The new cast for “Dancing with the Stars” was announced this morning in Hollywood, during the live broadcast of “Good Morning America.”
Season 14 for the show returns on Monday, March 19th at 8pm, ET with a sensational two-hour season premiere, then on Tuesday, March 27th, with the premiere of “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show” (9:00-10:01 p.m., ET).
Dancing this season are Jack Wagner, Melissa Gilbert, Donald Driver, William Levy, Sherri Shepherd, Katherine Jenkins, Gavin DeGraw, Martina Navratilova, Roshon Fegan, Maria Menounos, Gladys Knight and Jaleel White.
About Jack Wagner, an actor of daytime and primetime television and the stage, Wagner is one of the most popular stars in the history of soaps. Wagner studied theater in college, graduating from The University of Arizona with a BFA in Drama. Wagner has starred in multiple television series, over a dozen of television movies, and has appeared in over forty theatrical productions around the world. In 1983, Wagner landed the starring role of rocker Frisco Jones on ABC’s daytime series, “General Hospital” in 1983. He recorded several songs for the show, eventually signing with Quincy Jones’s record label, Qwest, where Wagner recorded his first hit single, “All I Need.” The single was #2 on Pop charts and #1 on Adult Contemporary charts. In 1987 Wagner returned to his theatrical roots touring nationally as Tony in “West Side Story,” and as Danny Zucko in “Grease.”
In the early 90’s, Wagner joined the hit series “Melrose Place,” where he spent the next 5 seasons both acting and directing. In 2000 he took the role of a lifetime in the Broadway musical “Jekyll and Hyde.” Most recently, Wagner joined the company of “The Bold and the Beautiful.” In his spare time, Wagner enjoys playing golf and participating in celebrity golf tournaments. He is the National Celebrity Ambassador of the “Leukemia and Lymphoma Society,” which benefits from “The Jack Wagner Celebrity Golf Classic,” his annual golf tournament.
About Sherri Shepherd, she is an actress, comedienne and co-host of ABC’s hugely popular daytime talk show “The View.” Whether she’s on stage or screen, this Daytime Emmy® Award winner’s magnetic personality and hilarious sense of humor never fails to delight audiences. She has appeared in such popular television shows as “30 Rock,” “Less than Perfect” and “Everybody Loves Raymond,” and in films including “Precious,” “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” and most recently “One for the Money”. She is the author of a humorous autobiography Permission Slips: Every Woman’s Guide to Giving Yourself a Break (Grand Central Publishing).
Melissa Gilbert
Emmy Nominated Actress
Star of “Little House on the Prairie”
Former President of the Screen Actors Guild
Bio: A native of Los Angeles, Gilbert comes from a long line of entertainers including her grandfather, Harry Crane, creator and writer of “The Honeymooners” and her father, comedian, actor, musician and dancer, Paul Gilbert. At age two, Gilbert made her on-air debut modeling baby clothes and appeared in more than thirty television commercials over the next seven years. At age nine, she joined the cast of “Little House on the Prairie,” continuing with the popular series for ten years. She has since starred in hundreds of television movies, specials and series including the Emmy award-winning MOW “The Miracle Worker.” In 2009, Melissa shared her personal story in her bestselling memoir, “Prairie Tale.” Gilbert served two terms as the 23rd President of Screen Actors Guild, two terms as Vice President on the AFL-CIO executive council, as Vice President for the California Labor Federation, as a commissioner on the California Film Commission and as chair of the 2005 SAG Theatrical/Television Negotiating Committee. An avid philanthropist, Melissa is the President of the Board of Directors for the Children’s Hospice and palliative Care Coalition, and recently became the first-ever national spokesperson for The Partnership at Drugfree.org. Melissa is a devoted mother to four sons.
Donald Driver
Super Bowl Champion
Green Bay Packers all-time leading receiver
Bio: Driver overcame a childhood of homelessness to become a Super Bowl champion and the all-time leading receiver in Green Bay Packers history. After being selected in the last round of the NFL draft, he went on to hold the Packers’ all-time receiving records for yards and receptions as well as a host of others.
Having grown up homeless and living out of a U-Haul truck for a period of time, Donald faced obstacles growing up that most could not imagine. From it, he was inspired to be a community-minded athlete. Along with his wife Betina, Driver created the Donald Driver Foundation in 2001, which focuses on homelessness, education and health and wellness initiatives. He has donated his time for hundreds of community appearances. Donald is most proud of his family, wife Betina and kids Cristian, Christina and Charity. Donald’s kids, and his commitment to education, drove him to write three children’s books revolving around the lovable character “Quickie.” The books’ illustrations and stories are based on Donald’s family.
