It was within months of finishing cheering that I jumped on my lifelong dream of moving to New York City. This was a dream I planned on doing since 4th grade when my family went without me and sent me the greatest 3d postcard ever! That postcard stamped itself in my mind as the absolute, all time, greatest city in the world. After 18 years of living here in NYC my love affair with this town continues.

My first acting job in New York was playing a nurse on the soap opera "All My Children". Started studying with The Actor's Conservatory and auditioned for a reporter role in Jerry Maguire. It was a small part, but it meant flying to LA for 4 days and shooting scenes with Tom Cruise. My friends at the Actor's Conservatory really ONLY considered plays real acting so a friend and I started Flipside Theatre Company. We produced, acted, and directed plays we chose and it was terrific! It was crazy, chaotic, and more fun than I could imagine.

Right before moving to New York I had my last DCC trip with Show Group to perform at the New York Auto Show. That trip I had a terrible flu but in DCC form the show must go on! Kelli Finglass introduced me to a friend of hers who lived here in New York. Little did I know, this man, Greg Aiello, would call me back in Dallas and then proceed to ask me out on dates once I moved to New York. Within a year of living in NYC he proposed and we married a year later in 1996. Needless to say, the New York Auto Show has a very special place in my heart.

Greg and I have three kids and I feel very blessed to be their full-time mom. My last "acting" gig was directing a play 8 months pregnant with my son, but my life is definitely not without drama. Once an actor, always an actor.

My free time is filled with family, friends, running, spinning, serving as a deacon at our church and on the board of the Women's Bible Society of New York City.  My first marathon was the highlight of 2009 but my favorite distance has definitely become the 10k.  One of my goals is to run various

10k's around the world and hoping to run with some DCC sisters along the way.

My connection with the Dallas Cowboys is eternal. Discipline, respect and love for the military, and hard work- all things I learned from my years as a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, but writing a good thank note also ranks at the top of the list!

Sideline Q & A

What was your favorite memory of Texas Stadium?

Kirsten: "Get ready 'cause here we come..."

What was your proudest moment?

Kirsten: Performing at a USO tour in Guam and having a guy come up to the stage and say, "Kirsten, it's me Mahadma." He had tears in his eyes and I realized he and I were in Sunday school together in St. Louis. He gave me his mom's phone number and asked me to call her and tell her he was doing just fine. Making that phone call had to be one of my proudest moments in my four years of cheering and in life.