“Dancing with the Stars” returns for season 28 on September 16 after an unprecedented year-long hiatus. The show skipped its usual spring cycle, and now its fall lineup includes the usual mix of actors, singers, athletes, reality personalities, and arguably the most controversial political figure in the show’s history. Who do you think will win the show’s 28th Mirror Ball Trophy? Click through our gallery above to see the official cast portraits of the dozen celebs who will be dancing for judges’ scores and America’s votes.
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‘Dancing with the Stars’ Season 28 Cast
Image Credit: ABC/Justin Stephens “Dancing with the Stars” returns for season 28 on September 16 after an unprecedented year-long hiatus. The show skipped its usual spring cycle, and now its fall lineup includes the usual mix of actors, singers, athletes, reality personalities, and arguably the most controversial political figure in the show’s history. Who do you think will win the show’s 28th Mirror Ball Trophy? Click through our gallery above to see the official cast portraits of the dozen celebs who will be dancing for judges’ scores and America’s votes.
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Christie Brinkley (Withdrew From Competition)
Image Credit: ABC WITHDREW DUE TO INJURY
Supermodel, author and entrepreneur Christie Brinkley has appeared on more than 500 magazine covers worldwide. Brinkley is also an actress and recently returned in the Tony® Award-winning revival of the mega-hit musical Chicago as Roxie Hart.
Combining her modeling experience with her artistic talents and diverse interests, Brinkley’s legendary career has been extraordinary and well-respected. She has been photographed in six continents and more than 30 countries around the world. A model for more than 30 years, and 45 years in the beauty industry, Brinkley was discovered by a photographer while studying art in Paris, France. Since then, she has become the first model to ever appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated for three consecutive years, with a fourth special issue cover.
As a successful businesswoman, Brinkley has an exclusive line of organic Prosecco called Bellissima, from Treviso, Italy, which is quickly becoming one of the fastest-rising brands of Prosecco across the country.
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Mary Wilson (12th Place)
Image Credit: ABC ELIMINATED: Week 2 (September 23, 2019)
A singer, bestselling author, motivational speaker, businesswoman, former U.S. Cultural Ambassador, wife, mother and grandmother, the legendary Mary Wilson continues to make great strides in her inevitable journey to greatness. Mary Wilson is an original founding member of The Supremes who according to Billboard is the #1 female recording group of all-time with an unpresecenented 12 #1 hits with 5 hits being #1 in a row. Performing with the same passion as she did singing with the original Supremes, as well as with her solo career, the world-renowned performer is an advocate for social and economic challenges in the United States and abroad. Wilson uses her fame and flair to promote a diversity of humanitarian efforts including ending hunger, raising HIV/AIDS awareness and encouraging world peace.
With no sign of slowing down, Wilson is getting ready to release her fourth book, Supreme Glamour, on Sept. 17, 2019. This highly anticipated coffee table book will showcase the gowns The Supremes were known for over the decades and delve into more history of the most successful female recording group of all time. Supreme Glamour is now available for pre-order on Amazon.
In addition, her hard work and determination allowed the Music Moderization Act (MMA) to pass. Her vision came to fruition when the United States legislation signed the act into law on October 11, 2018. The important piece of legislation aims to modernize copyright-related issues for new music and audio recordings due to new forms of technology like digital streaming. Her advocacy for this act lies with herself and other legacy artists gaining fair compensation when their songs are played on digital radio stations.
In 2019, Wilson was honored at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, celebrating her work in music and her influence on young African Americans and entertainment. Her conversation with Janice Littlejohn left the audience laughing with her unmatched humor and standing with applause displaying her graceful composure throughout the night. Showing the same love she has shown to all her fans, Wilson gladly met and personally thanked every attendee that night for their support throughout her career. In 2021, she will also be celebrating the 60thanniversary of The Supremes.
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Ray Lewis (Withdrew From Competition in 11th Place)
Image Credit: ABC WITHDREW DUE TO INJURY: Week 3 (September 30, 2019)
NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis’ life has been an amazing journey through extremes—from the impossible odds of a challenging childhood to playing 17 noteworthy years in the National Football League and his induction into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2018. Lewis is widely considered to be one of the most dominant defensive players in the history of the NFL. He led the Baltimore Ravens to victory in Super Bowl XXXV, where he was named Super Bowl MVP, and again in Super Bowl XLVII, in what would be the final game of his career. The Hall of Famer is only the second player in NFL history to win both the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl MVP awards in the same year (2000). His 13 Pro Bowl selections are tied for the fifth-most in the NFL by any player and the most by a linebacker. He was named AP All-Pro 10 times and NFL Defensive Player of the Year twice (2000 and 2003).
