Here's a Look Back at Every 'Dancing with the Stars' Winner
Marvel star Xochitl Gomez claimed the renamed Len Goodman Mirrorball trophy on Season 32 of Dancing with the Stars in a triumphant win for the 17-year-old and her fan favorite pro Val Chmerkovskiy, who became a dad earlier this year.
Much has changed since the show made its debut during the summer of 2005. Most notably head judge Len Goodman, who had been a part of DWTS since its debut, retired at the end of the 2022 season and died in April 2023.
But one thing that hasn’t changed is the fervor for dance from the steamy salsa to the elegant waltz. Since its beginnings, the show has put ballroom dance front and center in a big, big way.
“Because of the show the general population now knows words like “Paso Doble,” “promenade,” “frame” and “connection,” says Ken Richards, president of USA Dance, the sport organization recognized by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. “It has brought ballroom dancing forward and made it a topic of conversation. Now at the office people go to the water cooler and say ‘Hey, did you see Cheryl and so and so doing the quick step last night?”
Also, Dancing with the Stars has inspired others to strut their stuff on the dance floor. "Before, someone would have come into a dance studio and said, ‘I just want to learn a couple of steps and be ready for my friend's wedding or New Year's Eve,’” added Richards. “Now they're coming in and saying, ‘I wanna do a dance competition.’”
After 18 years and 32 seasons, Dancing with the Stars has contributed so much to the cultural zeitgeist.
Here is a complete list of all the Dancing with the Stars winners since the show debuted in 2005.
Dancing with the Stars winners
Courtesy of ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 1 Winner (2005)
Winner: Kelly Monaco
Pro partner: Alec Mazo
Kelly Monaco, best known for playing Sam McCall on the ABC soap opera General Hospital, was the inaugural champion of Dancing with the Stars. Initially, Monaco and Mazo were the lowest scoring couple. But at the finals after Monaco and Mazo did their freestyle judge Carrie Ann Inaba asked, “Are you the same girl who I called an awkward mover in the second episode? You were amazing.” After winning the Mirrorball Monaco said, “All my life I’ve been the underdog… I’ve never won anything in my life and this is great, it’s great!”
Courtesy ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 2 Winner (2006)
Winner: Drew Lachey
Pro partner: Cheryl Burke
During the show Lachey and Burke earned perfect scores for their tango, Paso Doble and freestyle. He also co-hosted season five, three North American tours of Dancing with the Stars and the All-Star season. Lachey is now based in Cincinnati with his wife Lea, a choreographer for 98 Degrees, and their two children. At the finale show Lachey and Burke earned perfect scores for both their dances. “We left our hearts out there so it feels amazing to get that kind of response,” said Lachey.
Related: The Real Reason Len Goodman Is Quitting 'Dancing with the Stars' After Season 31
ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 3 Winner (2006)
Winner: Emmitt Smith
Pro partner: Cheryl Burke
An NFL running back for 15 seasons, Smith played mostly for the Dallas Cowboys. During the finale Carrie Ann Inaba told Smith, “What’s so great about you is that you are the everyday man who became a dancer before our eyes in the past ten weeks.”
Courtesy of ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 4 Winner (2007)
Winner: Apolo Anton Ohno
Pro partner: Julianne Hough
A short track speed skater, Apolo Anton Ohno won eight medals in the Winter Olympics. During Season 4, Ohno (along with Joey Fatone) set a record for perfect scores in a season.
Courtesy of ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 5 Winner (2007)
Winner: Hélio Castroneves
Pro partner: Julianne Hough
A four-time Indianapolis 500 champion, the Brazilian auto racing driver truly wowed the judges. While many of their routines are memorable, their hard to master quickstep in week 8 was hailed as a marvel as they wore matching pale yellow costumes and danced to "Hey Pachuco" from the movie, The Mask.
Courtesy of ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 6 Winner (2008)
Winner: Kristi Yamaguchi
Pro partner: Mark Ballas
Former Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi is a 1992 Olympic gold medalist and a two-time World champion. The first female to win the show since Kelly Monaco’s victory, for eight weeks Yamaguchi and Ballas toped the judges' leaderboard. "This is definitely for all those women out there to continue to be strong," she said.
