The ABC announcement included a glitzy list of celebrities and several veteran pro returns.
ABC revealed its completed contestant list for season 31 of Dancing With the Stars on Thursday, announcing a glitzy list of celebrities and several veteran pro returns. The lineup also includes the show's first-ever male couple after last season's groundbreaking female partnership between JoJo Siwa and pro Jenna Johnson.
The network announced their full list of dancing duos via Good Morning America just two days after Charli and Heidi D'Amelio confirmed their casting to Michael Strahan following several weeks of rumors.
Meet the season 31 contestants!
Selma Blair and Sasha Farber
Selma Blair joins DWTS four years after first announcing her multiple sclerosis diagnosis, and just several months removed from the release of her memoir, Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up. As an actress, Blair is perhaps most well known for her roles in Legally Blonde and Cruel Intentions and in 2017, she was named one of Time Magazine’s People of The Year as one of their Silence Breakers.
Professional Sasha Farber returns to DWTS after news of his divorce from fellow pro Emma Slater broke last month. Both will compete for the mirrorball this season.
Gabby Windey and Val Chmerkovskiy
Current Bachelorette Gabby Windey's cast announcement comes only a few days before next week's Bachelorette finale. Fans will have to wait and see if a potential fiancé will be cheering her on from the stands. Two former Bachelorettes are also mirrorball holders -- Hannah Brown won DWTS season 28 and Kaitlyn Bristowe in season 29 -- can Windey be the third?
Chmerkovskiy has won two mirrorballs since first becoming a DWTS professional in 2011. Most recently, he took home the gold with gymnast Laurie Hernandez in 2016.
Teresa Giudice and Pasha Pashkov
Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice joins the cast after her whirlwind wedding to Luis Ruelas in August. Though she may be just learning how to dance, the newlywed bride certainly already knows how to create a spectacle -- her wedding hair alone made headlines for its nearly $10,000 price tag. Fans likely have no doubt that her eye for extra sparkle will make it onto the dance floor.
This is Pashkov's fourth season on DWTS, and could be his first mirrorball.
Shangela and Gleb Savchenko
RuPaul's Drag Race fans will remember Shangela, the drag queen who was famously eliminated early in season two only to return for season 3 and again later as a RuPaul's Drag Race All-Star. Shangela uses he/him pronouns, meaning his pairing with Savchenko is DWTS' first male partnership.
Gleb first appeared as a DWTS professional dancer in 2013. He has not yet won a mirrorball.
Daniel Durant and Britt Stewart
Daniel Durant is most well-known for his role in the Oscar-winning film, CODA, and will be this season's only deaf contestant. He is not, however, the show's first -- deaf model Nyle DiMarco took home the mirrorball trophy with veteran pro Peta Murgatroyd in season 22.
Season 31 will be Britt Stewart’s third as a DWTS pro. She has not yet won.
Joseph Baena and Daniella Karagach
Baena is a fitness model and actor known for his work in Called To Duty: The Last Airshow. He's also the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and once starred in a short remake of his father's Terminator 2 bar scene entitled Bad to the Bone.
Baena's partner, Danielle Karagach, comes fresh from her season 30 appearance with basketball star Iman Shumpert when her innovative choreography managed to overcome the pair's vast height difference and win the mirrorball trophy.
Trevor Donovan and Emma Slater
Trevor Donovan is most known for his appearance as Teddy Montgomery on 90210, the show's first and only LGBTQ+ series regular character. Since then, he's starred in Melissa & Joey, NCIS, and Lucifer, among others, and written three children's books.
Donovan's partner, Emma Slater, will celebrate nine years on DWTS this year. Fans will also no doubt be on the lookout as she navigates her divorce from Sasha Farber.
Jason Lewis and Peta Murgatroyd
Jason Lewis first rose to fame over two decades ago, playing Smith Jerrod on HBO's Sex and the City. Since then, he's appeared in CSI, How I Met Your Mother, House M.D, Brothers & Sisters, and more.
