Sunderland AFC's 11 most famous celebrity supporters ft Jordan Pickford | OneFootball

A closer look at 11 of Sunderland's most famous celebrity supporters from a range of industries.

Sunderland are the best supported side in the Championship and are not short of celebrity followers either, with many high-profile names spotted watching the Black Cats in action.

Sunderland have one of the largest fan bases in English football, so it is no wonder that there are a host of celebrities who support the North East club.

From sporting legends to reality television stars, we take a closer look at the stars who follow the Black Cats.

Paul Collingwood

In recent times, Paul Collingwood must go down as one of England's greatest cricketers. The all-rounder enjoyed an international career that spanned 16 years, following his ODI debut against Pakistan in 2001.

The County Durham born former cricketer retired with 301 international caps across three formats of the game and contributed with bat and ball. One of Collingwood's greatest moments was his career high batting score of 206 against Australia in the 2006 Ashes. In doing so, he became only the third Englishman to score a double century in Australia.

Collingwood is a trustee of the Foundation of Light and has spoken openly about his allegiance to Sunderland.

Jordan Pickford

One of Sunderland's success stories of recent times is Jordan Pickford. Having come through the club's academy, the goalkeeper has made a name for himself on the international stage with England.

The 30-year-old has made 68 appearances to date for the Three Lions and played in the final of the Euros on two separate occasions.

Pickford was in attendance at the Stadium of Light last season to watch Sunderland's FA Cup 3rd round tie against old foes, Newcastle United.

Jill Scott

Former Sunderland women's player, Jill Scott, is one of the city's greatest success stories. In 2022, she was part of the Lioness' squad that lifted the UEFA Women's Championship at Wembley Stadium.

In the same year, she continued her success story and was crowned queen of the jungle by winning 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!' after retiring from football. Scott has since been a pundit for both the men's and women's international games and was the first female captain to lead a team at Soccer Aid in 2023.

Like Collingwood, Scott is also a member of the board of trustees at the Foundation of Light.

David Jones

David Jones is currently the host of Sky Sports Monday Night Football and shares the studio with former footballers Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville, where they share in depth analysis of the Premier League.

The television host is a non-executive director of Sunderland and has been spotted in the stands watching his beloved Black Cats.

Charlotte Crosby

Although Charlotte Crosby rose to fame on the hit reality TV series 'Geordie Shore', she appears to be a Sunderland supporter, judging from her historic Twitter posts about Newcastle legend, Alan Shearer.

Since Geordie Shore, Crosby has appeared on Masterchef and won the twelfth series of Big Brother. She also appeared in her own reality show titled 'Charlotte in Sunderland', focused around her life in the North East city.

Alex Kapranos

Alex Kapranos is the front-man of the Scottish band, Franz Ferdinand. The indie-rock band rose to fame in the 2000s and headlined the Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2006. Notably, the band won two Brit Awards, an Ivor Novello and the Mercury Prize.

Despite hailing from Scotland, Kapranos spent some of his childhood in Sunderland, which led to him supporting the Black Cats.

Steve Cram

In 1983, Steve Cram made history by winning the 1500m World Championships gold in Helsinki. Along with his greatest achievement, the 'Jarrow Arrow' also won two European Championships gold medals as well as three Commonwealth Games golds.

The long distance runner was popular among the public and won the Sports Personality of the Year award in 1983. Cram is an avid Sunderland supporter and wore the red and white of Sunderland during an interview in 1983.

Jordan Henderson

Along with Pickford, Henderson also came through the academy at Sunderland before securing a move to Merseyside with Liverpool in 2011. The midfielder went on to win the Champions League and Premier League while captaining the side.

The 34-year-old represented England on 81 occasions and, like Pickford, featured in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium. Henderson was in attendance at Wembley to watch Sunderland in the 2014 League Cup final against Manchester City.

Niall Quinn

Niall Quinn is a Sunderland legend and was named the Sunderland and North East Sportswriters' Player of the Year awards in 1999, having scored 21 goals for the club during their record-breaking Division One title-winning season.

The Irishman went on to manage Sunderland very briefly and also had a stint as chairman and director of international development. The mighty Quinn was in attendance for Sunderland's League One play-off final victory over Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley.

Josh Kelly

Josh Kelly is a professional boxer and the reigning British light-middleweight champion, having won the title in 2022. The Sunderland-born fighter won a bronze medal for Great Britain at the 2015 European Games in Baku.

Kelly is a proud Sunderland fan and featured in a video where he discussed his favourite Sunderland moments with current captain, Dan Neil.