Today, Lewis is a New York Times bestselling author for his breakout memoir, I Feel Like Going On. He returns this fall for another season as a member of Showtime’s popular Inside the NFL. In 2015, Lewis partnered with Rob Wallace to found Power52, a growing company providing training, jobs and affordable renewable energy to inner city communities. Lewis is also an official partner with Under Armour, seeking to bring help and hope through community impact programs.
Lewis has been bringing his unique brand of inspiration and motivation to some of the world’s biggest companies and organizations for years. He speaks from the heart with passion and authority, drawing from a wealth of experiences on and off the field. With audiences, Lewis shares his lessons of leadership: working through adversity, motivating those around you and inspiring the best in people.
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Lamar Odom (10th Place)
Image Credit: ABC ELIMINATED: Week 4 (October 7, 2019)
Lamar Joseph Odom is an American professional basketball player. As a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he won NBA championships in 2009 and 2010, and was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2011. Odom played on the United States national team, winning a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics and a gold medal in the 2010 FIBA World Championship (known later as the World Cup).
Odom has three children, Destiny (b. 1998), Lamar Jr. (b. 2002) and Jayden (2005–2006). On June 29, 2006, 6½-month-old Jayden died from sudden infant death syndrome while sleeping in his crib in New York.
He was married to Khloé Kardashian from 2009 to 2016. During their marriage, Odom made several appearances on the reality television show Keeping Up with the Kardashians. He and Kardashian also had their own reality series, Khloé & Lamar.
In October 2015, Odom fell into a coma and was hospitalized with life-threatening medical problems. He has since recovered from his health scare and obtained drug treatment. Present-day, Odom feels God kept him on this earth for a reason. He feels it is time to use his story to impact others and is now a professional speaker, traveling the world to inspire others with his breathtaking life story.
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Sailor Brinkley-Cook (9th Place)
Image Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock ELIMINATED: Week 6 (October 21, 2019)
Sailor Brinkley-Cook is an American model/filmmaker and photographer. A gorgeous head-turner of a face and body, she has managed to achieve success at a young age. Having legendary supermodel Christie Brinkley as her mother definitely helped her, but it was her talent and dedication which paved the way for her to become a rising star in the fashion world.
Sailor grew up in Bridgehampton, New York, and began modeling at age 15. She took the industry by storm as she was featured in “Teen Vogue,” an overwhelming achievement for her, soon after she was signed with IMG Models. Perhaps most notably, Sailor appeared alongside her mother, Christie Brinkley, and sister, singer/songwriter Alexa Ray Joel, in the 2017 “Sports Illustrated” Swimsuit Issue. In 2018, “Sports Illustrated” named the budding model one of its Rookies for its Swimsuit Edition and contributed as a photographer’s assistant. Recently, she walked the runway alongside her mother for Elie Tahari and appeared with her siblings on the cover of “Hamptons” magazine for their celebrated Labor Day issue. Additional editorial credits for Sailor include the covers of “Avenue,” “Daily Front Row” and “Bella” as well as fashion stories in “Seventeen,” “Town & Country,” “Beach Magazine,” “New York Post” and a “Marie Claire” special issue with Fabricio Ferri.
Sailor was included in “People”’s Most Beautiful issue for the second time, appearing alongside her mother, Christie; sister, Alexa, and brother, Jack. Sailor also made her runway debut in Milan walking for Dolce&Gabbana during spring 2018. Earlier this year, Sailor took a break from her studies and relocated to Australia to continue modeling opportunities.
Outside of fashion, she aspires to contribute to “National Geographic” as a photojournalist.
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Karamo Brown (8th Place)
Image Credit: ABC ELIMINATED: Week 7 (October 28, 2019)
Three-time Emmy® Award winner and culture expert on the Netflix reboot of Queer Eye, Karamo Brown is a sympathetic talk therapist warped inside a life coach and zipped into a fast-fashion bomber jacket.
