💃✨ Dancing With the Stars Season 35 Cast Revealed: Jenna Dewan, Julia Stiles, Harry Shum Jr. and More Are Ready to Take Over the Ballroom
The wait is finally over.
After weeks of early announcements, speculation and fan theories, the complete celebrity cast for Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars has officially been revealed — and this year's lineup may be one of the show's most diverse and recognizable casts yet.
ABC unveiled the complete group on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, during Good Morning America, confirming a collection of actors, athletes, reality stars, musicians, television personalities, comedians and social-media figures who will compete for the coveted Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
Among the biggest names entering the ballroom are Jenna Dewan, Julia Stiles, Harry Shum Jr., Tatyana Ali, Giada De Laurentiis, Tyler Cameron, Taylor Hanson, Ezra Frech and Amber Glenn.
The cast also includes previously announced personalities such as Maura Higgins, Ciara Miller, Guillermo Rodriguez and Jackson Olson.
And the professional lineup is just as interesting, with familiar champions and fan favorites returning alongside several newer faces.
The new season will begin with a special two-night premiere on Tuesday, September 15, and Wednesday, September 16, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with episodes streaming the following day on Hulu.
For longtime fans, however, the biggest question isn't simply who is competing.
It's which celebrity has what it takes to survive the demanding weeks of rehearsals, live performances, judges' scores and public voting — and ultimately lift the Mirrorball Trophy.
⭐ Jenna Dewan Returns to Her Dancing Roots
Perhaps the most obvious headline-maker in the Season 35 cast is Jenna Dewan.
Unlike many celebrities who enter the Dancing with the Stars ballroom with little or no formal dance experience, Dewan already has a significant history with dance.
Before becoming a familiar face on television and film, she worked as a professional backup dancer for major artists including Janet Jackson, Missy Elliott and Christina Aguilera.
Her breakthrough came with the 2006 dance movie Step Up, where she starred alongside Channing Tatum.
The film became a major part of her career and helped establish Dewan as both an actress and dancer.
She later appeared in productions including Supergirl, The Mindy Project and American Horror Story, and she currently stars on ABC's The Rookie. ABC also notes that she previously hosted World of Dance and appeared as a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance.
Now, decades after Step Up helped make her famous, Dewan is returning to the dance floor in an entirely different kind of competition.
Her professional partner will be Val Chmerkovskiy, one of the most accomplished professionals in the history of the show.
That pairing immediately creates one of the season's most intriguing storylines.
Dewan has experience, musicality and performance skills.
But Dancing with the Stars is not simply about knowing how to dance.
Contestants must learn ballroom and Latin techniques, adapt to choreography, perform under pressure and connect with audiences week after week.
Having dance experience can be a tremendous advantage, but it also comes with expectations.
Fans will undoubtedly expect Dewan to deliver.
💫 Julia Stiles Is Entering the Ballroom
Another major casting surprise is Julia Stiles.
The actress became a household name through movies such as 10 Things I Hate About You and Save the Last Dance, and she later built an extensive career across film and television.
Her résumé includes the Bourne franchise, Mona Lisa Smile, Silver Linings Playbook, Hustlers and Dexter. She has also worked behind the camera, making her feature directorial debut with Wish You Were Here in 2025.
For many fans, however, Save the Last Dance makes her participation particularly interesting.
The 2001 movie centered on dance and introduced Stiles to audiences in a role that remains closely associated with her career.
More than two decades later, she is going to find out what it's really like to learn choreography under the pressure of a live television competition.
Stiles has been paired with professional dancer Ezra Sosa.
Sosa is a relatively new face within the main professional lineup, creating an interesting combination of an established Hollywood actress and a younger professional dancer.
That partnership could become one of the season's most fascinating.
Will Stiles' acting experience help her with performance and storytelling?
Will her previous connection to dance give her an advantage?
Or will the ballroom prove very different from the choreography she encountered earlier in her career?
Those questions will only be answered once the live competition begins.
🕺 Harry Shum Jr. Brings Another Major Dance Background
Then there is Harry Shum Jr., another contestant whose résumé makes him particularly interesting.
Shum is known for his work as an actor and dancer, including his memorable role on Glee and appearances in major film and television projects.
He has built a career combining acting, movement and performance, making his participation one of the more anticipated additions to the Season 35 cast.
His professional partner will be Jenna Johnson.
Johnson is one of the established stars of the Dancing with the Stars professional lineup, and together the pair could become an early contender.
Shum's combination of dance ability and acting experience could be especially useful because successful DWTS performances require more than technically correct steps.
The audience has to believe the story being told through the choreography.
A contestant has to sell a romantic waltz, a dramatic tango, an energetic jive or a powerful contemporary routine.
Shum already understands the relationship between performance and movement.
That could make him someone to watch closely.
