This morning the full cast of Dancing with the Stars was announced on Good Morning America, and it seems like it’s going to be a great season. Tom Bergeron joined Michael Strahan and George Stephanopoulos to share who was joining the lineup this year.
- Dancing with the Stars season 27 kicks off Monday, September 24 (8:00-10:00 pm EDT), on ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand.
- Celebrity contestants include:
- Alexis Ren with Alan Bersten
- Bobby Bones with Sharna Burgess
- Danelle Umstead with Artem Chigvintsev
- DeMarcus Ware with Lindsay Arnold
- Evanna Lynch with Keo Motsepe
- Joe “Grocery Store Joe” Amabile with Jenna Johnson
- John Schneider with Emma Slater
- Juan Pablo Di Pace with Cheryl Burke
- Mary Lou Retton with Sasha Farber
- Milo Manheim with Witney Carson
- Nancy McKeon with Val Chmerkovskiy
- Nikki Glaser with Gleb Savchenko
- Tinashe with Brandon Armstrong
About the season 27 celebrity cast:
Alexis Ren is one of the most famous social media models today. She began her modeling career at the age of 13 working at Brandy Melville. She has campaigned with Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, and was on the cover of Maxim’s August 2017 edition. She recently received the acclamation of being Rookie of the Year for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Collection 2018.
Bobby Bones – Dubbed “The most powerful man in country music” (Forbes), Bobby Bones continues to be an unstoppable force. With a “fiercely devoted following” (Washington Post) tuning in to his nationally syndicated radio show, “The Bobby Bones Show” broadcasts to more than 120 stations and is the No. 1 Country morning show with millions of listeners each week. Bones also launched his own podcast, BobbyCast, which features candid long-form interviews with top artists and industry figures. Bones brought his expertise to the latest season of ABC’s American Idol as a mentor.
Danelle Umstead – At the age of 13, Danelle was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a genetic eye condition where the retina progressively degenerates and eventually causes blindness. She has no central vision and is losing her peripheral vision. Currently, her spotted vision limits her sight to less than five feet without any detail. Her father first introduced her to adaptive skiing in 2001. Skiing not only gave Danelle her life back, it also led to meeting her husband, Rob, while skiing in Taos, New Mexico, in 2005. As Team Vision4Gold, Danelle and Rob have won 3 Paralympic bronze medals, 4 World Championship medals and over 50 Alpine Skiing World Cup medals. They made history at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Paralympic Games as the first husband and wife visually impaired ski race team to compete and medal for Team USA. They earned bronze medals in both the downhill and super combined events in Vancouver and ended that season with the overall and Super G World Cup titles. The duo also earned a bronze medal in the super combined at the 2014 Sochi Winter Paralympic Games.
DeMarcus Ware is widely regarded as one of the greatest defensive players in NFL History and is projected to be a first-ballot NFL Hall of Fame candidate upon his eligibility in 2021. Born and raised in Auburn, Alabama, Ware attended Auburn High School and played baseball, basketball and track. Ware was selected in the first round by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2005 NFL Draft and spent nine seasons with the franchise (2005-2013). He is the Cowboys’ all-time leader in sacks (117) and forced fumbles (32). He was signed by the Denver Broncos in 2014, where he helped lead the team to victory in Super Bowl 50. He retired in March 2017 after 12 illustrious seasons in the NFL.
Evanna Lynch is best-known for playing the role of Luna Lovegood in Warner Bros’ Harry Potter film franchise, adapted from the best-selling book series of the same name. In 2010, Lynch scored a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Spike TV’s SCREAM Awards and a Best Performance in a Feature Film nomination for the Young Artist Awards. Most recently, she completed a two-month run at the Off-Broadway Irish Repertory Theatre in NYC as the co-lead of Enda Walsh’s cult classic play, “Disco Pigs.” Lynch, is an active philanthropist, devoting her free time largely to Animal Rights and Welfare advocacy and works to promote compassion and respect for animals. In late 2017, she launched a weekly podcast, The ChickPeeps, where she explores and educates listeners on the topic of living a vegan lifestyle.
Joe “Grocery Store Joe” Amabile – Formerly one of the youngest traders on the Chicago stock exchange, Amabile turned a successful career in big finance into a successful career in small business. He followed his family’s footsteps in the grocery store world, where he bought his own store. Lovingly referred to as “Grocery Store Joe,” Amabile was a fan favorite on The Bachelorette season 14 and went on to appear on Bachelor in Paradise season 5.