Lauded for his ease and natural comfort in relating to different types of people, Brown is tasked with making over the hearts and minds of the individuals they help on the show: by helping them to confront and grow beyond the internal and external issues holding them back.
On stage, Brown draws from his work as a social worker to show how he both discovered and learned to explore his many different identities. Whether as a black man, openly gay man, a son of immigrant parents, a Christian, a single father or former social worker, Brown strategically utilizes the strengths of his numerous identities to achieve success and teaches others to do the same.
His memoir, Karamo: My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing, and Hope, explores how the challenges in his own life have allowed him to forever transform the lives of those in need.
Available through Luminary, Karamo’s podcast, “Karamo,” is an in-depth look at life’s thorniest issues where everyday people from around the world can call in and chat with Brown to receive direct advice or share their personal feelings on the everyday situations affecting their lives. The show also includes special interviews with Brown’s celebrity friends who share personal moments from their lives with him.
His upcoming children’s book, I Am Perfectly Designed, is an empowering ode to modern families, co-authored with his son Jason.
With Queer Eye, Brown has won three Emmys, including for Outstanding Structured Reality Program, and a Television Critics Association Award. The show has been renewed for a fourth and fifth season.
Beginning his television career in 2004 as a housemate on the MTV hit reality series The Real World, Brown was the first openly gay African American in the history of reality television. Shortly after the conclusion of The Real World, Brown learned that he was the father of a 9-year-old boy, Jason. With the support of his child’s mother, Brown petitioned and gained full custody of his son. A year later, Brown adopted Jason’s half-brother, Christian.
Brown was the recipient of the 2018 Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award. He was also invited by the Obama Administration to work with the White House to create policy and legislation supporting after-school programs for LGBTQ youth. Since then, he has personally worked with President Barak Obama to support the Obama Foundation and My Brother’s Keeper Alliance.
Brown is an active member of the Never Again MSD gun control movement after his Florida high school, Stoneman Douglas, suffered a fatal shooting in 2018. A graduate of Florida A&M University, Brown worked as a licensed social worker for over a decade before transitioning into media.
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Kate Flannery (7th Place)
Image Credit: ABC ELIMINATED: Week 8 (November 4, 2019)
Actor, comedienne and singer Kate Flannery is best known for her nine seasons as Meredith on NBC’s The Office. She has recently been seen on Young Sheldon on CBS and has been heard on Cartoon Network’s OK K.O.! and Steven Universe. She has guest starred on FOX’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl, ABC’s American Housewife, Comedy Central’s Another Period, Hulu’s All Night and the FOX NFL pre-game show on “Riggle’s Picks.” Flannery was in the Tribeca Film Fest’s Tenured and Slow Learners, and in the critically acclaimed 4th Man Out on Netflix. She stars in the HBO short Emergency Contact, How to Get Girls, Dial a Prayer with William H. Macy and the Sundance hit Cooties with Elijah Wood.
Flannery is currently singing with Jane Lynch in their anti-cabaret act Two Lost Souls, where they did a residency at The Carlyle Hotel in New York. She’s toured with Lynch for the past four years playing at the Kennedy Center, Joe’s Pub and in 40 cities over the past two years. She is featured on Lynch’s Christmas album, A Swingin’ Little Christmas, which hit No. 6 on the Billboard Top 100 chart. She has even sung with the Ocean City Pops. Flannery’s original cult comedy lounge act, “The Lampshades,” plays comedy festivals and Hollywood regularly.
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Sean Spicer (6th Place)
Image Credit: ABC ELIMINATED: Week 9 (November 11, 2019)
Sean Spicer’s political career began long before the former White House press secretary made his mark as one of the most recognized staffers in the Trump administration. Spicer built a decades-long career in Republican politics, witnessing and shaping the inner workings of Washington, D.C., from every vantage point: House of Representatives communicator, heading up incumbent retention at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, assistant U.S. trade representative in George W. Bush’s White House, chief strategist and director of communications at the Republican National Committee, top advisor to presidential campaigns and, of course, White House press secretary. Spicer made his way up through the ranks and has experience at every level in Washington. Few are as well-equipped as Spicer to pull back the curtain and dissect what’s really happening in the nation’s capital. Since leaving the White House, Spicer has become the founder and president of RigWil LLC, a strategic consulting firm that provides insights to C-suite corporate and association executives.