🌟 Tatyana Ali Brings Nostalgia to the Ballroom
For an entire generation of television viewers, Tatyana Ali will always be associated with Ashley Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Now she is preparing to enter the ballroom with professional partner Jan Ravnik.
Ali's career goes well beyond her iconic sitcom role.
ABC notes that she has appeared in productions including Glory Road and Abbott Elementary, while also performing on Broadway in the award-winning production of Fences. She has also released music and built a career as an author.
Her casting creates another nostalgic connection for longtime DWTS viewers because Alfonso Ribeiro — her former Fresh Prince co-star — is now one of the show's hosts.
That means Ali will be competing in front of someone who shared an important part of her early television career.
It will be fascinating to see whether that familiarity adds an emotional element to her journey.
And if Ali manages to progress deep into the competition, viewers could see a particularly memorable reunion between two former Fresh Prince stars.
🎤 Taylor Hanson Is Trading "MMMBop" for the Ballroom
Music fans also have a reason to tune in.
Taylor Hanson, one-third of the pop-rock group Hanson, is joining Season 35 with professional partner Britt Stewart.
Hanson became internationally famous alongside his brothers in the 1990s, particularly after the enormous success of "MMMBop."
The song became one of the defining pop hits of the decade.
Now, instead of performing with his brothers on a concert stage, Hanson will have to learn ballroom choreography and perform live under the scrutiny of judges and viewers.
It's another example of what makes Dancing with the Stars so entertaining.
The show takes people who are famous for one particular skill and places them in an entirely different environment.
For Hanson, music and rhythm are obviously familiar territory.
But musical knowledge doesn't automatically translate into ballroom technique.
The question will be whether his natural sense of rhythm can help him adapt quickly.
🏅 Ezra Frech Brings Paralympic Excellence
Season 35 also has an extraordinary athlete in Ezra Frech.
Frech is a Paralympic gold medalist, world-record holder, advocate, model and motivational speaker.
Born with congenital limb differences, Frech has become an influential figure in adaptive athletics and has worked to help above-knee amputees discover running.
He will compete with professional dancer Daniella Karagach.
Frech's presence represents one of the most meaningful aspects of the new season.
Dancing with the Stars has repeatedly demonstrated that its ballroom can become a platform for contestants to challenge assumptions about what performance and movement can look like.
Frech arrives with an athletic background, but ballroom dancing will still require him to master new forms of movement.
His competitive background could be valuable.
Elite athletes understand training, discipline, repetition and performing under pressure.
But dancing introduces its own challenges.
Timing, posture, balance, musical interpretation and chemistry with a partner are all crucial.
With Karagach beside him, Frech could become one of the season's most compelling contestants.
⛸️ Olympic Champion Amber Glenn Takes the Ice-to-Ballroom Journey
Another elite athlete entering the competition is figure skater Amber Glenn.
Glenn enters Dancing with the Stars after achieving Olympic success and becoming a three-time U.S. national champion.
At the 2026 Winter Olympics, she helped Team USA win gold in the figure-skating team event.
ABC also notes that she became the first U.S. woman to land three triple Axels at a single Olympic Games.
Her professional partner will be Pasha Pashkov.
Figure skating and ballroom dancing share some qualities — musicality, choreography, balance, performance and physical conditioning — but they are far from identical.
Glenn will have to transfer skills developed on ice to a completely different surface and movement style.
Her athletic background should make the physical demands manageable.
The bigger challenge may be mastering ballroom technique.
Nevertheless, she is entering the competition with a level of elite performance experience that few contestants can match.
😂 Connor Wood Brings Comedy and Social-Media Energy
The cast isn't dominated by traditional Hollywood stars.
Connor Wood, known online as "Fibula," will compete with Rylee Arnold.
Wood has built an audience through comedy and social media and co-hosts Brooke and Connor Make a Podcast.
He has also performed stand-up comedy and recently completed a national comedy tour.
His television experience includes serving as a correspondent for NBC during the 2026 Olympic Games.
Comedy personalities can be unpredictable on Dancing with the Stars.
Some become fan favorites because audiences connect with their personalities even when they aren't technically the strongest dancers.
Others surprise viewers by becoming much better performers than expected.
Wood could potentially fall into either category.
One thing is certain: he is likely to bring plenty of personality to the ballroom.
🌹 Tyler Cameron Enters With Sharna Burgess
Bachelor Nation fans have another contestant to support.
Tyler Cameron, best known for finishing as runner-up on Season 19 of The Bachelorette, will compete with returning professional Sharna Burgess.
Cameron originally had ambitions of pursuing professional football before an injury changed his path.
His television career later expanded into programs including Saturday Night Live, The Real Dirty Dancing and Special Forces: World's Toughest Test.
Burgess' return is itself a major storyline.
She is returning to the ballroom after several seasons away, making this one of the show's notable professional comebacks.
