Dancing with the Stars 2026 cast preparations are underway, with Season 35 shaping up around a mix of reality stars, television personalities, athletes and familiar actors. ABC has already confirmed Ciara Miller, Maura Higgins, Jackson Olson and Guillermo Rodriguez, while recent entertainment reports have identified Julia Stiles and Tatyana Ali as additional participants. The complete cast and professional pairings are expected to be unveiled on Good Morning America on September 2.
The new season is scheduled to premiere September 15, 2026, on ABC and Disney+. The opening rollout will continue the show’s live competition format, bringing a fresh group of celebrities together with professional dancers as they compete for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
With the official cast reveal approaching, interest in the Season 35 lineup continues to grow. Here is the latest confirmed and reported information available as of August 24, 2026.
Dancing With the Stars 2026 Cast: Current Lineup
ABC has introduced the Season 35 cast in stages. That has created a steady stream of announcements rather than one large reveal.
The currently known celebrity lineup includes:
| Celebrity | Best known for | Current status |
|---|---|---|
| Ciara Miller | Summer House, The Traitors | ABC-confirmed |
| Maura Higgins | Love Island UK, The Traitors | ABC-confirmed |
| Jackson Olson | Savannah Bananas | ABC-confirmed |
| Guillermo Rodriguez | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | ABC-confirmed |
| Julia Stiles | 10 Things I Hate About You, Save the Last Dance | Reported cast member |
| Tatyana Ali | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Reported cast member |
This list represents the latest publicly reported information available before ABC’s scheduled September 2 reveal.
Fans should also distinguish between officially announced contestants and names reported by entertainment publications. ABC has not yet released every celebrity in the Season 35 field.
Ciara Miller Joins Season 35
Ciara Miller is among the first celebrities officially announced for the upcoming season.
Miller is familiar to reality television audiences through Bravo’s Summer House. She also appeared on Peacock’s The Traitors, giving her an existing connection to the reality competition audience.
Her participation gives Season 35 a celebrity with an established television following. Miller has built a recognizable presence through reality programming, but ballroom dancing represents a different type of competition.
The challenge will require her to learn multiple dance styles while performing routines in front of judges and a live television audience.
ABC announced Miller alongside Maura Higgins during Hulu’s Get Real event in April.
Her professional partner has not yet been publicly announced. That pairing is expected to be included in the larger September 2 cast presentation.
Maura Higgins Enters the Ballroom
Maura Higgins is another reality television favorite joining the upcoming season.
Higgins became known internationally through Love Island UK. She later expanded her reality television profile with an appearance on The Traitors, where she reached the finale and finished as a runner-up.
Her move to Dancing With the Stars gives her another opportunity to compete in a high-profile television format.
The ballroom will present a different test from her previous reality appearances. Higgins will have to master choreography, timing, technique and performance while adapting to the demands of live competition.
ABC announced her Season 35 participation at the same time as Miller.
The identity of Higgins’ professional partner remains part of the information expected to be disclosed during the official cast reveal.
Jackson Olson Brings Banana Ball Energy to DWTS
Jackson Olson represents one of the more unconventional backgrounds in the new cast.
Olson is associated with the Savannah Bananas, the entertainment-focused baseball team that has developed a large national following through its energetic games and social media content.
ABC announced Olson during Disney’s Upfront presentation in May.
His baseball career does not make him a traditional fit for a ballroom competition, but his work with the Savannah Bananas already involves entertainment, movement and interaction with audiences.
Olson has spoken about not growing up as a dancer. His participation therefore represents a significant change from his normal sporting environment.
The Season 35 competition will test how quickly he can transfer his athletic abilities into ballroom technique.
His professional dancer has not yet been announced.
Guillermo Rodriguez Has Witney Carson as His Partner
Guillermo Rodriguez became another official Season 35 contestant in June.
Rodriguez is best known as a longtime personality on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!. His comedy work has made him a familiar face to late-night television viewers.
His transition into ballroom dancing creates one of the season’s most noticeable entertainment changes.
Rodriguez will compete with professional dancer Witney Carson. Carson has already won the Mirrorball Trophy twice and brings extensive experience to the partnership.
Carson revealed the pairing during an appearance on Good Morning America.
The partnership is also notable because Carson is preparing to compete while pregnant with her third child.
For Rodriguez, having a highly experienced professional partner could provide an important advantage as he learns the technical side of ballroom dancing.
Julia Stiles Reportedly Joins the Season 35 Cast
Julia Stiles is one of the most recognizable names associated with the latest Season 35 casting reports.
The actress gained major recognition through movies such as 10 Things I Hate About You and Save the Last Dance. She also appeared in the Bourne film franchise and has continued working across film and television.
Her reported participation has generated particular interest because of her connection to dance.
Stiles starred in Save the Last Dance, playing Sara Johnson, a character whose story centers on dance and performance.
The actress has also previously talked about her interest in Dancing With the Stars. In a 2025 interview, she discussed watching the program and described it as a personal favorite.
At the time, Stiles suggested that her New York City lifestyle made taking part more difficult.
Her reported Season 35 casting now represents a major change from that earlier situation.
ABC has yet to publicly identify her professional partner.
Tatyana Ali Adds a Familiar Television Face
Tatyana Ali is another actress reported to be joining Season 35.
