By Emily Krauser
3:45 PM PDT, September 16, 2019
An all-new lineup of celebrities will be competing for the coveted mirrorball trophy on Dancing With the Stars' 28th season. From the latest Bachelorette to an American Idol alum to a former teen heartthrob, meet the newest cast members and get to know a little about each of them before the revamped dance competition show kicks off on Sept. 16 on ABC.
Hannah Brown
Expect plenty of Southern charm and a little sass from the latest Bachelorette, who bid adieu to both her short-lived fiancé Jed Wyatt and Tyler Cameron. She also knows how to work a stage -- as a beauty pageant contestant, the 24-year-old reality star was crown Miss Alabama USA 2018.
Lamar Odom
These days, Odom may be better known for his former marriage to Khloe Kardashian and now infamous struggles with drugs and alcohol. He is a professional basketball player, though, and won NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010 and was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2011. He recently opened up about his history of addiction and troubled marriage to Kardashian in a memoir, Light to Darkness.
Lauren Alaina
The successful country music singer got her career kickstarted on season 10 of American Idol, in which she came in second. The "Ladies in the '90s" crooner released her second studio album, Road Less Traveled, in 2017 and is currently working on her next record. Earlier this year, Alaina revealed that she had broken off her engagement to Alexander Hopkins after six years together; she's now dating comedian John Crist.
Karamo Brown
The 38-year-old reality star first appeared in the public eye in 2004 on the MTV's The Real World: Philadelphia, but he's now a household name as the one who makes everyone cry on Queer Eye. The Netflix hit's resident culture expert may also have more Los Angeles Dodgers hats than anyone else in existence.
James Van Der Beek
The Connecticut native can poke fun at himself like nobody's business, and while he's had more recent roles on Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, CSI: Cyber and Pose, he is beloved for his teenage hearthrob roles on Dawson's Creek and in 1999's Varsity Blues (though 2002's The Rules of Attraction is also a must-see movie if you want to see his bad boy side). He and wife Kimberly Brook are parents to four daughters and one son.
Kel Mitchell
If anyone can bring humor to this season of DWTS, it's Mitchell. A Nickelodeon fave, any kid who grew up in the '90s knows the 41-year-old actor for his roles on All That, Kenan & Kel and Good Burger. Mitchell, in fact, a big reason All That is getting a reboot.
Ally Brooke
The Texas native is a pop star who made her name in Fifth Harmony via The X Factor. She debuted the song "Vámonos" in 2018 and "Low Key" earlier this year, and she's currently working on her first solo album.
Ray Lewis
The retired NFL pro played all 17 seasons of his professional career with the Baltimore Ravens. The two-time Super Bowl winner won NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2000 and 2003. The father of six retired in 2013 and was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame five years later, in his first year of eligibility.
Kate Flannery
The 55-year-old actress is best known for her role of Meredith Palmer on The Office. A twin who grew up in Philadelphia, Flannery is also an accomplished improviser and has most recently had guest spots and recurring roles on American Housewife, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl and Steven Universe.
Mary Wilson
The 75-year-old vocalist is both a founding member and the longest member of the Supremes. Though she outstayed Florence Ballard and Diana Ross's departures, the group disbanded after she left in 1977. She wrote the successful memoir, Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme, in 1986, and has published four books total.
Sean Spicer
The 47-year-old political aide served as the twenty-eighth White House Press Secretary and as President Donald Trump's White House Communications Director in 2017.
Sailor Brinkley-Cook
The 21-year-old model stepped in to take her mom's place after Christie Brinkley got sidelined with an injury during rehearsals, with ABC revealing in a statement just hours before the season 28 premiere that Brinkley-Cook was learning "the entire routine and will compete in her mother’s place for the remainder of the season." Like her mom, the blonde beauty is a Sports Illustrated model, with the two appearing alongside each other in a 2017 edition of the mag; they also walked the Elie Tahari runway together in February. Brinkley-Cook is also an artist who studied photography at Parson's School of Design.
Christie Brinkley
Update: After injuring her wrist and arms during rehearsals, Brinkley left the show just hours before DWTS' season 28 premiere on Sept. 16.
The 65-year-old supermodel broke the bikini mold when she appeared on three consecutive Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue covers starting in 1979. Also an actress and entrepreneur, Brinkley, who's been married four times is mom to three grown children, daughters Alexa Ray Joel, Jack Paris Brinkley Taubman and Sailor Brinkley-Cook.