Kriti Mehrotra
Created by Greg Whiteley, Netflix’s ‘America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders’ is a documentary series that underscores the way NFL dancers are actually athletes in their own right. After all, they spend years learning their craft before undergoing intense rounds of auditions and a training camp just to be a part of the cheerleading squad for a football season. Amongst those to thus feature in this original production in season 2 is KayDianna MacKenzie, whose hard work really helped her make a name for herself, that is, until a controversy turned everything upside down.
KayDianna MacKenzie Has Been Dancing Since She Was 2
Born on June 27, 1999, in The Woodlands, Texas, into a religious household, it has always been ingrained in KayDianna MacKenzie that every action is a choice and has consequences. This is just something that just became natural for her, almost as much as dance – after all, according to her own accounts, she was moving and showed signs of rhythm before she was even properly walking. In other words, she started dancing when she was just 2 years old, soon leading her parents to put her in classes to help her hone her skills in the way she desired.
For the majority of her schooling, KayDianna managed not only her studies and extracurriculars but also her passion for dancing by spending time in a studio – this spanned over 12 years. What’s even more imperative to note is that her growth was evident at every step of the way, and by the time she was a senior in high school, she had helped her studio, Dance Dynamics, become a 3-time World Champion. Then, upon graduating, she attended Texas Christian University for a degree in Media Studies, where she was a part of their dance team for all 4 years and was even honored with the title of Captain in the last 2.
KayDianna MacKenzie Parted Ways With DCC After 4 Years
It was in 2021, the year KayDianna graduated from college, that she decided to try to fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader (DCC). Since she is a Texas native, she has never been a stranger to this iconic brand and what it means, but it was the unwavering support of her loved ones and the confidence they had in her that pushed her. In fact, she has even stated that she never really believed she was as great a dancer or performer as everyone claimed her to be, so she actually auditioned for DCC as a way to show herself that her passion for dance can one day become a career if she wants.
KayDianna honestly killed every aspect of the auditions as well as the training camp, resulting in her becoming a member of the squad that very first year, which is uncommon. As if that’s not enough, in the ensuing years, she has again made the team whenever she auditioned, so in the 2024 season, she was a proud 4th-year veteran on her way to internal leadership. In fact, this much is even evident from the fact she was named 2nd Leader of Group 1, after Chandi Dayle, with whom she seemed to have a great connection with – they had such an understanding that they were able to pick up wherever the other lacked during bad days without a conversation.
However, everything turned upside down in the middle of the season as Chandi had to take some time off for herself and her mental health following a group trip to the Bahamas. That’s when KayDianna was promoted to 1st Leader, a position she maintained right until the end of the playing season, only to then come under investigation owing to a Live she did. During it, she said she’d make an entire video about what happened in the Bahamas, after which she was accused of being a bully and could have been suspended. Yet, knowing that was not her intention and realizing this was no longer the right path for her, she decided to leave the organization. She was not even at the end-of-year banquet or any of the tours that happened; she completely parted ways with DCC.
With Renewed Vigor, KayDianna MacKenzie is Pursuing Other Avenues Today
While KayDianna is a little sad about her time with DCC coming to such an end, she has not parted ways with dance in any way, shape, or form. In fact, this Dallas-Fort Worth area resident currently serves as a dance mentor to youngsters hoping to make a splash in different competitions or auditions. She actually works at a local studio and specializes in offering Collegiate Mock Tryouts to help dancers shake off all their nerves before really trying out for their College dance team. She has recently also been judging actual Collegiate auditions. As if that’s not enough, she is even moving toward the path of fulfilling her dream of establishing a career in entertainment as a host of a talk show for kids that highlights their talents.
KayDianna is not at a level where she can have her own talk show on any mainstream network, but she has been able to make the most of every opportunity that has come up for her. In the past few years, she evolved into a social media influencer of sorts with partnerships with several big-name brands like Vaseline, Raising Cannes, etc, which helped her further expand her reach. Then, as she did so, she began doing small vlogs and hosting lives, which led her to develop a segment known as KayDianna’s Korner, which she recently transformed into a full-fledged podcast. The ‘KayDianna’s Korner’ podcast premiered on May 2, 2025, and it already has four episodes as of writing.
KayDianna MacKenzie Has a Strong Support System in Her Corner
Despite everything KayDianna has been through in the past few years, she has never felt alone or lonely because she has always had the unwavering support of a few very special people in her life. Her mother, Candice Davis, her father, Brett Davis, and her elder brother, Greg Davis, have been her biggest supporters from day 1, so she actually credits a lot of her success to their belief in her. Apart from them, she also her husband, Eric Garza, by her side at every step of the way – he has been there for her through everything and backed her in not just a motivational sense but also financially, physically, and emotionally by ensuring she took care of herself on the days when she was simply too busy. The couple are parents to 3 fur babies: a French Bulldog named Duggie and 2 Pugapoos, Maizi and Joey Joy.
It’s also imperative to note that although KayDianna’s stint at DCC didn’t come to a smooth end, it didn’t really affect the friendships and the sisterhood she had managed to establish through it. In fact, she is still close to a lot of her former teammates, including Reece Weaver, who even featured in the most recent episode of ‘KayDianna’s Korner.’ The now almost 26-year-old travel enthusiast seems perfectly content with her life as of writing, which is all that matters in the long run, so we can’t wait to see what’s in the cards for her next.
