Dancing with the Stars is an American reality television show in which celebrity contestants and professional dance partners compete to be the best dancers, as determined by the show's judges and public voting. The series first broadcast in 2005, and thirty-one complete seasons have aired. During each season, competitors are progressively eliminated on the basis of public voting and scores received from the judges until only a few contestants remain. These finalists participate in a finale, from which a winner is determined. [1] Celebrities appearing on Dancing with the Stars include "actors, singers, comedians, musicians, entrepreneurs, athletes, reality stars, journalists, TV presenters, internet personalities, newsmakers, and where-are-they-now personalities". [2]
As of season 34, 408 celebrities have competed. Eleven of those withdrew from the competition: Sara Evans of season 3 left the show to "give her family full attention" after filing for divorce; Misty May-Treanor of season 7 was forced to pull out after an ankle injury; Tom DeLay of season 9 reportedly withdrew "due to stress fractures in both of his feet"; Dorothy Hamill of season 16 withdrew due to a previous injury that was unrelated to the competition; Billy Dee Williams of season 18 quit due to a back injury; Kim Zolciak-Biermann of season 21 was forced to withdraw after suffering a mini-stroke, which although cleared her to dance, prevented her from flying to California from Atlanta; Tamar Braxton, also of season twenty-one, withdrew due to pulmonary embolisms in her lungs; Christie Brinkley of season twenty-eight withdrew on the day of the season premiere due to an injury to her arm that required surgery; she was replaced by her daughter Sailor; Ray Lewis, also of season twenty-eight, withdrew due to a toe injury sustained during rehearsals; Jeannie Mai of season 29 withdrew due to being hospitalized for epiglottitis; and Selma Blair of season 31 withdrew when it became too risky to continue dancing due to her multiple sclerosis. [3] [4] [5]
Fifty-one professional dancers have partnered with the celebrities. The thirty-three winners of the show, in chronological order, are Kelly Monaco, Drew Lachey, Emmitt Smith, Apolo Anton Ohno, Hélio Castroneves, Kristi Yamaguchi, Brooke Burke, Shawn Johnson, Donny Osmond, Nicole Scherzinger, Jennifer Grey, Hines Ward, J. R. Martinez, Donald Driver, Melissa Rycroft, Kellie Pickler, Amber Riley, Meryl Davis, Alfonso Ribeiro, Rumer Willis, Bindi Irwin, Nyle DiMarco, Laurie Hernandez, Rashad Jennings, Jordan Fisher, Adam Rippon, Bobby Bones, Hannah Brown, Kaitlyn Bristowe, Iman Shumpert, Charli D'Amelio, Xochitl Gomez, and Joey Graziadei. The nineteen professional partners who have won, in chronological order by first win, are Alec Mazo, Cheryl Burke (twice), Julianne Hough (twice), Mark Ballas (three times), Derek Hough (six times), Kym Johnson (twice), Karina Smirnoff, Peta Murgatroyd (twice), Tony Dovolani, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Witney Carson, Valentin Chmerkovskiy (three times), Emma Slater, Lindsay Arnold, Jenna Johnson (twice), Sharna Burgess, Alan Bersten, Artem Chigvintsev and Daniella Karagach.