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James Van Der Beek (5th Place)
Image Credit: ABC ELIMINATED: Week 10 (November 18, 2019)
James Van Der Beek is a writer, actor and producer who launched his acting career on the New York stage at age 16 to rave reviews in an original work by Edward Albee. He made his big-screen debut the following year in the movie Angus, but is perhaps best known for starring in the hit films Varsity Blues, the cult classic The Rules of Attraction and as the title character in the series Dawson’s Creek, which ran for six seasons and continues to syndicate around the globe.
Most recently, Van Der Beek co-created, wrote, show-ran and starred in Vice’s first scripted series, What Would Diplo Do?, which scored over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. He portrayed Matt Bromley in the FX original series Pose from Ryan Murphy, which debuted to critical and commercial acclaim and was nominated for a Golden Globe®, Critics Choice and Gotham Awards, and won a GLAAD Award, AFI Award and a Peabody. Van Der Beek’s other television credits include HBO’s series Room 104, created by Jay and Mark Duplass; Don’t Trust the B**** in Apartment 23, Friends with Better Lives, Criminal Minds, How I Met Your Mother and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, among many others. He is also the voice of Boris on Disney Junior’s hit animated series Vampirina.
Van Der Beek has done a variety of work on the big screen, including the cult classic Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and the independent films Backwards and Formosa Betrayed, for which he won a Best Actor Award at the San Diego Film Festival in 2009. Van Der Beek played opposite Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin in Jason Reitman’s Labor Day, and Alexander Payne’s Downsizing with Matt Damon.
He’s had several hosting stints including Saturday Night Live; the NewNowNext Awards on Logo; and has popped up in comedy skits on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Soup, The Daily Show and Tosh.0. Van Der Beek took over Funny or Die for “Van Der Week” in a series of videos for the popular website with “Vandermemes,” “DILF Khakis” and “Asshole for Hire.” He later re-teamed with them for “Indiana Home Shopping Network,” which skewered anti-LGBT laws then in place in Indiana. He appeared in Ke$ha’s music video “Blow,” which has over 70 million views on YouTube, and he co-wrote and starred in the Power Rangers de-boot “Power/Rangers Unauthorized,” produced by Adi Shankar and directed by Joseph Kahn. The dark, gritty short made its debut on YouTube, amassed 14 million views in less than 24 hours and won a Streamy Award.
Van Der Beek has returned to the stage several times in original work by Lanford Wilson at the Signature Theater in 2003 and in 2013 to star in playwright Joanna Murray-Smith’s The Gift at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.
Born in Connecticut, Van Der Beek attended the prestigious Cheshire Academy on a full academic scholarship, started acting professionally in New York at age 16, and studied English and sociology on an academic scholarship at Drew University in New Jersey before leaving to pursue an acting career full time.
Van Der Beek lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Kimberly, and their five children: Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia and Gwendolyn.
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Lauren Alaina (4th Place)
Image Credit: ABC FINALIST: Result revealed in Week 11 (November 25)
Platinum-selling country star Lauren Alaina’s critically acclaimed sophomore album, Road Less Traveled, landed on multiple Best Of lists including Billboard, Rolling Stone and Amazon, and it became the top-streamed female country album release of 2017. Praised as “full of life lessons and uplift” (People), the collection of 12 songs all written by the young star includes Alaina’s first No. 1 smash, “Road Less Traveled,” the Top 25 hit “Doin’ Fine,” and the deeply personal and inspiring “Three.” The Georgia native’s latest, “Ladies in the ’90s,” pays homage to some of Alaina’s biggest female role models from Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Dixie Chicks to Britney Spears, TLC, Spice Girls and more. Alaina has also shared the stage with superstars Alan Jackson, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Martina McBride and Jason Aldean, as well as headlining her own shows including her recent U.K. tour with sold-out shows in Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow.
Following the release of Road Less Traveled, Alaina has received multiple nominations for the ACM Awards, CMA Awards, CMT Music Awards, Teen Choice Awards, Radio Disney Awards and Billboard Music Awards, including taking home last year’s ACM New Female Vocalist of the Year Award and CMT Collaborative Video of the Year Award for “What Ifs,” the 4x platinum-selling No. 1 hit with childhood friend Kane Brown. Alaina is one of CMT’s Next Women of Country and she received her very first CMT Music Award for Breakthrough Video of the Year with her No. 1 hit “Road Less Traveled.”
