Long before red carpets and record deals, some of today's biggest stars were just contestants trying to survive another week of ballroom scores.
A People feature traces how several celebrities appeared on Dancing with the Stars years before their careers exploded, including Zendaya in 2013, Kim Kardashian in 2008, and Chris Hemsworth on the Australian version in 2006. The original story published October 3, 2022, and the pattern it describes still fascinates fans today.
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Celebrities whose careers blew up after Dancing with the Stars appearances
Zendaya was just 16 when she joined season 16 in 2013, paired with professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy. At the time, most viewers knew her only from Disney Channel's Shake It Up. She finished in second place that season. Years later, she had an Emmy for Euphoria, a role in Dune, and a spot in the Spider-Man franchise. Nobody watching her cha-cha in 2013 could have predicted that path, but looking back, the show lines up as an early stepping stone.
Kim Kardashian's run was much shorter. She competed in season 7 back in 2008, teamed with Mark Ballas, and got eliminated in week three. Keeping Up with the Kardashians had only been on the air for about a year at that point. Her Dancing with the Stars appearance barely registers next to everything that came after, but it captures a moment when her fame was still just getting started.
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Chris Hemsworth and the international side of the story
Not every example comes from the American version of the show. Chris Hemsworth competed on Dancing with the Stars Australia back in 2006, dancing with partner Abbey Ross. Reports place his finish around fifth place. This was years before Thor turned him into one of the biggest action stars on the planet. His case is a good reminder that this career pattern isn't just an American phenomenon. The franchise has launched or boosted careers across different countries, using the same basic format everywhere.
Lisa Rinna followed a similar arc inside the U.S. version. She competed in season 2 back in 2006 with partner Louis van Amstel and finished fourth. That appearance came well before she became a permanent fixture on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, where she's been one of the most talked-about cast members for years.
JoJo Siwa and Alfonso Ribeiro show two different paths to a bigger spotlight
JoJo Siwa already had a massive following from Dance Moms and her music career when she joined season 30 in 2021. Paired with Jenna Johnson, the duo made history as the show's first same-sex pairing, a moment that drew widespread attention. They finished as runners-up. For Siwa, the show didn't create her fame from scratch, but it did introduce her to an entirely different audience.
Alfonso Ribeiro took a different route. Long known as Carlton Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, he won season 19 in 2014 alongside Witney Carson. That victory gave his career fresh momentum at a point when his biggest TV role was years behind him. He later became a co-host of the show itself alongside Tyra Banks, turning a winning contestant run into a permanent job within the franchise.
Why the show keeps turning into a launching pad
The common thread across these stories is exposure. Dancing with the Stars puts contestants in front of a huge weekly audience, tells their personal stories between dance routines, and keeps them in the news cycle for months. For someone like Zendaya, still building a name outside Disney Channel, that kind of visibility mattered. For someone like Ribeiro, already famous but not currently in the spotlight, it offered a way back into the conversation.
It's worth being careful here, though. None of these celebrities have said the show alone made their careers. Zendaya's rise involved major film roles, a hit HBO series, and years of steady work. Kardashian's path involved a growing reality empire and business ventures far beyond ballroom dancing. The honest read is that Dancing with the Stars gave these stars a visibility boost at a key moment, not that it single-handedly created their fame.
What the pattern says about reality competition shows today
Other entertainment outlets have picked up on the same idea, often framing it as a career bump rather than a career-maker. The takeaway for viewers tuning into new seasons is simple. Watching an up-and-coming actor or a once-famous name compete every week isn't just entertainment. Sometimes it's an early look at where their career is headed next, even if nobody can say for sure which contestant will be the next breakout star.