Cameron therefore has a partner who already understands the pressure and strategy of the competition.
Whether he can transform his athletic background and television experience into ballroom success will be one of the season's questions.
🍝 Giada De Laurentiis Trades the Kitchen for the Dance Floor
One of the season's most unexpected contestants is celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis.
Known for her television career and culinary expertise, De Laurentiis will now face a challenge completely outside the kitchen.
She is paired with professional dancer Alan Bersten.
De Laurentiis studied pastry at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris before becoming a major Food Network personality.
Her participation continues a long-running DWTS tradition of inviting recognizable personalities from different professions into the competition.
For De Laurentiis, the challenge will be learning choreography while also maintaining the confidence and stage presence expected from a television personality.
But she may have one advantage that viewers shouldn't overlook: years of television experience.
She knows how to perform in front of cameras.
She knows how to communicate with an audience.
Now she simply needs to convince the judges that she can dance.
📺 Maura Higgins Joins the Competition
Reality television star Maura Higgins was one of the contestants announced before the complete cast reveal.
Known from Love Island and The Traitors, Higgins has developed a large fan base and strong television presence.
She will dance with Mark Ballas, one of the show's most recognizable professional dancers.
That pairing immediately gives her an experienced mentor.
Higgins' television personality could also help her connect with viewers.
In a competition where public voting can become just as important as judges' scores, having a loyal audience can matter enormously.
🏠 Ciara Miller Represents the Reality-TV Crowd
Ciara Miller, known for Summer House, is another reality star stepping into the ballroom.
She will compete alongside Brandon Armstrong.
Miller has become known for her presence within the Bravo universe as well as her fashion and cultural influence.
Like Higgins, she arrives with an existing audience.
The challenge will be turning that audience into votes while simultaneously improving week after week.
🎬 Guillermo Rodriguez Brings Late-Night Comedy
Fans of Jimmy Kimmel Live! will recognize Guillermo Rodriguez, who has been part of the late-night program for more than two decades.
Rodriguez is paired with professional dancer Witney Carson, who won Season 34 with Robert Irwin.
Carson's return is already noteworthy because she is entering the new season while pregnant.
According to PEOPLE, she is competing during her second trimester, making her the first DWTS professional to compete that far into a pregnancy.
That makes Rodriguez's partnership particularly interesting.
He will have one of the show's most experienced professionals while also participating in one of the most talked-about professional storylines of the season.
⚾ Jackson Olson Moves From Baseball to Ballroom
Jackson Olson is another unconventional contestant.
The Savannah Bananas baseball player, entertainer and social-media personality is famous for participating in the team's highly theatrical style of baseball, which incorporates dancing, comedy and entertainment.
Now he's moving from the baseball field to the ballroom.
He will dance with Emma Slater.
The Savannah Bananas are known for combining athletic competition with entertainment, so Olson is already familiar with performing for crowds.
That could help him overcome one of the biggest challenges faced by newcomers: becoming comfortable under the spotlight.
👨👩👧 Two Contestants Have Family Connections to Previous Stars
Season 35 also features an unusual connection to previous DWTS contestants.
Conner Leavitt, husband of Whitney Leavitt, who competed on the show last season, will participate with professional dancer Adele Zaikman.
Meanwhile, Sarah Jane Nader, sister of model Brooks Nader, who competed during Season 33, will dance with Hailey Bills.
These family connections add another layer of familiarity to the season.
The contestants aren't simply entering as unknown newcomers.
They have already seen people close to them experience the demanding world of Dancing with the Stars.
🏆 A New Professional Star Emerges
One of the most interesting developments surrounding Season 35 is the arrival of Adele Zaikman.
Zaikman recently won the inaugural season of Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro, earning herself a place among the professional dancers on the main show.
Her promotion is part of the show's effort to develop new professional talent.
For Conner Leavitt, that means his partner will be making her main-show debut at the same time he makes his celebrity debut.
It's an unusual situation, but potentially an exciting one.
Zaikman has already demonstrated her abilities through competition.
Now she gets to show whether she can teach, choreograph and perform alongside a celebrity under the enormous pressure of the main series.
🎭 The Judges Are Staying the Same
Fans who prefer a familiar judging panel won't have to adjust.
Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough are returning as judges.
The trio has become one of the defining elements of the modern Dancing with the Stars format.
Hough brings extensive experience from his years as a professional dancer and later as a judge.
Inaba and Tonioli remain among the show's longest-serving judges.
ABC confirmed the panel ahead of the Season 35 premiere.
Their different judging styles are likely to create plenty of discussion once the competition begins.
Carrie Ann is often particularly focused on performance, technique and emotional connection.
Bruno is famous for his energetic reactions and theatrical critiques.
Derek brings his own perspective as one of the most decorated professional dancers in the show's history.
Together, they will determine the judges' scores that contestants will need to combine with viewer votes.
