Brandi Chastain
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Brandi Chastain was born July 21, 1968 to Lark and Roger Chastain in
San Jose, California. She grew up playing soccer with her younger
brother, Chad, and other boys. After high school, Brandi attended
University of California, Berkeley from 1986 to 1988, then Santa Clara
University 1989 to 1991. She Graduated from Santa Clara with a Bachelor
of Arts, majoring in television communication. At Santa Clara, Brandi
began playing as a forward. Then, after an accident in practice, she
had to begin to play with her left foot, as she screwed up her right
ankle. It was there she met Jerry Smith, her coach at the time. After
being discovered by the coach of the USWNT, she began playing in
tourneys with the team, including the 1991 Women's World cup. After
college, she began dating Jerry Smith, and he taught her how important
defense was, so she began playing defense instead of forward. In 1998,
the two married, and Brandi gained a step-son, Cameron. Since then,
Brandi has been a long-time starter for the USWNT, winning 2 World
Cups, Olympic gold and silver medals, and captained the San Jose
Cyberrays for the 3 years the WUSA ran.
