There is something strangely nostalgic about a new season of Dancing with the Stars. Celebrities we remember from movies, television, music, and completely different chapters of pop culture suddenly appear beneath the ballroom lights, often looking very different from the people we first knew.
Season 35 is especially packed with those moments.
The 2026 cast includes 16 celebrities, from actors and musicians to athletes and reality personalities. The season premiered across two nights on September 15 and 16, with Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough returning as hosts. Detpress
Among that large cast are six particularly familiar faces whose lives have changed considerably since their first brushes with fame.
Jenna Dewan: From Step Up to the ballroom
For anyone who watched Step Up in 2006, Jenna Dewan dancing on television feels almost like coming full circle.
Before acting made her famous, Dewan worked professionally as a backup dancer, performing with artists including Janet Jackson, Missy Elliott and Christina Aguilera. Her breakthrough came when she starred opposite Channing Tatum in Step Up. The chemistry eventually continued off-screen: Dewan and Tatum married in 2009, welcomed daughter Everly in 2013 and later divorced. ABC News
Two decades after Step Up, Dewan is now 45 and competing on DWTS with professional partner Val Chmerkovskiy. She has also built a family with fiancé Steve Kazee and is now a mother of three. Her 13-year-old daughter Everly was in the audience for her ballroom debut. People.com
And Dewan immediately demonstrated that those old dancing instincts hadn’t disappeared: she and Chmerkovskiy performed a tango to “Call Me” and earned 19 points, the highest score of their premiere night. People.com
Taylor Hanson: The teenage music star is now a father of seven
Few contestants offer a more dramatic reminder of how quickly time passes than Taylor Hanson.
In 1997, Hanson became a worldwide phenomenon with “MMMBop.” Taylor, Isaac and Zac were suddenly everywhere, and Taylor’s youthful face and long blond hair became inseparable from late-’90s pop culture.
Nearly three decades later, that teenager is a 43-year-old husband and father of seven.
Taylor joined Season 35 with professional dancer Britt Stewart, marking a completely different kind of performance challenge from the one that first made him famous. ABC
His family has been following the experience closely. Hanson said his seven children have been supportive — and candid — about watching their dad compete. Interestingly, attending DWTS with one of his daughters in the past helped renew his interest in eventually doing the show himself. Decider
The before-and-after contrast is hard to miss: the teenage boy behind one of the defining pop songs of the 1990s is now stepping onto the ballroom floor with seven children watching.
Harry Shum Jr.: From dancing behind Beyoncé to Grey’s Anatomy
Harry Shum Jr.’s career also began with dance long before millions knew him as an actor.
Shum worked professionally as a dancer and performed with major artists, including Beyoncé, before landing the role that changed everything: Mike Chang on Glee.
His career gradually expanded far beyond dance. He appeared in Crazy Rich Asians, starred in Shadowhunters and eventually joined Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. Benson “Blue” Kwan.
Now 44, Shum has returned to his dance roots on DWTS, partnered with Jenna Johnson. ABC’s official Season 35 lineup confirms the pairing. ABC
For viewers who remember him dancing on Glee, seeing him competing professionally all these years later creates one of this season’s most nostalgic transformations.
Julia Stiles: The ’90s movie heroine returns in an unexpected way
Julia Stiles occupies a special corner of late-’90s and early-2000s movie nostalgia.
Her portrayal of Kat Stratford opposite Heath Ledger in 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You turned her into a household name. Then came Save the Last Dance, Mona Lisa Smile and the Bourne films.
More than 25 years later, Stiles has entered another unexpected chapter.
The actress, writer, director and producer joined DWTS with professional dancer Ezra Sosa. In recent years, she has also moved behind the camera, making her feature directorial debut with Wish You Were Here in 2025. ABC News
Seeing Stiles today beside photographs from her breakout years makes the passage of time particularly striking — but the face remains instantly recognizable.
Tatyana Ali: Ashley Banks is all grown up
To an entire generation, Tatyana Ali will always be Ashley Banks.
She was still a child when The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air began in 1990, and audiences effectively watched her grow up alongside Will Smith and the rest of the Banks family.
Ali eventually pursued music as well as acting, releasing the album Kiss the Sky after her years on the sitcom.
Now 47, she has stepped into the DWTS ballroom alongside professional dancer Jan Ravnik. Detpress
The contrast between young Ashley Banks and the woman competing today makes hers another particularly nostalgic before-and-after story.
Giada De Laurentiis: From the Food Network kitchen to sequins
Giada De Laurentiis became one of television’s most recognizable culinary personalities after Everyday Italian debuted in the early 2000s.
For years, viewers knew her standing behind a kitchen counter, effortlessly turning pasta and Italian classics into television comfort food.
The ballroom is a rather different workplace.
At 56, De Laurentiis joined Season 35 and was paired with professional dancer Alan Bersten, exchanging the familiar television kitchen for elaborate costumes, choreography and live competition. ABC
And that unexpected leap is part of what makes this particular DWTS cast so interesting.
These aren’t simply six celebrities entering another reality competition. They represent very different pieces of pop-culture history: a Step Up dancer who married her co-star, a teenage pop idol who became a father of seven, a former professional dancer who built an acting career, and familiar faces from some of the biggest movies, sitcoms and television shows of their eras.
Season 35 still has a long way to go. After its two-night premiere, the competition moved to its regular Tuesday schedule, with 14 contestants remaining for Week 2. EW.com
But before the Mirrorball winner is eventually crowned, the old photographs tell a story of their own.
For viewers who remember these stars when their careers were just beginning, seeing where they are today may be every bit as fascinating as watching what happens on the dance floor.
If you’re curious about other stars from back in the day, check out what happened when Jonathan Taylor Thomas, 45, was taken into custody after a late-night traffic stop.