Gavin DeGraw
Famed singer/songwriter
Current No. 1 platinum single, “Not Over You”
Bio: Gavin DeGraw broke out as a chart-topping artist with his 2003 debut album, “Chariot,” which sold over a million copies, and yielded three hit singles: “I Don’t Want To Be,” “Follow Through,” and the title-track, “Chariot.” DeGraw’s self-titled second album debuted at No. 1 on the digital sales chart and at No. 7 on Billboard’s Top 200 album chart in 2008, earning DeGraw his first Top 10 album. It spawned the hit singles “In Love With A Girl,” which Billboard dubbed “a rocking homerun,” and the gold-certified “We Belong Together.” In 2009, DeGraw released “Free, “an album featuring recorded versions of DeGraw’s live favorites. He released his third studio album, Sweeter in September of 2011 and the album’s first single, “Not Over You,” co-written with OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, was just certified platinum.
Martina Navratilova
Tennis legend with 359 victories
Won 59 Grand Slam championships
Bio: A champion both on and off the court, Martina Navratilova is an influential athlete and cultural figure. Born in Prague in 1956, Navratilova is the only player in history of tennis to win Grand Slam titles in four different decades, including a curtain-closing US Open victory in mixed doubles at age 49. Navratilova’s resume includes 59 Grand Slam titles, a record nine Wimbledon singles championships, and an unrivaled 344 tournament victories.
Off the court, Navratilova has been a lifelong champion for individual freedom and a pioneer for human rights. At 18, Navratilova left communist Czechoslovakia and sought political asylum and freedom in the U.S. After receiving her U.S. citizenship in 1981, she publicly acknowledged that she is gay at a time when such announcements came at great personal cost to public figures. In 2010, Navratilova was diagnosed with breast cancer. She approached the illness like her tennis training, and has become cancer -free and a champion for breast cancer awareness. She is currently the Fitness Ambassador for AARP, inspiring its 39 million members to follow her example by redefining what it means to be over fifty. She is an author, speaker and an on-air commentator for the Tennis Channel.
Roshon Fegan
Actor in hit Disney Channel show “Shake It Up”
Rapper and hip-hop music producer
Bio: Most widely recognized for his roles on Disney Channel, this musical artist, songwriter, producer and actor currently stars on the Disney Channel original series “Shake It Up!” as Ty Blue. Prior to this role, he appeared as Sander Loyer in the Disney Channel original movies “Camp Rock” and “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam.” Fegan also performed songs on the “Camp Rock” soundtrack as well as the DVD bonus track “Camp Rock.” 20 year-old Fegan recently released his first self-produced EP “I Am RoShon.”
Maria Menounos
TV host
-New York Times Best-selling Author
Speaks fluent Greek
Bio: Actress, author and the host of “EXTRA,” Maria Menounos’ story began cleaning Boston nightclubs alongside her Greek immigrant parents from age of three and not learning to speak English until she was 10 years old. At 22, she became the youngest person to host “Entertainment Tonight” and would later report for “Today”, “Dateline” and “Nightly News.” She has traveled to such places as El Salvador, South Africa and Afghanistan while reporting on earthquakes, the AIDS epidemic and the war. Inspired by her world travels and the devastating effects of the AIDS crisis, she created the charity, “Take Action Hollywood!.” In 2008, she conducted the only interview with the Obama family during the Presidential Campaign. Maria is the New York Times bestselling author of the self help book, The EveryGirl’s Guide to Life. She recently launched AfterBuzzTV.com, an online digital network dedicated to producing wrap up shows for America’s favorite television series. She loves people, life and trying new things!
Jaleel White
Steve Urkel in “Family Matters”
He has been acting since the age of three
White plays the banjo
Bio: Jaleel White has brought laughter to millions of people around the world as a multi-talented actor who has also become an emerging screenwriter. White is best known for his portrayal of Steve Urkel/Stefan Urquelle on ABC’s long-running series, “Family Matters.” The series is one of 22 shows in television history to reach 200 episodes. While attending UCLA’s School of Film and Television, White occupied a dual role as star and producer of the UPN series, “Grown-Ups.” Upon graduating from UCLA, he worked as a WGA writer for such notable companies as Imagine Entertainment and Disney Channel Television. He has also resumed acting, playing guest starring roles in “Boston Legal,” “House,” “NCIS”and Dreamworks'”Dreamgirls.”Last year, he played a role in the feature film, “Judy Moody and the Not So Bummer Summer,”voiced the role of Sonic the Hedgehog and wrote, produced and starred in his own webseries “Fake It ‘Til You Make It.” White currently plays recurring roles on USA Network’s cable smash, “Psych” and the Nickelodeon series, “Problem Solverz.”Coming up, he will host the new SyFy game show “Total Blackout” and will begin production on a film which he co-wrote, “Parkin’Lot Pimpin.”
Gladys Knight
Music Legend and empress of soul
Eight-time Grammy winner
Knight is in the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame with the Pip. She recorded her first album with the Pips at age 16.