Courtesy ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 7 Winner (2008)
Winner: Brooke Burke
Pro partner: Derek Hough
A television personality, entrepreneur, author and fitness guru, after winning season 7, Brooke Burke went on to host the show for eight seasons. Passionate about health and wellness, she has a fitness app BB Body for self?care, fitness and health. Burke and Hough consistently impressed the judges. They performed a flawless jazzy foxtrot which awarded them perfect scores. During rehearsal Hough said, “There are moments in there when I feel like I’m dancing with a professional.”
Courtesy of ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 8 Winner (2009)
Winner: Shawn Johnson
Pro partner: Mark Ballas
An artistic gymnast, Shawn Johnson is an Olympic gold and three-time silver medalist in women's gymnastics. Johnson was just 17 years old when she won. Winning by less than 1%, she and Ballas beat out Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke in the closest finale in DWTS history. Their freestyle routine in the finale put them over the top.
Courtesy ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 9 Winner (2009)
Winner: Donny Osmond
Pro partner: Kym Johnson
With a career that has spanned over six decades, Donny Osmond has been a singer, actor, television series host (with a talk show, game show, variety show), bestselling author, motivational speaker, and even a race car driver. Add Dancing with the Stars champion to that title. At first he had a rocky start, but by week 5 he was earning rave reviews. And Osmond wowed the judges especially when he did the Argentine Tango, jumping jitterbug and freestyle. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba said his dancing was “artistry in motion.” As Kym told Good Morning America, her partner, a lifelong performer “is the ultimate profession.” Osmond, a grandfather, is the oldest recipient of the Mirrorball trophy. He was 52 when claimed the top prize.
Courtesy ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 10 Winner (2010)
Winner: Nicole Scherzinger
Pro partner: Derek Hough
The singer-songwriter, actress and lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls gained her highest scores with the Paso Doble, Argentine Tango and Jive. She told ET that she competed in the show in honor of her mother. “She was a massive fan of the show and she really wanted me to do it. I was like, 'I'm always up for a challenge,' but I didn't realize how hard it would be. I didn't give Derek Hough a day off in the few months we did this show.”
Courtesy of ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 11 Winner (2010)
Winner: Jennifer Grey
Pro partner: Derek Hough
In her memoir Out of the Corner, Grey credits Dancing with the Stars for bringing her illness to light. “The fact is this reality show saved my life,” said Grey told USA Today. “A show I only did for my daughter and because Marlee Matlin had told me it was a life-changing experience. It set the ball in motion of facing my fears. If I hadn’t had a bad accident and hurt my neck, then they wouldn’t have found the thyroid mass. So in a way, the accident that I thought was maybe one of the worst things that happened to me saved my life.” Grey also said the show changed her relationship to dance. “I realized I loved dancing,” she told USA Today. “I hadn’t danced for 20 years because of my fear that people would be disappointed I wasn’t good enough or the girl from Dirty Dancing who couldn’t learn fast enough.”
Courtesy ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 12 Winner (2011)
Winner: Hines Ward
Pro partner: Kym Johnson
The Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver was the first active NFL player to win the show. After dancing the samba and getting a perfect score, Carrie Ann Inaba said that Ward was "the MVP" of this season. Ward said that the show would influence his time on the field. “Every time I score a touchdown. You will see a DWTS routine somewhere in the end zone.”
Courtesy ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 13 Winner (2011)
Winner: J.R. Martinez
Pro partner: Karina Smirnoff
At the finale, the actor and Iraq war veteran beat out competitors Ricki Lake and Rob Kardashian by a small margin. “Thank you America for believing in us,” said Martinez. And then told Smirnoff,“You are amazing.”
Courtesy of ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 14 Winner (2012)
Winner: Donald Driver
Pro partner: Petra Murgatroyd
The Super Bowl champ and wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers earned perfect tens for their final Cha cha cha, where the athlete took off his shirt. Driver said that the routine would either make or break them. “You are the one to beat,” said Carrie Ann Inaba after their sultry performance. “You had the strategy of a champion,” added Bruno Tonioli. As Driver told Jimmy Kimmel after his win, "We're going to bring the Mirrorball back to where we feel it always started: in Titletown.”
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Dancing with the Stars Season 15 Winner (2012)
Winner: Melissa Rycroft
Pro partner: Tony Dovolani
At the finale, Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani danced the samba to “Life is a Highway.” As Len Goodman told the duo, "You have been my greatest pleasure to watch."
