The ballroom doors have opened again, and Dancing with the Stars has assembled one of its biggest casts in years.
Season 35 began in September 2026 with 16 celebrities from very different corners of entertainment: beloved ’90s actors, musicians, reality personalities, athletes and even a celebrity chef. ABC confirmed the complete lineup ahead of the two-night premiere on September 15 and 16. ABC
Yet for longtime viewers, several names immediately stand out.
One contestant was once married to Channing Tatum. Another became famous as a child on one of the defining sitcoms of the ’90s. One has seven children waiting at home. And two competitors already spent years dancing professionally long before anyone handed them a DWTS scorecard.
Here are six familiar faces whose lives look remarkably different today — along with RARE PHOTOS from before the ballroom.
Jenna Dewan: From Channing Tatum’s ‘Step Up’ Co-Star and Wife to the Ballroom
Long before Jenna Dewan became known as an actress, she was already a professional dancer.
She worked behind some enormous names, including Janet Jackson, Missy Elliott and Christina Aguilera. Then came the movie that changed her life: Step Up.
Released in 2006, the dance romance paired Dewan with Channing Tatum. Their chemistry eventually moved beyond the screen, and they married in 2009.
Their daughter, Everly, was born in 2013.
The marriage ended years later, but Dewan’s life continued growing in an entirely new direction. She now shares two younger children, Callum and Rhiannon, with fiancé Steve Kazee.
And at 45, she has returned to the thing she was doing before Hollywood knew her name: dancing.
Dewan is competing with professional partner Val Chmerkovskiy. During her season premiere, her three children and Kazee were there supporting her, and her tango earned a 19 — the highest score of that night. People.com
For anyone who remembers her dancing beside Tatum two decades ago, seeing her perform competitively again feels almost full-circle.
But she’s far from the only contestant carrying a serious dose of nostalgia into the ballroom.
Taylor Hanson: The ’90s Teen Idol Is Now a Father of Seven
Yes, that Taylor Hanson.
For anyone who remembers “MMMBop” seemingly playing everywhere in 1997, it can be difficult to reconcile the long-haired teenage singer with the 43-year-old father competing on Dancing with the Stars today.
Taylor and his wife Natalie have seven children. ABC’s official cast biography confirms that family has become a huge part of the musician’s life away from the stage. ABC News
His children are apparently very invested in Dad’s newest adventure, too.
Taylor said his family has been both supportive and candid while watching him dance. In fact, a previous visit to DWTS with one of his daughters helped revive his interest in doing the show himself. Decider
He’s partnered with Britt Stewart.
The transformation is striking: the teenager remembered from those famous Hanson-era photographs now has children old enough to critique his ballroom technique.
Tatyana Ali: Ashley Banks Is All Grown Up
Another blast of pure ’90s nostalgia arrived with Tatyana Ali.
Millions watched her grow up as Ashley Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, where she appeared alongside Will Smith and — in a fun DWTS connection — current co-host Alfonso Ribeiro.
Ali’s career didn’t disappear when the Banks family left television.
She continued acting, earned degrees from Harvard and eventually became a wife and mother.
Now she’s stepping into an entirely different television role alongside professional dancer Jan Ravnik. ABC specifically highlighted her Fresh Prince legacy when announcing the Season 35 cast. ABC
Seeing Ali beside Ribeiro again — this time with him hosting while she competes — is one of those television moments that quietly reminds viewers just how much time has passed.
Harry Shum Jr.: He Was Dancing Behind Beyoncé Before ‘Glee’
Harry Shum Jr. may be remembered primarily as Mike Chang from Glee, but dancing came first.
Years before television made him famous, Shum worked professionally as a dancer. His résumé included appearances connected with major artists, including Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and Mariah Carey.
Then Glee turned him into a familiar television face.
Later came roles in Shadowhunters, Crazy Rich Asians and Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Now he’s back where much of his career began.
Shum is paired with professional dancer Jenna Johnson for Season 35. ABC lists him among the show’s official 2026 celebrity lineup. ABC
For viewers who only knew him as an actor, DWTS offers a glimpse of the performer he was before television fame arrived.
Julia Stiles: The ’90s Movie Favorite Takes on Something Completely Different
Julia Stiles belongs to a particular era of movies.
For an entire generation, she will always be Kat Stratford from 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You, starring opposite Heath Ledger.
Then came Save the Last Dance, Mona Lisa Smile and the Bourne films.
But her career has quietly expanded far beyond the teenage roles that originally made her famous. Stiles became a director and writer, making her feature directorial debut with Wish You Were Here in 2025. ABC News
Now, at 45, she’s trying something that places her in a much more vulnerable position: live ballroom competition.
Her professional partner is Ezra Sosa.
And yes, there is a lovely bit of symmetry here.
The woman many viewers remember from Save the Last Dance is now asking judges to score her dancing more than 25 years later.
Giada De Laurentiis: From the Kitchen to the Dance Floor
Giada De Laurentiis built her public identity somewhere entirely different from everyone above.
The celebrity chef spent years standing behind kitchen counters rather than beneath ballroom spotlights.
That makes her appearance on DWTS particularly unexpected.
At 56, De Laurentiis joined the competition with professional partner Alan Bersten. And there was a deeply personal reason she finally said yes.
Her 18-year-old daughter Jade encouraged her.
Giada has explained that after dropping Jade off at college, she wanted to challenge herself and demonstrate that stepping outside your comfort zone doesn’t have an age limit. Jade later recreated her mother’s DWTS tango herself. People.com
It is one of the sweetest transformations in this year’s cast: the daughter who once watched Mom build a television career is now old enough to push her toward a completely new one.
And They’re Only Part of the Cast
Season 35 actually contains 16 celebrity competitors, making the six familiar faces above only part of a much larger lineup.
The official roster also includes Tyler Cameron, Paralympic champion Ezra Frech, Olympic figure skater Amber Glenn, Maura Higgins, Ciara Miller, Jackson Olson, Guillermo Rodriguez, Connor Wood, Sarah Jane Nader and Conner Leavitt. ABC
The season is hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough, with Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough returning as judges. ABC
But for longtime fans, the before-and-after photographs may be almost as fascinating as the competition itself.
Jenna Dewan went from dancing opposite the man who would become her husband to returning to the ballroom as a mother of three. Taylor Hanson went from teenage pop phenomenon to father of seven. Tatyana Ali grew from the youngest Banks sibling into a 47-year-old mother and performer. Harry Shum Jr. traveled from backup dancer to acclaimed actor and back to dance. Julia Stiles went from 10 Things I Hate About You to filmmaker and ballroom contestant. And Giada De Laurentiis traded her familiar kitchen counter for sequins and judges’ scores.
More than anything, their rare then-and-now photos capture something television sometimes makes us forget:
We didn’t just watch these stars become famous.
We watched them grow up.
For more on stars who have changed over the years, check out the story of how Jonathan Taylor Thomas, the ’90s Teen Idol Who Walked Away From Fame, Was Detained at 45 After a Late-Night Traffic Stop and see how Adele Shed a Reported 100 Lbs After Years of Being Known for Her Signature Curves – Her Before & After Photos Show a Striking Transformation or how Kathy Bates Shed 100 Lbs After Years of Being Known for Her Fuller Figure – Her Latest Photos Reveal a Remarkable Transformation.