🎤 Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro Return as Hosts
The hosting team also remains intact.
Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro are returning.
Ribeiro brings his own DWTS history to the role, having previously won the competition and now serving as host.
His connection to Tatyana Ali makes the new season even more interesting because of their shared history on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Julianne Hough, meanwhile, has an extensive history with the program as both a professional dancer and judge before returning as co-host.
Their chemistry should help maintain the familiar atmosphere that longtime viewers expect.
📈 Why Season 35 Is Arriving With So Much Momentum
The new season is following a particularly successful Season 34.
According to PEOPLE, the Season 34 finale attracted 9.24 million total viewers, making it the show's biggest finale audience in nine years.
That success creates enormous expectations for Season 35.
The producers have responded with a cast that mixes nostalgia, Hollywood recognition, athletic achievement, reality television, comedy, social-media popularity and professional dance backgrounds.
In other words, there appears to be something for almost every type of viewer.
Fans of classic television can watch Tatyana Ali.
Movie fans can follow Julia Stiles and Jenna Dewan.
Dance fans can focus on Harry Shum Jr.
Sports fans have Ezra Frech and Amber Glenn.
Reality-TV audiences have Maura Higgins, Ciara Miller and Tyler Cameron.
Music fans get Taylor Hanson.
Food television viewers get Giada De Laurentiis.
And social-media audiences have contestants such as Connor Wood and Jackson Olson.
That variety could be one of the season's greatest strengths.
🔥 Who Could Be the Early Favorites?
It's impossible to know who will win before the contestants perform.
Still, several names naturally stand out.
Jenna Dewan has perhaps the clearest dance résumé among the celebrities.
Harry Shum Jr. also enters with substantial dance and performance experience.
Amber Glenn and Ezra Frech have elite athletic backgrounds.
Julia Stiles has acting experience and a famous connection to a dance-centered film.
But Dancing with the Stars has repeatedly shown that technical ability alone doesn't guarantee victory.
A contestant can be a phenomenal dancer and still struggle to connect with viewers.
Another contestant can start slowly and become one of the season's biggest fan favorites.
That unpredictability is a major part of the show's appeal.
❤️ The Real Story Will Be the Transformation
Ultimately, the most interesting part of Season 35 may not be who has the best résumé.
It may be watching what happens when these celebrities are pushed outside their comfort zones.
Jenna Dewan has already danced professionally, but ballroom presents a different challenge.
Julia Stiles is known primarily as an actress, but now she has to communicate without dialogue.
Giada De Laurentiis is comfortable in the kitchen and on television, but the dance floor is a new environment.
Ezra Frech and Amber Glenn are elite athletes, but athletic ability doesn't automatically equal ballroom technique.
Taylor Hanson knows rhythm and performance, but he must learn a completely new vocabulary of movement.
That transformation is the heart of Dancing with the Stars.
Every week, the audience gets to see contestants learn, fail, improve, become frustrated and eventually perform movements they couldn't do when the competition started.
📅 When Does Season 35 Begin?
The official Season 35 premiere will take place over two nights.
The first episode airs Tuesday, September 15, 2026, followed by a second episode on Wednesday, September 16, with both beginning at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+.
Episodes will stream on Hulu the following day.
The show will then continue its regular schedule after premiere week.
An additional DWTS After Party special is also scheduled to air live following the second premiere episode, adding another opportunity for viewers to see the contestants outside the main performances.
🌟 Final Thoughts
Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars has all the ingredients of a major television event.
There are familiar Hollywood faces, beloved television stars, elite athletes, musicians, reality personalities, comedians and social-media creators.
But the biggest headline may be the combination of Jenna Dewan, Julia Stiles and Harry Shum Jr.
Each brings a different relationship with dance and performance.
Dewan is returning to the world that helped launch her career.
Stiles is revisiting the dance world decades after Save the Last Dance became one of her signature films.
Shum Jr. is bringing years of professional dance and acting experience to the ballroom.
Around them is a cast filled with equally interesting stories.
From Olympic champion Amber Glenn to Paralympic gold medalist Ezra Frech, from television favorite Tatyana Ali to celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis, the season promises a remarkable mixture of personalities.
And then there are the professionals.
Val Chmerkovskiy, Daniella Karagach, Jenna Johnson, Mark Ballas, Witney Carson, Sharna Burgess and the rest of the professional lineup will be responsible for transforming these celebrities into ballroom performers.
That process is never easy.
Some will improve quickly.
Some will struggle.
Some may surprise everyone.
And one will eventually walk away with the Mirrorball Trophy.
For now, the ballroom is ready.
The celebrities have been paired.
The music is about to start.
And on September 15, the competition officially begins.
Season 35 is no longer a rumor or a collection of casting reports. The full lineup is official — and fans finally know exactly who will be stepping onto the dance floor. 💃🕺✨
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