Here's Every Celebrity Who's Ever Won 'Dancing With The Stars'
Season 19: Alfonso Ribeiro and Witney Carson
Alfonso Ribeiro may have been known for his interesting dance moves on Fresh Prince of Bel Air, but on DWTS he proved he could conquer the ballroom floor and took home the Mirrorball. His dance pro Whitney Carson even worked "The Carlton" into one of their routines and the risk paid off, earning the couple a perfect score.
Season 1: Kelly Monaco and Alec Mazo
The very first season of Dancing With the Stars, which aired in 2005, was won by former-Playboy-model-turned-actress Kelly Monaco and her partner Alec Mazo. Kelly initially faced some tough criticism and low scores from the judges, but by the finale she earned a perfect 30 out of 30 for her freestyle to "Let's Get Loud."
Season 2: Drew Lachey and Cheryl Burke
Boyband members can usually bust a move or two, but former 98 Degrees member Drew Lachey absolutely crushed it during his time on DWTS. Alongside his partner Cheryl Burke, he earned three perfect scores before being crowned champion. ”It’s an ugly trophy, but you really want to win it,” Drew joked during his time on the show.
Season 3: Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke
Dance pro Cheryle Burke brought home her second Mirrorball trophy with partner Emmitt Smith. Smith, a former NFL player, became the first of many professional athletes to win the ballroom competition. Smith and Burke came out of the gate swinging, earning 8's across the board on their very first week. They then went on to pick up three perfect scores and several nearly perfect scores along their way to the Mirrorball.
Season 4: Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough
Two-time Olympic gold medalist speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno and his partner Julianne Hough sailed through the fourth season of DWTS and earned themselves a whopping five perfect scores. According to Apolo's skating coach John Schaeffer, his "competitiveness is almost on the verge of insanity,” which would explain the hours and hours he put into perfecting the technique of each step.
Season 5: Hélio Castroneves and Julianne Hough
Brazilian auto racing driver Hélio Castroneves brought home a second win for dance pro Julianna Hough. Castroneves and Hough earned high scores throughout the season, but sealed the deal in the finale with a freestyle to "Land of a Thousand Dances" and a quickstep to "Hey Pachuco" that both earned scores of 30 out of 30.
Despite being one of the top drivers in the Indy 500, Castroneves told Time that he mostly gets recognized from DWTS now.
Season 6: Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas
It's no surprise that choreography came naturally to two-time world champion figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. Kristi and her partner Mark Ballas performed three perfect dances in the finale, including an unforgettable jive, before taking home the trophy.
Since leaving the show, Kristi says she has remained a loyal DWTS fan, Inquisitor reported, and tries to tune in every week.
Season 7: Brooke Burke and Derek Hough
Dance pro Derek Hough brought home the first of many DWTS wins with model Brooke Burke. Brooke has said that the competition helped her get through a difficult time in her life. "The one thing I learned in the ballroom was how to dance through the chaos of life gracefully," she told The Daily Mail.
She then went on to co-host the show with Tom Bergeron for seven seasons before being replaced with Erin Andrews in 2014.
Season 8: Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas
At just 17 years old, Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson had the strength, determination, and flexibility to take home the Mirrorball trophy in the closest finale in the show's history. Shawn and her partner Mark Ballas beat actor Gilles Marini by less than 1%.
The athlete's time on DWTS was marred by a bit of drama after a stalker attempted to break onto the CBS lot while in possession of weapons, duct tape, and love letters to Shawn.
The close call didn't scare Shawn away and she returned for the all stars competition in season 15 where she was partnered with Derek Hough. The pair went far but ultimately placed second.
Season 9: Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson
Singer Donny Osmond started off his DWTS journey with a few critical notes from the judges of his dances being too theatrical — to be expected from a musical theater star. But with the help of dance pro Kym Johnson, Donny stepped up his game and earned two perfect scores in the finale.
At 51 years old, Donny is the oldest person to have won the competition, but what he seemed most excited about what the fact that he out-placed his sister Marie Osmond, who competed on season 5.""I beat Marie!" Osmond said on Good Morning America. "I am really proud of this."
Season 10: Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough
Partnered with dance pro Derek Hough, former Pussycat Dolls member Nicole Scherzinger took home the win in season 10. It comes as no surprise that the pop star took well to the dance routines, and earned high scores from the first week. During the finale, the duo performed a high-energy jive that received high praise from judge Len Goodman. “There can only be one winner of Dancing With the Stars. It should be you," he said.
Season 11: Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough
Derek's third win came the following season with partner Jennifer Grey. The Dirty Dancing actress was no stranger to tackling technical choreography, but said that the competition was so much harder than learning the dances for her most well-known film. "This dance experience was so much more difficult [than Dirty Dancing where] I learned basically one dance over the course of months," she said on GMA. "It was a completely different level of dancing."
Season 12: Hines Ward and Kym Johnson
Former NFL player Hines Ward teamed up with dance pro Kym Johnson for season 12 and wowed both the audience and judges with his moves. The duo picked up four perfect scores throughout the competition and took home the Mirrorball, despite Kym suffering a sprained vertebrae after a lift went wrong in rehearsals.
Season 13: J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff
Actor J.R. Martinez, best known for his role on All My Children, narrowly edged out Rob Kardashian to take home the win with his partner Karina Smirnoff. J.R. was incredibly happy to be able to help bring in Karina's first win on DWTS. "I'm just so grateful that I was able to be part of the journey to help get her first mirrorball trophy," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "She deserves it. She should be in the elite category of people who've won on this show."