Courtesy ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 16 Winner (2013)
Winner: Kellie Pickler
Pro partner: Derek Hough
Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough scored a perfect 30 for their fierce freestyle to “Beneath Your Beautiful” they also got a 30 for their jive to “Keep-a-Knockin’”. Taking home the Mirrorball was especially meaningful to the singer-songwriter whose grandfather was in the audience. “He talked me into doing the show. He’s never ever missed an episode of a season,” Pickler said on Good Morning America and added that the Mirrorball is “going in his bedroom.”
Courtesy ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 17 Winner (2013)
Winner: Amber Riley
Pro partner: Derek Hough
Amber Riley and Derek Hough earned five perfect scores during the season, including for their Quickstep and Samba (Fusion) to "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” in the season finale. After the Glee star collected the Mirrorball, she offered an inspiring message to women, ”I want to let women of all sizes out there know you can do whatever you put your mind to! Doesn't matter what size, what color you are—you can do whatever, whatever, whatever you put you mind to."
Craig Sjodin/ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 18 Winner (2014)
Winner: Meryl Davis
Pro partner: Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Season 18 marked the launch of "The Switch Up” where viewers were able to vote and change up the celebrity/pro pairings for a week. Each star had to perform with a new pro for one week. During the finale, Davis and pro partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy got perfect scores, and after 14 seasons, Maks got his first win. “There’s a reason it didn’t happen before,” he said. “It was meant to happen with this one,” he noted about the champion Olympic ice dancer.
ABC/Richard Harbaugh
Dancing with the Stars Season 19 Winner (2014)
Winner: Alfonso Ribeiro
Pro partner: Witney Carson
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star said he waited 10 years to try to get the Mirrorball. “You dance like Frank Sinatra sings,” Len Goodman told him during the finals after "Carlton" and Witney's jive wowed everyone.
ABC Media
Dancing with the Stars Season 20 Winner (2015)
Winner: Rumer Willis
Pro partner: Val Chmerkovskiy
As often happens on the reality dance competition, Willis danced through the pain of a rib injury to claim the top prize. The win was sweet for her pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy who had made it to the finals but had never won. Later that year Willis would put her fine tango and dance skills to great use when she stepped into the role of Roxie Hart in Chicago on Broadway, making her Broadway debut. Willis also credited DWTS for helping to build her self confidence.
Adam Taylor/ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 21 Winner (2015)
Winner: Bindi Irwin
Pro partner: Derek Hough
“You have been the shining light of this season with your joyous spirit and determination for perfection on the dance floor and in life,” said co-host Erin Andrews just before the winner was announced. In one very memorable moment, she danced to “Every Breath You Take” as a tribute to her late father, Steve Irwin who passed away nine years prior. “Thank you for changing my life,” said the conservationist and TV personality after winning season 21.
ABC/Adam Taylor
Dancing with the Stars Season 22 Winner (2016)
Winner: Nyle DiMarco
Pro partner: Peta Murgatroyd
DiMarco was the first deaf contestant to win DWTS. In the finals, DiMarco and Murgatroyd danced a thrilling mix of cha cha cha and tango to the song “Summer” and wowed everyone. “Glorious in every possible way,” declared Bruno Tonioli who said that both moves were “equally brilliant.” Tonioli went on to tell DiMarco, “Regardless of what happens you are a champion.” Then Carrie Ann Inaba signed “Thank you for showing us your beautiful heart when you dance.” as DiMarco began to cry. And then Len Goodman said, “The only boundaries are what we put on ourselves…. You don’t get no sympathy vote from me. I just judge on what I see.” Then the judges awarded them a perfect score.
ABC/Eric McCandless
Dancing with the Stars Season 23 Winner (2016)
Winner: Laurie Hernandez
Pro partner: Valentin Chmerkovskiy
In the finals, the champion Olympic gymnast and Chmerkovskiy wowed the judges with an Argentine tango and foxtrot fusion to “We Are The Ones.” Competing at 16, Hernandez remains show's youngest winner. She is also the first Latina to win the competition.