Ali is best known for playing Ashley Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Her role on the popular sitcom made her a familiar television figure during the show’s original run.
She has continued working as an actress and singer since then.
Her reported appearance on Dancing With the Stars adds another nostalgic element to the upcoming cast. Ali joins Julia Stiles as one of the actresses whose earlier television and film work remains well known to viewers.
Like Stiles, Ali’s professional pairing has not yet been officially disclosed.
The September 2 announcement should provide the remaining information about her participation.
Witney Carson and Guillermo Rodriguez Are Already Paired
While most Season 35 partnerships remain secret, one pairing has already been made public.
Witney Carson will dance with Guillermo Rodriguez.
Carson is one of the most successful professional dancers in the show’s modern era. She has won the Mirrorball Trophy twice and has competed with numerous celebrity partners.
That experience gives Rodriguez an accomplished teacher for his first season.
Their partnership could also produce one of the season’s most entertaining combinations because Rodriguez’s comedy background contrasts sharply with Carson’s competitive ballroom experience.
Fans will have to wait for the other professional pairings before they can compare the partnerships across the field.
Who Will Be the Professional Dancers?
The professional lineup for Season 35 has not been fully announced.
ABC is expected to reveal the complete celebrity-professional combinations during the September 2 presentation on Good Morning America.
At this point, Witney Carson’s partnership with Guillermo Rodriguez is the major confirmed pairing.
The professional dancers are a crucial part of the competition because each celebrity depends on their partner for choreography, training and performance strategy.
A professional’s experience can also affect how a celebrity handles different dance styles as the season progresses.
The full pairing announcement should therefore provide one of the most important pieces of the Season 35 picture.
Kamri Peterson Joins the Dance Troupe
Season 35 will also feature Kamri Peterson in the show’s dance troupe.
Peterson previously competed as a professional on Dancing With the Stars: Juniors in 2018. She was 10 years old when she appeared on the junior competition.
Now 18, Peterson is returning to the franchise in a new role.
She will participate as a troupe dancer rather than compete directly with a celebrity.
The troupe traditionally supports the program through opening performances, ensemble routines and other choreographed segments.
Peterson’s return gives the franchise another connection between its earlier junior competition and the current main series.
Season 35 Hosts and Judges
The upcoming season is expected to retain the show’s established hosting team.
Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough are set to return as hosts.
Ribeiro has hosted the program since taking over the role in 2022. Hough, a former professional dancer and judge, joined him as co-host in recent seasons.
The judging panel is also expected to include Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli.
The three judges have become central figures in the modern version of the series.
Their scores will once again combine with viewer voting to determine which couples remain in the competition.
When Will the Full Cast Be Revealed?
The biggest upcoming milestone for fans is September 2.
The complete Season 35 cast and professional pairings are scheduled to be revealed on Good Morning America.
That announcement should answer several questions that remain open.
Viewers will learn which additional celebrities are participating, which professional dancers have returned and how the individual partnerships have been formed.
Until then, social media speculation should be treated carefully.
A celebrity appearing in a rehearsal-related post or being mentioned by an entertainment account does not necessarily mean ABC has officially confirmed that person as a contestant.
The most reliable picture currently comes from ABC announcements and established entertainment reports.
When Does Dancing With the Stars 2026 Begin?
Season 35 is scheduled to begin September 15, 2026.
The new season will air on ABC and stream on Disney+, with Hulu also providing access after episodes become available through its streaming schedule.
The premiere will arrive less than two weeks after the scheduled September 2 cast reveal.
That timing means the contestants and professional dancers will have only a short period to introduce their partnerships publicly before the competition begins.
The first episodes will give viewers their initial opportunity to see how each celebrity handles the ballroom.
What Makes the Season 35 Cast Stand Out?
The emerging cast combines several different entertainment worlds.
Miller and Higgins bring reality television experience. Olson represents the viral sports-entertainment world of the Savannah Bananas. Rodriguez comes from late-night comedy.
Stiles brings a film background, while Ali connects the season to one of television’s most recognizable sitcoms.
That range gives Season 35 a broad appeal across different groups of viewers.
It also creates an interesting competitive question. Each celebrity enters the ballroom with a different type of performance experience, but none can rely solely on previous fame.
Every contestant must learn the choreography assigned to them and deliver routines under competitive pressure.
Latest Dancing With the Stars 2026 Cast Status
As of August 24, 2026, the Season 35 cast is not yet completely official in one single ABC announcement.
Ciara Miller, Maura Higgins, Jackson Olson and Guillermo Rodriguez have been formally announced by ABC.
Julia Stiles and Tatyana Ali have also been identified in recent entertainment reports as participants.
Guillermo Rodriguez’s professional partner is confirmed as Witney Carson.
Kamri Peterson is confirmed to join the dance troupe.
The complete celebrity lineup and professional partnerships are expected to become clear on September 2. That announcement should provide the definitive preseason picture before the September 15 premiere.
For fans tracking the latest cast developments, the next major update is therefore clear: the official September reveal will determine which reported names become part of the final Season 35 lineup.
Which Season 35 celebrity are you most excited to watch in the ballroom? Share your pick and keep following the latest confirmed Dancing With the Stars updates.