Season 14: Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd
Dance pro Peta Murgatroyd teamed up with former NFL player Donald Driver in season 14 and took home a surprise win. Fellow finalists William Levy and Katherine Jenkins had consistently scored higher and received better praise from the judges, but it was Donald and Peta who walked away with the trophy.
Season 15: Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani
The former Bachelor contestant and Dallas Cowboys cheerleader may have only placed third when she first competed in season 8, but Melissa returned for Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars and took home the Mirrorball. Despite never having won before, Melissa said the support she received throughout the season was incredible."The support behind us the entire season, it feels good," she said after the win. "I felt the cast was genuinely happy for us."
Melissa went on to host the 2015 Dancing With the Stars live tour.
Season 16: Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough
Kellie Pickler may have only placed sixth on American Idol but paired up with Derek Hough, she came out on top on DWTS. Pickler credited her win to participating in sports — mainly cheerleading — earlier in her life."It's been quite some time, and cheerleading is a lot different than ballroom dancing, but the thing that has helped me the most, my greatest strength, is my flexibility," she told The Boot.
Season 17: Amber Riley and Derek Hough
Glee actress Amber Riley started her DWTS experience on a high note and tied for the highest score ever given out on the first week — a whopping 27 out of 30. She and her partner Derek Hough then went on to pick up five perfect scores and only received a score lower than an eight once.
Amber, who participated in the show wanting to prove that women of any size can compete, found extra meaning in the win. “I want to let women of all sizes to know, you can do whatever you put your mind to,” she said after nabbing the Mirrorball. “It doesn’t matter what size, what color you are — you can do whatever, whatever, whatever you put your mind to!”
Season 18: Meryl Davis and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Olympic figure skater Meryl Davis went head-to-head against her skating partner Charlie White on season 18 of DWTS but it was Meryl, along with dance pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who came out on top. She absolutely crushed her routines and holds the highest celebrity average score of 28.4 out of 30.
Season 20: Rumer Willis and Val Chmerkovskiy
Actress and singer Rumer Willis had a sizzling partnership with dance pro Val Chmerkovskiy that took them all the way to the top, and even tied for the highest number of perfect scores at the time — 6. Rumer was so infatuated with the whole experience (and Val) that she got a tattoo of the two of them dancing on her bicep. The pair denied any dating rumors but Rumer reportedly had the tattoo removed after Val moved on and began dating fellow DWTS pro Jenna Johnson.
Season 21: Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough
At just 17 years old, Bindi Irwin, daughter of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, took home the Mirrorball with pro Derek Hough. The wildlife conservationist wowed the judges with her routines, particularly a freestyle to "Footprints in the Sand," which she dedicated to her late father.
While dancing on the show was vastly different than studying wildlife, Bindi said she was incredibly happy to have had the experience. “The most special part of this experience is to really be able to grow and touch on parts of my life that I never thought I would really go to and be able to share my journey and story with so many others," she said after the win.
Season 22: Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd
Model Nyle DiMarco was the second deaf contestant on DWTS but the first to take home the trophy. He didn't let the fact that he couldn't hear the music stop him from nailing every step of the routines, and performed some jaw-dropping numbers. Who could forget the absolutely mesmerizing freestyle where he and partner Peta danced around a burning piano?
Season 23: Laurie Hernandez and Val Chmerkovskiy
Laurie Hernandez became the second Olympic gymnast to take home a Mirrorball trophy, and at just 16 years old, she's the show's youngest winner to date. She cha cha'd right into the hearts of the audience and judges and earned herself an unbelievable eight perfect scores.
Laurie and Val had a great partnership, which Val wrote about on his Instagram. "What an awesome ride this has been, playing older brother, mentoring this wonderful talent and spirit. Excited to see how high she will continue to soar, how bright her star will continue to shine. Very proud of the young leader she has become."
Season 24: Rashad Jennings and Emma Slater
Dance pro Emma Slater earned her first Mirrorball with former NFL running back Rashad Jennings. Rashad's run on the show was filled with high-scoring dances and he quickly became a fan favorite. While Fifth Harmony singer Normani Kordei was the clearly the judge's pick to win, and they were visibly upset when she placed third, judge Carrie Ann Inaba told Rashad that he had "earned" the victory.
Season 25: Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold
Disney Channel star Jordan Fisher teamed up with pro Lindsay Arnold to beat out all the competition, which included violinist Lindsey Sterling and actor Frankie Muniz.
Following the win, Jordan took to Twitter to express his gratitude. "There aren't words to describe the feeling of going through BATTLE with my SISTER. Putting in all the time and effort and energy for 12 weeks, then to be rewarded for it after having the most incredible time?! Unbelievable."
Jordan stayed with the DWTS franchise and went on to host Dancing With the Stars: Juniors.
Season 26: Adam Rippon and Jenna Johnson
Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon used his personality, perseverance, and great technique to take home the trophy on this all athletes season of DWTS. Even judge Bruno Tonioli admitted just three weeks in that between Adam and his partner Jenna Johnson,“it’s impossible to tell who is the professional.” Adam was also the first openly gay man to take home the Mirrorball trophy.
Season 27: Bobby Bones and Sharna Burgess
Radio personality DJ Bobby Bones had a controversial win on season 27. Despite receiving consistently lower scores than his fellow contestants, Bones still came out on top, leading to criticisms from fans who said the show had turned into more of a popularity contest than a dance contest.
The criticisms lead to a new rule implemented in season 28 that would allow the judges to overrule the audience votes and choose which of the bottom two dancers goes home.
Season 28: Hannah Brown and Alan Bersten
Former Bachelorette star Hannah Brown faced a lot of criticism from the judges during her time on Dancing with the Stars. But their negativity didn't matter to the people at home, who crowned and pater Alan Bersten the winners of season 28.
See who's taken home a Mirrorball trophy.