Dancing With the Stars has been on air for over twenty years, so it’s impossible to remember every contestant who appeared on the dance show, especially those who didn’t place high.
The popular ABC dance competition pairs celebrities with professional dancers. The couple performs a different style of dance every week in front of a table of judges, who mark their performance. The dancefloor attracts people from the world of music, acting, sports, and even politics!
Dancing With The Stars has been viewed as a stepping stone for people to boost or revive their careers, find a new audience, and help give themselves a comeback. Here are some of the stars you may have forgotten that appeared on Dancing With The Stars over the show’s 33 seasons.
Zendaya (Season 16)
Before she was one of the biggest actresses in the world, Zendaya appeared on Dancing With The Stars back in 2013. Appearing in Season 16, a teenage Zendaya was partnered with professional dancer Valentin “Val” Chmerkovskiy where she consistently scored high.
Week | DWTS Score |
Week 1 | 24 |
Week 2 | 26 |
Week 3 | 24 |
Week 4 | 26 |
Week 5 | 29 |
Week 6 | 51 |
Week 7 | 30 |
Week 8 | 58 |
Week 9 | 55 |
Week 10 | 95 |
She made it to the final in week 10, where she shockingly lost out to country singer Kellie Pickler and professional Derek Hough.
My grandma loves
Dancing with the Stars
, that’s her bag. But yeah, I also think it was a very stressful experience. I was like, I don’t think I’m gonna be watching this anymore.
Since DWTS, Zendaya went on to succeed and thrive in shows and movies like Euphoria, Challengers, and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Kim Kardashian (Season 7)
It’s hard to imagine Kim Kardashian, who is now more often seen on red carpets and the front row of fashion shows, would appear on DWTS. The reality TV star was partnered with Mark Ballas for Season 7 of the dance competition. Kim wasn’t a natural dancer and was the third contestant eliminated that season.
Week | DWTS Score |
Week 1 | 19 |
Week 2 | 18 |
Week 3 | 16 |
Rob Kardashian appeared on
DWTS
Season 13 alongside Cheryl Burke when he came second.
According to People, Kim shared a few videos of her dancing at a birthday party on social media. The reality TV star was twirling successfully with friends when she joked about her time on DWTS. “So apparently I was doing this multiple times til we shut the party down,” Kim shared. “Damn I wish someone told me to have some shots before Dancing W The Stars and I might have lasted a bit longer @cadehudson22.”
Pamela Anderson (Season 10)
Actress and model Pamela Anderson appeared on the 10th season of DWTS in 2010. She was partnered with professional dancer Damian Whitewood and eliminated after seven weeks.
- Unlike many former contestants, Pamela reunited with Damian a year later on the Argentinean version of the show, and in 2018, competed on the French version.
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Pamela returned to the American show in 2012 for the 15th season all-star edition when she was partnered with Tristan MacManus. The two were, unfortunately, eliminated in the first week of the competition.
According to People, after Season 15, Pamela told reporters that she knew she wasn’t “the best dancer” but brought a lot to the table. “I know I bring other things to the table,” she mentioned. “I know I’m not the best dancer, but I have a lot of heart and I have a lot of guts, and I want to be able to portray that.”
Lisa Rinna (Season 2)
Before becoming a Housewife on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, soap actress Lisa Rinna’s first foray into reality TV was DWTS. The RHOBH alum danced into week seven with her partner, Louis van Amstel in Season 2.
Lisa has said that her book, Rinnavation: Getting Your Best Life Ever, was partially inspired by the incredible shape she was in after competing on the show.
Lisa is just one of the Housewives to appear on DWTS
- Phaedra Parks
- Denise Richards
- Erika Jayne
- Lisa Vanderpump
- Teresa Giudice
- Kenya Moore
- Kim Zolciak Biermann
- Nene Leakes
Lisa’s strongest performance was the Paso Doble to “The Final Countdown” in week four.
Jerry Springer (Season 3)
“I’d just arrived in America and I was nervous I wouldn’t know who my celebrity was,” Kym Johnson recalls to People, paying tribute to Jerry Springer when he passed away in 2023.
When I first met him, he looked at me and he said, ‘I’m sorry.’ I only knew him from
The Jerry Springer Show
. We instantly connected and he became like a father figure to me.