Bio: Eight-time Grammy winner Gladys Knight has enjoyed #1 hits in pop, R&B and Adult Contemporary, and has triumphed in film, television and live performance. Georgia-born, Knight began performing recitals at age four in the Mount Mariah Baptist Church. Three years later, in 1952, she won the grand prize on television’s “Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour,” and the following year, she, along with her brother Bubba, and her cousins formed The Pips and had their first hit in 1961. In 1962, the group was renamed Gladys Knight & The Pips. With Knight singing lead and The Pips providing lush harmonies and graceful choreography, the group went on to achieve icon status, having recorded some of the most memorable songs of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Top 20 hits, like “Every Beat of My Heart,” “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” and “If I Were Your Woman,” set the stage for an amazing run in the mid-1970s, with Top 10 gold-certified singles like “Neither One of Us (Wants to be the First to Say Goodbye),” “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination,” “Best Thing to Ever Happen to Me” and the #1 smash “Midnight Train to Georgia” established Gladys Knight and The Pips as the premiere pop/R&B vocal ensemble in the world. All told, Knight has recorded more than 38 albums over the years, including four solo albums during the past decade. This Spring Knight will release her newest album featuring the hit “I Who Have Nothing.” Most recently, she appeared in the Tyler Perry film “I Can Do Bad All By Myself.” Knight – a longtime Las Vegas resident – returned to the Strip this past year at the famed Tropicana Hotel for a Special Engagement that ran in the newly named Gladys Knight Theater, making her the first African-American performer to have a venue named after her in Las Vegas.
William Levy
Telenovela superstar
Stars in Jennifer Lopez video “I’m Into You”
Known as “‘the Brad Pitt of Mexico”
Bio: Levy was born in Cuba and very early on knew he would go after his dreams, even if it meant leaving his beloved country and risking his life. By age 15, Levy was living in Miami, Florida, where he attended high school and learned to speak English. Levy’s incursion in acting was a supporting role on Telemundo’s “Los Teens,” a series about Hispanic teenagers growing up in the United States. Prior to “Los Teens,” Levy had appeared in two reality shows, also for Telemundo, and a music video. His modeling career also took off at this point and he was signed to one of the most prestigious national modeling agencies. His big break came in 2007 when Levy was personally chosen by famed Televisa producer Carla Estrada to play the role of Vasco Darien in “Pasion,” an epic novella production set in Mexico’s colonial period. Levy gained instant recognition and his acting career skyrocketed as a consequence of the novella’s popularity. After “Pasion,” he traveled to Ecuador and participated in the film, “Retazos de Vida.” Shortly after, Levy returned to Mexico for his first leading role in “Cuidado con el Angel,” a soap opera production that consolidated him as one of Mexico’s most sought after leading actors. He starred as Alejandro Lombardo on Univision’s “Sortilegio,” Mexico’s highest rated primetime Production, and now stars in “Triunfo del Amor,” (Univision) the number one rated telenovela on TV. Levy enjoys playing all kinds of sports, but he considers himself an avid baseball fan. He currently resides between Los Angeles, Mexico City and Miami, FL.
Katherine Jenkins
Acclaimed opera star
Sold over 4 million records
Sang on Season 12 of “Dancing With the Stars”
Bio: Katherine Jenkins is the world’s most prolific classical crossover artist. The Welsh Mezzo Soprano has sold in excess of seven million albums since launching her career in 2004. An internationally recognized figure, Katherine at the age of only 31, has become an ambassador and inspiration for millions of people around the world. When she was still only 23, Katherine signed what was said to be the biggest ever UK classical recording deal; she has broken records becoming the fastest selling mezzo soprano ever, has released eight studio albums, has won two Classical BRIT awards and broken countless records with her albums going platinum around the world. She has performed with Placido Domingo and Andrea Bocelli, had lunch and performed for the Queen and other members of The Royal Family as well as Prime Ministers and dignitaries around the world. Having recently worked with internationally renowned producers including David Foster and John Shanks, Katherine’s unique and timeless vocals have defined the genre. Known for her interpretations of popular songs, operatic arias and hymns, Katherine is also known for her long-standing work with the British Forces Foundation for which she is a trustee and has consequently made various trips to Iraq and Afghanistan to entertain the troops. This support for the troops has led her to being referred to as the Forces Sweetheart. Cherished as one of Britain’s favorite singers, Katherine has now become one of our greatest musical exports.
“Dancing With The Stars” airs on ABC.
Hosted by Tom Bergeron (“America’s Funniest Home Videos”) and Brooke Burke Charvet (“Dancing with the Stars” Season Seven Champion), “Dancing with the Stars” is the hit series in which celebrities perform choreographed dance routines which will be judged by renowned ballroom judge Len Goodman and dancer/choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba.
“Dancing with the Stars” is the U.S. version of the international smash hit series, “Strictly Come Dancing.” This version is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Conrad Green serves as executive producer and Ashley Edens-Shaffer and Joe Sungkur are co-executive producers. Alex Rudzinski directs.
Continue reading on Examiner.com Sherri Shepherd, Jack Wagner head to ‘Dancing With The Stars’ – National daytime tv | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/daytime-tv-in-national/sherri-shepherd-jack-wagner-head-to-dancing-with-the-stars#ixzz1ngRMdANw
