'Dancing With the Stars' 2019: Hannah Brown, Karamo Brown, Lamar Odom and more to compete on new season
"Bachelorette" Hannah Brown, "Queer Eye" star Karamo Brown and former NBA star Lamar Odom are among the celebrity contestants who will face off on the new season of "Dancing With the Stars"!
The full celebrity cast was revealed exclusively on "Good Morning America" Wednesday.
More stars putting on their dancing shoes this season include actor James Van Der Beek, supermodel Christie Brinkley, country superstar Lauren Alaina, former Fifth Harmony member Ally Brooke, former NFL star Ray Lewis, actress Kate Flannery, comedian Kel Mitchell, The Supremes music legend Mary Wilson, and former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
Our favorite celebrities and their pro-dancer partners take to the dance floor to battle it out for the coveted Mirror Ball trophy on the new season of the hit show, which debuts on ABC on Sept. 16. In a new twist, however, the official partner pairings will not be announced until the season premiere.
While the pairs are under wraps, many pro dancers are returning this season. Fan-favorites Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Sasha Farber, Alan Bersten, Brandon Armstrong, Gleb Savchenko, Keo Motsepe, Witney Carson, Peta Murgatroyd, Lindsay Arnold, Jenna Johnson, Emma Slater, Cheryl Burke will dance this season. In addition, two new dancers will be joining: Daniella Karagach and Pasha Pashkov.
Learn more about all of the celebrities who will be putting on their dance shoes below!
Meet the celebs who will compete on the new season of 'Dancing With the Stars'
Karamo Brown
Brown, 38, is the "Queer Eye" Fab Five's culture expert who doles out inspiring and motivating advice to each of the episode's subjects on Netflix’s popular makeover show. The self-help guru and life coach is also a father of two.
Brown said he's "the only one with rhythm" from the Fab Five and while he's donned a "sparkly bomber" on their show, he's looking forward to the "DWTS" wardrobe.
"I want the sequins, I want the moves, I want it all," he said on "Good Morning America."
Hannah Brown
Brown joins the cast after one of the most tumultuous finales in “Bachelor” history. Hannah ended her engagement to suitor Jed Wyatt after she discovered he had a girlfriend waiting at home. On "After the Final Rose," she embraced being single: “I have realized that I don’t need a husband. I want a husband, but I don’t need one. And I’m really, really proud of the woman that I’ve become through all this, because I am hella strong!”
From “The Bachelorette” to the ballroom in under a year, Brown said she “can't stop, won't stop” and is ready for a “fresh start” through dancing.
"I'm so excited. I want a fresh start, something that I can, you know, go all in with emotionally, physically, spiritually and I think dancing is something that I can do that with," she said.
James Van Der Beek
Van Der Beek is a writer, actor, and producer that may be best known as Dawson from the hit series, "Dawson's Creek" or from the hit film, "Varsity Blues." Recently, he portrayed Matt Bromley in the acclaimed FX original series "Pose."
The 90's acting star, who is now a father of five, said his family "dances all the time at home, constantly."
Christie Brinkley
Brinkley, the iconic supermodel, is currently starring as Roxie Hart in "Chicago" on Broadway.
But she said her role on stage won’t necessarily give her a leg up in the ballroom.
“No, not at all -- I think of the real dancers like they could knock their own teeth out with their knee,” she said laughing. “I can barely get my leg up and believe me, what I learned in ‘Chicago’ doing the honey rag, you cannot -- dance to Beyonce doing the honey rag, so I need some moves.”
Kate Flannery
Actress Kate Flannery skyrocketed to fame for her role as Meredith Palmer in the long-running NBC series "The Office." More recently, Flannery has appeared in the ABC show "American Housewife" and the Fox hit "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."
"This is the deal. I had nine seasons of the most unglamorous character on TV. So we're going in a different direction," Flannery said. "So bring on the spanx and the spray tan, whatever you got. Bring it on."
Ray Lewis
Lewis is a former NFL linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens with two Super Bowl championships under his belt. Some would say the football player has a slight advantage in that he already has a dance named after him when fans dubbed his signature pre-game moves the "Ray Lewis" dance.
The hall of famer said when he told his daughter he would be on "Dancing with the Stars," "she was like, 'Dad, please don't embarass me."
But the all pro player of course took the first chance to show off his move, known as "The Squirrel," after a challenge by Michael Strahan.
Lamar Odom
Odom, 39, rose to fame as an NBA player with the the Los Angeles Lakers where he won NBA championships in 2009 and 2010. Odom is also known for his relationship with Khloe Kardashian and his appearances in the reality show "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." He has spoken out about his life-altering health scare when he was hospitalized and fell into a coma briefly at a legal brothel in 2015.
The most intimidating part of this new experience for Odom, he said, is the outfits. "I don't know if I can do sparkles," he said.
Lauren Alaina
Alaina is a country music darling who stole America's heart when she became runner-up on the 10th season of "American Idol." Since graduating from "Idol," the 24-year-old has already released two studio albums.
The singer said she instantly recognized one competitor and became star struck.
"I wanted to win until [Kate Flannery] walked in and then I was like, 'Oh, no, I'm going to vote for her," she said. "I literally freaked out. The only other person I remember doing that for was Dolly Parton."
Ally Brooke
Brooke, 26, rose to fame as one-fifth of the girl group Fifth Harmony before going solo with her music career.
But even as a pop star who appeared in a handful of music videos, Brooke said "some of the dance moves were a little harder and some people would leave not so nice comments and it wouldn't feel good."
"This is an opportunity for me to not only prove [to] them but to myself that I can really tackle this," Brooke said.
Sean Spicer
Spicer is probably most well known for his roles as the former White House Press Secretary and White House Communications Director under President Donald Trump for a brief period in 2017. Spicer resigned as press secretary in July of 2017.
"I was kicked out of band in sixth grade and the quote was, 'You have the sense of beat of a steamroller,'" Spicer recalled.
But his winning strategy will be to "work really, really, really hard every day."
Kel Mitchell
Fans will recognize Mitchell, 40, from his work as a regular on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series "All That" in the 1990's. In addition to being an actor and comedian, Mitchell also has a rap career.
The actor who became best known for his character's love of orange soda said "everybody calls me a dance machine" and he's already dusted off his dancing shoes at home.
"That's my teammate for life," he said. "When we got the call, she's like, 'let me see some moves, let's go.' We're dancing every day in the house."
Mary Wilson
Wilson, 75, is a legend in the music industry as a founding member of the R&B and soul group The Supremes alongside Diana Ross. She also wrote a best-selling autobiography, "Dreamgirl: My Life As a Supreme."
The mother of two and grandmother of 11 said her family "are so thrilled" that she's joined the cast this season.
"For years they never allowed me to even have my gold records in the house," the singer said. "So now that they've watched 'Dancing with The Stars,' I'm like, 'Hey, grandma is cool!"