On DWTS, he'll join veteran pro Peta Murgatroyd, who’s taken home two mirrorball trophies since beginning on DWTS in 2011.
Peta returns to DWTS after several months of IVF treatment with her husband, former DWTS pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy. The couple has documented their journey in an effort to raise awareness for others. Most recently, Murgatroyd shared sadly that the first round of transfers had been unsuccessful.
Wayne Brady and Witney Carson
Wayne Brady is a five-time Emmy winner with a resume that spans Whose Line Is it Anyway?, The Masked Singer, Black Lighting, The Good Fight, and the upcoming American Gigolo.
His partner, Witney Carson, is no newbie to the stage either: She won DWTS season 19 with partner Alfonso Ribeiro, who returns this year as Tyra Banks' new cohost.
Sam Champion and Cheryl Burke
Sam Champion began his career at Eyewitness News in 1988, where he is now the weather anchor for This Morning. He received a Peabody Award for his coverage of Hurricane Sandy and has won four Emmys.
Champion's partner, Cheryl Burke, is also a long-established expert in her own field. Burke is the longest-standing DWTS pro, first joining the show in 2006 for its second season. She took home a mirrorball trophy in both her first and second seasons on the show.
Vinny Guadagnino and Koko Iwasaki
Vinny Guadagnino rose to fame on MTV's Jersey Shore and later starred in Food Network's Guadagnino & Ma Eat America. He's currently appearing in the fifth season of MTV's Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.
Guadagnino's partner, Koko Iwasaki, joins DWTS for her first season after placing second on So You Think You Can Dance season 14.
Charli D'Amelio and Mark Ballas
Crowned "the reigning queen of TikTok" by the New York Times, Charli D'Amelio was the first on the platform to hit 100 million followers and is the app's current leading female creator. She rose to fame for her viral dance videos and also comes to DWTS with a background in the competitive dance circuit.
Charli's partner, veteran pro Mark Ballas, returns to the show after a long hiatus. His last season was in 2017 with partner Lindsey Sterling, which he finished second. He’s won twice -- season six with figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and season eight with gymnast Shawn Johnson.
Heidi D'Amelio and Artem Chigvintsev
Though she’s most well known as a mom to Charli (and her sister Dixie), Heidi D'Amelio is also a former model and fitness trainer. She has 10 million followers of her own on TikTok and also executive produces and stars in The D'Amelio Show on Hulu.
Heidi's partner, Artem Chigvintsev, took home the mirrorball trophy with former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe in 2020.
Jordin Sparks and Brandon Armstrong
GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter Jordin Sparks is no stranger to competition shows -- she won season six of American Idol in 2007 and launched a self-titled album that went platinum shortly after. Since then, her singles have sold over 10 million digital tracks in the U.S.
Sparks' partner, Brandon Armstrong, returns to DWTS for his sixth season as a professional dancer. He has yet to win a mirrorball.
Cheryl Ladd and Louis van Amstel
Cheryl Ladd began her career in the beloved Charlie's Angels and has since worked in all corners of television, film, and Broadway. How will ballroom add up on the list?
Ladd is partnered with veteran pro Louis van Amstel who, like Mark Ballas, returns this season after a long hiatus. He last competed with partner Paula Deen on season 21 in 2015.
Though van Amstel has a long history on the show, he's never won -- could this be the year he makes it to the top?
Jesse James Decker and Alan Bersten
Jesse James Decker heads to DWTS after a decade at the top of country music charts. Her 2009 self-titled debut enamored listeners from the get-go, which she has since followed up with 2017's Southern Girl City Lights and her most recent The Woman I’ve Become EP.
James Decker's dance partner, pro Alan Bersten, has been with DWTS since season 25 in 2017, and won season 28 with former Bachelorette Hannah Brown.
Dancing With the Stars streams live on Disney+ starting Monday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. ET.
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