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Billy Ray Cyrus (Season 4)
Billy Ray Cyrus and his famous mullet appeared on Season 4 of DWTS, where he was partnered with Karina Smirnoff. The dancing couple finished in fifth place out of only 11 partners.
In a 2024 episode of Cheryl Burke’s podcast, Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans, she spoke to Jill Escoto about her negative experience with the “Old Town Road” singer while on the series together. The professional dancer alleged that Billy Ray “kicked” the stage manager.
“We were all nervous. It was right before, like right when it was going to end, our dress rehearsal, our stage manager tells Billy Ray, ‘can you get on your mark?’ So that, you know, the director can light you,” Cheryl recalled, before revealing Billy Ray kicked the stage manager “out of nowhere.”
She continued, “Straight up donkey kicked him.” She concluded, “It turned into a hot mess. It was like, and his time was up after that.”
Billy’s highest score was a 21, and his lowest was a 13.
Buzz Aldrin (Season 10)
At 80 years old, astronaut Buzz Aldrin is one of the oldest competitors to ever hit the dance floor. He appeared in Season 10, where he performed three times before being eliminated. He was partnered with Ashly DelGrosso
Week | DWTS Score |
Week 1 | 14 |
Week 2 | 12 |
Week 3 | 13 |
According to NBC News, although Buzz’s dance skills were less than impressive, judge and dancer, Len Goodman, couldn’t help but praise the icon. “I remember sitting at home in England watching you walking on the moon and being amazed, not only at the technology but the braveness of you guys for going up there for the first time.”
Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Season 5)
Professional boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. shocked many when he stepped out of the ring and hit the dance floor. He danced alongside Karina Smirnoff in Season 5 of DWTS. Although he only placed ninth, it was clear the sportsman was having a fantastic time on the ballroom floor.
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According to Pop Sugar, Floyd had this to say after being eliminated, “It was marvelous just being here, just to get to this plateau. For all the fans that supported me, to everybody behind the scenes, I really appreciate it. We had a great time.”
Mischa Barton (Season 22)
The OC actress Mischa Barton has referred to her time on Season 22 of DWTS as “Awful.” The actress was paired with the controversial Artem Chigvintsev and was the second pairing to be eliminated. She admitted she was glad to be eliminated so quickly as she found the experience terrible and butted heads with her professional dance partner.
“Ugh, I had no idea it would be so bad. I got told off by my dancer,” the actress explained to People. “I was supposed to control the costumes, I was told that I could do the design aspect of it, that’s kind of the reason why I agreed to do it.”
It was like
The Hunger Games
. It was all a popularity contest. It was awful. I was so glad to get kicked off.
The actress continued “It wasn’t collaborative like a choreographer on a film set. I was so confused by it.”
Heather Morris (Season 24)
Heather Morris’ appearance on DWTS was controversial as the Glee actress was a professional dancer. Heather had worked as a dancer on Beyonce’s tour, which made many feel like she had an unfair advantage. This may have caused her shocking week six elimination.
Despite receiving perfect marks for her dance with professional partner, Alan Bersten (who was filling in for the injured Maks Chmerkovskiy), she was voted off the dance competition during week six. She denied to Us Weekly her background as a dancer gave her an unfair advantage in the ballroom.
“They watch it and they want to believe, ‘She’s a dancer, it’s not fair, she knows exactly how to do all those things’” She continued saying, “I cannot do ballroom [dancing]. It’s unbelievably hard … it’s so challenging.”
You can binge-watch all the seasons of
Dancing With the Stars
on Disney+
Dancing with the Stars is a popular dancing competition reality TV show airing on ABC and Disney+. The series features various celebrities who pair with professional dancers to compete in front of a panel of judges. The US version of the UK TV show Strictly Come Dancing premiered in 2005 and was originally hosted by Tom Bergeron for its first 28 seasons.
- Release Date
- June 1, 2005
- Main Genre
- Reality
- Cast
- Carrie Ann Inaba , Bruno Tonioli , Len Goodman , Tom Bergeron , Cheryl Burke , Tony Dovolani , Derek Hough , Mark Ballas , Karina Smirnoff , Maksim Chmerkovskiy , Kym Johnson , Sasha Farber , Val Chmerkovskiy , Emma Slater , Sharna Burgess