John Schneider is best known for the iconic role of Bo Duke on the hit series The Dukes of Hazzard as well as starring roles on Smallville, Tyler Perry’s The Haves and the Have Nots, and more. In addition to his extensive acting career, he is a celebrated country music artist with 10 albums to his credits and four No. 1 singles on the Billboard Country chart. This year, Schneider has launched an ambitious 52-song project, “The Odyssey,” releasing a song a week throughout 2018.
Juan Pablo Di Pace is an Argentine-born actor and director with an extensive musical theatre background. Multilingual and fluent in English, Spanish and Italian, Di Pace began his career in the United Kingdom appearing in the London musical Chicago. He then played the role of Danny Zuko in the Trieste production of “Grease” in Italy, which he also directed. Di Pace is best-known for his role as the passionate Fernando on Netflix’s original series, Fuller House, and for the iconic role of Jesus Christ on NBC’s A.D. The Bible Continues. He is heavily featured in the film classic, Mamma Mia! alongside Meryl Streep, playing the role of Petros. Di Pace has recorded three original cast albums – Mamma Mia, The Movie Soundtrack, Saturday Night Fever and Mas de 100 Mentiras.
Mary Lou Retton catapulted to international fame and ignited a new era of American dominance in gymnastics during the 1984 Summer Olympics, when she became the first American woman to win a gold medal in gymnastics, scoring two perfect 10s along the way. She would win five medals during the 1984 Olympics, the most won by any athlete during that summer’s games. She was also the first woman ever to appear on the iconic Wheaties box. She served as a commentator for NBC at the 1988 Olympics, wrote a daily column for USA Today during the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, and co-hosted the television series Road to Olympic Gold. Today, Retton is a renowned motivational speaker and corporate spokesperson who travels the world as a “Fitness Ambassador,” promoting the benefits of proper nutrition and regular exercise. She remains deeply involved in the gymnastics community and is the mother of four daughters, all of whom are accomplished athletes, as well.
Milo Manheim is an up-and-coming American actor born and raised in Los Angeles. At the age of 7, he began his acting career in a local after-school program in Culver City, and he soon went on to perform in 15 musicals with Liza Monjauze Productions. These musicals include Rent, Footloose, Tommy, A Chorus Line, Gypsy and Spring Awakening. He was discovered when casting director Amber Horn saw his performance as Roger in the musical, Rent. This was a pivotal point in his budding career as she brought him in to audition for a new Disney Channel musical, Zombies. After eight call-backs, Manheim got the coveted role of Zed. Zombies premiered on February 26, 2018.
Nancy McKeon is an actress, director and producer best known for playing the role of Jo Polniaczek on the beloved long-running 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life. She has since appeared in many other television series, including leading roles on the police drama The Division, the sitcom Can’t Hurry Love, with Mariska Hargitay, Style & Substance, with Jean Smart, and as the mother of Demi Lovato’s title character on Disney’s Sonny with a Chance.
Nikki Glaser currently hosts Comedy Central’s first live daily morning show, You Up with Nikki Glaser, for SiriusXM. Previously, she hosted, co-created and executive produced the critically acclaimed show Not Safe with Nikki Glaser, for Comedy Central. In film, Glaser appeared in Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck for Universal, and Henry Phillips’ movie, Punching the Clown. On TV, she has fun guest star roles on NBC’s A.P. Bio and Freeform’s, Alone Together, and she previously appeared on Adam Ruins Everything, Inside Amy Schumer, and @Midnight. Her highly praised Netflix stand-up special premiered last summer, and she has done sets on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Conan and Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Tinashe – Not only does the multiplatinum-certified R&B disruptor Tinashe sing, write and dance, but she also produces, mixes, engineers, creative directs and edits. Co-mingling seductive R&B, edgy pop and a nocturnal electronic sensibility, she emerged as a fascinating, focused and fiery outlier in 2014 with her full-length debut, Aquarius. Between touring alongside everyone from Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj to Maroon 5, she revved up the official mixtape Nightride. Tinashe also has a presence in the worlds of beauty and fashion as well. Recognizing the artist’s inimitable fashion sense, Ralph Lauren placed her in a high-profile campaign with Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin. Beyond an exclusive performance for Karl Lagerfeld, other partnerships include Alexander Wang, Calvin Klein, and M.A.C. Cosmetics. Juicy Couture sought her out to be the face of its exclusive Urban Outfitters collaboration. Presently, Tinashe is carefully preparing more new music heading into 2019.