ABC/Eric McCandless
Dancing with the Stars Season 24 Winner (2017)
Winner: Rashad Jennings
Pro partner: Emma Slater
After it was announced the that Jennings and Slater had made it to the finals, Jennings, who was named one of the year’s best NFL running backs, shared that he had never won anything. “I never won a playoff or championship. I’ve always been close to everything. That is why in rehearsals I work so hard. Nothing has ever been handed to me,” said Jennings. “Watching you over the season has been like watching a rising star,” said Bruno Tonioli after their last dance of the season. "Brighter. Brighter. Brighter. Gone super nova.”
ABC/Eric McCandless
Dancing with the Stars Season 25 Winner (2017)
Winner: Jordan Fisher
Pro partner: Lindsay Arnold
Season 25 marked a first win for Lindsay Arnold who had ben with the show for 10 seasons. After his victory, Fisher starred as John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in the Broadway show Hamilton. Len Goodman declared that the actor was "the most complete male celebrity ever on Dancing with the Stars.” Bruno Tonioli said that the actor was "right up there with the best we've ever seen on this show."
ABC/Kelsey McNeal
Dancing with the Stars Season 26 Winner (2018)
Winner: Adam Rippon
Pro partner: Jenna Johnson
The Olympic figure skater and partner Jenna Johnson performed a final jazz dance to “Anything You Can Do”. “I felt like there was some extra pressure on me to go out there and deliver every single time,” said Rippon. “But it was definitely a challenge …and so totally out of my comfort zone. And Jenna is such a good teacher. By the end I wanted to win it mostly for Jenna.”
Related: Judge Carrie Ann Inaba Reveals Why Season 31 Is the Most Difficult To Judge
ABC/Eric McCandless
Dancing with the Stars Season 27 Winner (2018)
Winner: Bobby Bones
Pro partner: Sharna Burgess
At the beginning of the finale, the radio personality, dressed in a white satin tail coat tux said, “Three months ago when I started the show, I was clueless.” Then he added, “Three months later, I’m still clueless. But I’ve had the greatest time with my people.” But it turns out he did have a clue. Much more than a clue.
Dancing with the Stars Season 28 Winner (2019)
Winner: Hannah Brown
Pro partner: Alan Bersten
The first Bachelorette to get the Mirrorball on Dancing with the Stars, her freestyle to "Girl on Fire” and "Hollaback Girl” gave her and Bersten a perfect 30 from the judges. “That was a victorious freestyle,” said Carrie Ann Inaba.
ABC/Eric McCandless
Dancing with the Stars Season 29 Winner (2020)
Winner: Kaitlyn Bristowe
Pro partner: Artem Chigvintsev
During the finale, Bristowe and Chigvintsev repeated one of their favorite dances the Argentine tango to “Toxic” and scored a perfect 30 score. They got another perfect 30 when they did a freestyle number to "Sparkling Diamonds" from Moulin Rouge. Chigvintsev, who had been on the show since 2014 got his first win.
ABC/Christopher Willard
Dancing with the Stars Season 30 Winner (2021)
Winner: Iman Shumpert
Pro partner: Daniella Karagach
The first NBA player to get to the finals, Shumpert had to overcome a lot. With a foot height difference between the 5’5” Karagach and 6’5” Shumpert, the pair had a lot to overcome. That was in addition to the fact that Shumpert had no dance experience. After weeks of hard work, they really clicked. By week six—after their Halloween Contemporary dance—they ended up with their first perfect score from the judges. Reflecting on the competition Shumpert said it taught him to “Live every day like your last.”
ABC
Dancing with the Stars Season 31 Winner (2022)
Winner: Charli D'Amelio
Pro partner: Mark Ballas
TikTok star Charli D'Amelio dominated during all 10 weeks of Dancing with the Stars, claiming the top score every week. After her win, Charli told Parade, "I've learned so much, whether it's about all these new styles of dance or just myself as a person or learning how to perform anything. It was just I've learned a whole lot about it all."
Disney/Christopher Willard
Dancing with the Stars Season 32 Winner (2023)
Winner: Xochitl Gomez
Pro partner: Val Chmerkovskiy
At 17, Marvel star Xochitl Gomez was among the youngest stars ever to compete on Dancing with the Stars. She and pro Val Chmerkovskiy dominated all season. They were the only couple awarded for both of her dances in the semifinals. She also has the added advantage of dancing with one of the most popular pros and best choreographers on the show. This is Val's third win.
Related: Watch Charli D’Amelio’s DWTS Foxtrot That Derek Hough Said Deserved a 12!
Jeryl Brunner contributed to this post.
