'Dancing With The Stars' Season 19: Complete List Of Celebrities
The celebrity cast of the upcoming season of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" has been released. The casting was announced live on Good Morning America on Thursday, Sept 4 in Times Square.
Co-hosts Erin Andrews and Tom Bergeron made the announcement on the morning show. The list includes actors, sports personalities and talk show hosts as well.
Here is the complete list:
Tavis Smiley and Sharna Burgess
Renowned talk show host Tavis Smiley is going to pair up with the best-selling writer Sharna Burgess. Smiley, who is going to turn 50 on Sept 13, joked about his age. "I'm about to turn 50 in a few weeks so I figured I'd do one last foolish thing before I turned 50," he quipped.
Lolo Jones and Keo Motsepe
Olympian Lolo Jones will pair up with Keo Motsepe. The Track and Field champion said that she would be under "a lot of pressure." She said that she would ask advice from the 2014 Olympic Champion Ice Dancer Meryl Davis. Davis won the 18th Season of DWTS when she paired up with Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
Antonio Sabato, Jr. and Cheryl Burke
Antonio Sabato Jr., who is equally famous as an underwear model for Calvin Klein and as an actor in "General Hospital," will dance with Cheryl Burke. Burke was the first professional in the show to win more than once. She was the champion for Seasons 2 & 3.
Alfonso Ribeiro and Witney Carson
The American actor, who appeared in a Pepsi commercial with the King of Pop Michael Jackson, would pair up with Latin ballroom dance specialist Witney Carson. Ribeiro amused kids during the 90s with his hilarious dancing on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."
Sadie Robertson and Mark Ballas
The 17-year-old reality TV star, who is a champion javelin thrower, will dance with Mark Ballas who has already won the dance reality show twice. Ballas won the Season 6 with Kristi Yamaguchi and the Season 8 with Shawn Johnson. Robertson said that her family found it "hilarious" that she'd take part in the show. "We don't really have that much dancing experience in our family, but it's going to be really funny to see them there at the shows," she said.
Tommy Chong and Peta Murgatroyd
The Canadian comedian will pair up with Peta Murgatroyd. The 76-year-old Grammy award-winner's partner is 28-year-old Peta Murgatroyd. Murgatroyd has previously been a winner in the show. She won the Season 14 with Donald Driver.
Michael Waltrip and Emma Slater
The 51-year-old professional race car driver will dance with Emma Slater who is a relatively newcomer in the show. Slater participated only in two seasons so far. She paired up with Bill Engvall in the Season 17 and with Billy Dee Williams in the Season 18.
Lea Thompson and Artem Chigvintsev
Lea Thompson, who is probably most famous for being a part of the "Back to the Future" franchise, is going to dance with Artem Chigvintsev. Thompson, now 53, explained that she had a dancing background. "I started out in New York and Pennsylvania and Minnesota as a ballet dancer, but that was 32 years ago so we'll see," she said.
Jonathan Bennett and Allison Holker
Jonathan Bennett, most famous for playing Aaron Samuels in the 2004 movie "Mean Girls," will dance with Allison Holker. This is the debut season for Holker who is already a known face for being a part of another dance reality show, "Show So You Think You Can Dance."
Randy Couture and Karina Smirnoff
The former champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Randy Couture is known as "The Natural." He will pair up with Karina Smirnoff who won the Season 13 with J. R. Martinez. Couture said that the dance floor would be tougher than the fighting ring. "I'm enjoying the training and finding some muscles I didn't know I had." he said.
Bethany Mota and Derek Hough
The American video blogger, who is most famous for her YouTube channel Macbarbie07, will have the chance to be a part of DWTS in her teenage. She will dance with Derek Hough who has the record of winning the show for the most number of times. Hough won five times so far.
Janel Parrish and Val Chmerkovskiy
The American actress, who is most famous as Mona Vanderwaal in "Pretty Little Liars," will pair up with Val Chmerkovskiy. Chmerkovskiy was the runner-up in the Season 16 when his partner was Zendaya.
Betsey Johnson and Tony Dovolani
The fashion designer, who is known for her "over-the-top" designs, will dance with Tony Dovolani. Dovolani became a part of DWTS in its second season and participated in every season ever since.
The Season 19, consisting of 13 celebrities, is going to take off on Sept 15.
Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au