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Ally Brooke (3rd Place)
Image Credit: ABC FINALIST: Result revealed in Week 11 (November 25)
For as long as she can remember, Ally Brooke has been on a path to self-discovery. And now, with the singer having endured her share of detours, obstacles and unexpected challenges along the way, she’s finally tapped into her most honest and sincere spirit. After breaking out as a member of the multiplatinum pop group Fifth Harmony, she signed with Atlantic Records in 2018 and is now preparing to release her solo debut album. Following years ceding her individual creative spirit to a group’s collective mission, Brooke says she’s nothing short of ecstatic to at last paint her own portrait: a rich tapestry decorated with history, culture, passion and commitment.
For a lifelong singer like Brooke, who by age 12 was already shuttling between her native San Antonio and Los Angeles to write and record music with some of the industry’s key players, arriving at this moment feels nothing short of a dream fulfilled. Many first met her as a solo contestant on The X Factor, and then as a member of the assembled group Fifth Harmony; but now, central to Brooke’s palpable excitement about planting her own artistic flag is wielding artistic control over her future and, more specifically, shaping her signature sound. To that end, the singer spent an intense last year in the studio with some of the music world’s top songwriters and producers, together working tirelessly until she landed on a specific sound and style that moved her.
Raised in an intensely passionate and proud Latin community, Brooke gravitated early to mariachi music and Tejano artists like Selena Quintanilla, as well as more mainstream Latin pop stars including Gloria Estefan and Jennifer Lopez. First finding her voice when singing in church, Brooke’s knack for her craft quickly transformed into something more resembling a life’s true love and central passion.
Further adding to Brooke’s excitement is the knowledge that she’s finally poised to emerge front and center and deliver the full-scale monumental live show she’s long admired.
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Kel Mitchell (2nd Place)
Image Credit: ABC FINALIST: Result revealed in Week 11 (November 25)
Kel Mitchell is a two-time Emmy® Award-nominated actor, producer and stand-up comic hailing from the Windy City of Chicago, Illinois. Currently, Mitchell is executive producing and appearing in the new iteration of the beloved Nickelodeon series All That, bringing him full circle since he got his big break and won several awards for the original show. All That was Nickelodeon’s longest-running live-action series with 171 episodes across 10 seasons from 1994 to 2005. The franchise paved the way for a number of successful spinoffs, including Kenan & Kel, The Amanda Show, The Nick Cannon Show and the feature-length film Good Burger, all of which cemented the show’s and Mitchell’s impact on pop culture. Additionally, Mitchell is the host of the heart-warming TV series Tails of Valor, which takes a look at true stories of service animals working to change people’s lives. The show airs on CBS Saturday mornings. He also recently starred as Double G, an impulsive and unpredictable billionaire rapper on Game Shakers.
Other acting credits include TRU TV’s Friends of the People, Cartoon Network’s Loiter Squad, TV One’s Love That Girl, Disney Channel’s Liv & Maddie, as well as Nickelodeon series Sam & Cat and The Thundermans. Additionally, Mitchell wrote and directed the faith-based, anti-bullying film She Is Not My Sister, and also directed several music videos.
When he is not acting, writing or directing, Mitchell speaks to youth across the country encouraging them to follow their dreams. He and his wife were recently honored with an award from the Carson Black Chamber of Commerce for providing a safe program for kids to show off their creative talents in their dance variety live show, The Back House Party. Mitchell is also the spokesperson for Black College Expo, which provides numerous scholarships for students throughout the year.
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Hannah Brown (Mirror Ball Champion!)
Image Credit: ABC WINNER: Result revealed in Week 11 (November 25)
Hannah Brown recently wrapped her memorable run as The Bachelorette in the show’s milestone 15th season on ABC, which soared to new ratings highs thanks to her genuine personality and dramatic season finale. As a fun country girl who is unapologetically herself, Brown first won over America on Colton Underwood’s season of The Bachelor. Now, she is ready to hit the ballroom floor and find a new type of love: dancing.
Brown was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She went on to become Miss Alabama USA in 2018 and used her platform to help others. She became an advocate for those suffering from depression and anxiety, something she battled with during her teenage years.
