Royal Marines in World War II, he went on to win multiple military fencing titles and taught his fellow soldiers his skills.

Following the war, the actor represented Britain in the 1952 Olympics in Finland, but did not reach the podium. However, two years earlier, when he competed in the 1950 world championships, he won gold and silver. He did not place in the 1953 championships.

Geena Davis

From Thelma & Louise to Grey’s Anatomy and countless roles in between, Geena Davis is no stranger to acting success. But, 10 years after winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, she decided she would try to win another award — an Olympic medal.

The now-68-year-old actress spoke to People magazine in 2020, recalling watching the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and quickly becoming fascinated by archery. “It’s very dramatic and beautiful, and I just thought casually, ‘I wonder if I’d be good at that?’” she said.

While she had little to do with sport in her youth, once she began starring in films, she learned baseball, fencing, tae kwon do and many other athletic skills for her roles, and found she was “really good” at almost everything.

In 1997, at age 41, she found an archery coach and began intensely training, becoming so good she participated in the trials for the US Olympic archery team before the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Unfortunately, she landed 24th place, meaning she didn’t qualify, but her efforts didn’t go to waste because she won a wildcard berth at the 1999 Sydney International Golden Arrow competitions.

Bruce Dickinson

You may know him as the frontman of the much-loved heavy metal band Iron Maiden, but Bruce Dickinson is a man of many talents, including fencing, which almost got him to the Olympics.

Speaking to the Times, the musician said despite impressing his coaches and becoming a top pick for the Olympics as the seventh-best fencer in Britain, he gave up the sport competitively when he was 23 because he felt silly “fencing 18-year-olds”.

In 2013, he revealed to Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten that he still dabbles in the sport. “I fence because I enjoy it, and the byproduct is that I end up getting in reasonably good shape. Actually, fencing is very similar to the way I run around on stage. Or maybe I run around on stage like that because I fence. Either way, it works for me.”

His most recent update about the sport came in February when he told the Time, he has found an “amazing” club in France.

Bella Hadid

Bella Hadid has a spot on the catwalk alongside Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell as one of the most successful supermodels, but before perfecting her walk, the 27-year-old model dreamed of competing in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

In 2015, USA Today reported Hadid, daughter of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Yolanda and real estate developer Mohamed Hadid, was a nationally ranked equestrian who was well on her way to landing a competitor’s spot in the Olympics. Unfortunately, her dreams soon came to an end when she was diagnosed with the debilitating bacterial infection Lyme disease.

Yolanda announced the news on her Bravo TV blog post in 2016, writing, “Bella had to give up her lifelong dream of having a professional riding career and a shot at the Olympics due to her severe symptoms [of Lyme disease] and inability to ride.”

Cody Simpson

Cody Simpson, 27, became an overnight YouTube sensation in 2009 when he was only 12. He went on to release four solo studio albums, tour with Justin Bieber, embark on an acting career, and date A-lister Miley Cyrus.

In 2019, he announced he would be taking a step back from the industry to pursue swimming and by December 2020, the Australian singer qualified for the Australian Olympic trials in the 100m butterfly. In the trials, the star had even more success, achieving a personal best time of 50.22s, but failed to make it to the finals.

Simpson continued to pursue his dream and last year won silver in the men’s 100m butterfly at the Swimming World Cup 2023 in Athens and gold in the men’s 4x100m relay event at the world cup in Budapest. However, he came fifth in the 2024 Australian Swimming Trials and was just half a second short of qualifying for the Paris Olympics.

Simpson now intends to return to music.

Lillie Rohan is a London-based reporter covering lifestyle and entertainment stories who joined the Herald in 2020. She specialises in all things reality TV, films and music.