The overlapping section of the Venn diagram for Dancing With the Stars and Broadway is bursting with shared qualities, including impressive technique, passionate performances, razzle-dazzle, and a long roster of performers who have shared their talent in both.
Dancing With the Stars, the competition dance series that just wrapped up its 34th season last fall, pairs celebrities with professional dancers for weekly competitions in a variety of ballroom styles. By the season finale, one celebrity is crowned champion and the winner of the Mirrorball Trophy.
While we’ve seen some familiar Broadway faces — like Corbin Bleu, Marissa Jaret Winokur, and season 25 winner Jordan Fisher — who performed on Broadway before DWTS, there is also quite a number of performers who leaped to Broadway after getting their feet wet on the ballroom floor.
Within the first week of February, season 23 winner and Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez announced that she will be making her Broadway debut in & Juliet this spring, just days after season 34 favorite and reality TV star Whitney Leavitt stepped onto the stage in Chicago.
From the ballroom to Broadway, here are 24 performers who have graced both stages:
Laurie Hernandez
Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez took home more hardware as the winner of DWTS season 23 in 2016. A decade later, on March 17, the gymnast is making her Broadway debut as Charmion in & Juliet.
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Whitney Leavitt
After rising in popularity through her breakout turn in The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Whitney Leavitt competed in season 34 of DWTS. Starting April 6 Leavitt’s partner, Dancing with the Stars pro Mark Ballas, will join her in Chicago. She placed sixth on November 18, 2025, before making her Broadway debut as Roxie in Chicago on February 2, 2026. Get your tickets here:
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Mira Sorvino
Oscar winner Mira Sorvino, who starred in films including Mighty Aphrodite and Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion, danced her way to 10th place in season 32 of DWTS in 2023. In September 2025, she made her Broadway debut as Roxie in Chicago.
Jeff Ross
Stand-up comic Jeff Ross was the first to go in season 7 of DWTS in 2008, but he made his way to Broadway with his solo show, Take a Banana for the Ride, in 2025.
Nicole Scherzinger
Already popular from her time in the pop group The Pussycat Dolls, Nicole Scherzinger was crowned the winner of DWTS season 10 in 2010. She made her Broadway debut in Sunset Blvd. in fall 2024, earning herself a Tony Award for her performance as Norma Desmond.
Charli D’Amelio
TikTok dancer Charli D’Amelio won season 31 of DWTS in 2022. In October 2024, she joined the cast of & Juliet, making her Broadway debut as Charmion, a featured ensemble dancer role.
Ariana Madix
Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix came in third place in DWTS season 32 in 2023. Just over a month later, Madix made her Broadway debut as Roxie in Chicago, and even returned for an encore performance in the summer of 2024.
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Jonathan Bennett
Most well-known for his performance as Aaron Samuels in the film version of Mean Girls, actor Jonathan Bennett placed ninth during season 19 of DWTS in 2014. Donning a wig instead of pushing his sexy hair back, Bennett made his Broadway debut as Sir Robin in Spamalot in January 2024.
Julianne Hough
Julianne Hough has a long history with DWTS. Her tenure began as a professional dancer for seasons 4 through 8, before spending time on the judging panel. Since season 32, she has cohosted with Alfonso Ribeiro. Perhaps surprisingly, Hough made her Broadway debut not in a musical, but in Selina Fillinger’s 2022 play, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, as Dusty. She has also been the cohost for The Tony Awards: Act One.
Pamela Anderson
Model and actor Pamela Anderson made it to sixth place during season 10 of Dancing With the Stars in 2010. She made her Broadway debut as one of Chicago’s scintillating sinners, Roxie, in 2022.
Erika Jayne
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne placed ninth in season 29 of DWTS in 2017. Just before the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, Jayne made her Broadway debut as Chicago’s Roxie, with an encore run in 2025.
Cody Simpson
Singer-songwriter Cody Simpson swapped his guitar for dancing shoes in 2014 for DWTS season 18, placing ninth. In 2018, he made his Broadway debut as Dmitry in Anastasia.
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Mark Ballas
Mark Ballas has been a mainstay on DWTS for years. He began as one of the professional dancers in season 5, and has participated in 21 seasons, winning three times. Ballas made his Broadway debut in 2016 as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys and returned to Broadway in 2018 as Charlie Price in Kinky Boots. After wrapping up his time on The Traitors, Ballas announced on March 10 that he will be returning to Broadway to join Leavitt in Chicago as Billy Flynn beginning April 6.
Marlee Matlin
Oscar-winning actor Marlee Matlin competed in season 6 of DWTS in 2008, placing seventh. She made her Broadway debut in Deaf West’s 2015 revival of Spring Awakening.
Brandy
Grammy winner Brandy has been long-adored by fans of her R&B career, her television show Moesha, and the 1997 television adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, in which she played the titular princess. During season 11 of DWTS in 2010, she placed fourth. She then returned to the world of musical theater when she made her Broadway debut as Roxie in Chicago in 2015, as well as an encore performance in 2017.
Rumer Willis
In season 20, actor Rumer Willis won the coveted Mirrorball Trophy for the 10th anniversary of DWTS in 2015. Just months later, Willis was bringing more razzle-dazzle as she made her Broadway debut as Roxie in Chicago.
Sherri Shepherd
In 2012, actor and Emmy-winning talk show host Sherri Shepherd placed 10th during season 14 of DWTS. Two years later, she made history with her Broadway debut as the first Black woman to play Madame in Cinderella.
NeNe Leakes
The Real Housewives of Atlanta breakout star NeNe Leakes placed seventh during season 18 of DWTS in 2014. Later that year, she followed in the footsteps of Sherri Shepherd and made her Broadway debut as Madame in Cinderella. In 2015, she went on to star as Matron “Mama” Morton in Chicago.
Wendy Williams
Radio and talk show legend Wendy Williams placed 10th in DWTS season 12 in 2011. She made her Broadway debut in 2013 as Matron “Mama” Morton in Chicago.
Mario Lopez
Saved by the Bell actor and television host Mario Lopez was the runner-up in season 3 of DWTS in 2006. He then took his dancing skills to Broadway, where he made his debut as Zach in A Chorus Line in 2008.
Joey Lawrence
The eldest Lawrence brother, Joey, familiar to audiences from Blossom, Melissa & Joey, and several Disney Channel original movies, placed third in season 3 of DWTS in 2006. Less than a year later, he made his Broadway debut as Billy Flynn in Chicago.
Lisa Rinna
As she recently pronounced on the current season of The Traitors, Lisa Rinna had a long career before The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. She starred in shows such as Days of Our Lives and Melrose Place, and was even Emmy-nominated for hosting Soap Talk. In season 2 of DWTS in 2006, she placed fourth. In 2007, she made her Broadway debut as Roxie in Chicago.
Billy Ray Cyrus
Grammy-winning country musician Billy Ray Cyrus placed fifth when he competed on season 4 of DWTS in 2007. He made his Broadway debut in 2012 as the silver-tongued prince of the courtroom Billy Flynn in Chicago.
John O’Hurley
Actor and game show host John O’Hurley was the runner-up in the inaugural season of DWTS in 2005. He made his Broadway debut as Billy Flynn in Chicago in 2006, and has continued to play encore performances in 2010, 2011, 2015, and 2018.
