Dancing with the Stars has made a big fuss about the show’s desires to cast celebrities who are slightly more relevant than reality wannabes and the actors of yesteryear. While it seems unlikely that the show can fully break free from such “stars,” the newest crop of likely DWTS competitors definitely signals a move in a positive direction.
According to a report from TMZ.com, Dancing with the Stars has signed Queen Latifah, Snooki and Tiffani Thiessen to appear on the next season of the dancing competition show.
While we won’t know for sure if these women really are going to be on Dancing with the Stars until the show’s official season 13 announcement, rumors of this sort often prove to be true. Assuming that’s the case, the gets of Queen Latifah (an actress one would still expect to be working) and Tiffani Thiessen (who plays an actual regular character on a successful TV show) are big for DWTS. And there’s Snooki.
Two out of three ain’t bad.
The three women will join reality semi-star Rob Kardashian (and possibly basketball star Ron Artest) on the 13th season of Dancing with the Stars this fall.
At first glance, Queen Latifah seems the most likely standout among the announced stars. The actress and performer is probably best-known for her role as “Mama” Morton in Chicago, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. She has also won a Golden Globe, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards and a Grammy (plus six more Grammy nominations and an Emmy nomination). Queen Latifah isn’t specifically known for dancing in all of these, but there is definitely some experience.
Tiffani Thiessen first became famous as Kelly Kapowski on Saved by the Bell, in which she did get a bit of dancing “experience” as a member of the girl band The Hot Sundaes. After graduating from Saved by the Bell, Thiessen moved on to Beverly Hills 90210 (as Valerie Malone). Now, she’s all nice and adult as Elizabeth Burke (wife of FBI agent Peter Burke) on White Collar.
Snooki is… Well, she’s Snooki. From Jersey Shore. If you don’t know more, we won’t force it upon you.
This just in… According to Access Hollywood, Hills star Kristin Cavallari will be joining the stars mentioned above on season 13 of Dancing with the Stars. If this is the case, Cavallari will be the second Hills star on the show — Audrina Patridge appeared on last year’s season 11.
Season 13 of Dancing with the Stars will premiere on Monday, September 19 at 8pm on ABC.
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(Images courtesy of WENN)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Laurel grew up in Mamaroneck, NY, Grosse Pointe, MI and Bellevue WA. She then went on to live in places like Boston, Tucson, Houston, Wales, Tanzania, Prince Edward Island and New York City before heading back to Seattle. Ever since early childhood, when she became addicted to The Muppet Show, Laurel has watched far too much TV. Current favorites include Chuck, Modern Family, Supernatural, Mad Men and Community. Laurel received a BA in Astrophysics (yes, that is possible) from Colgate University and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies and History of Science from Columbia University before she realized that television is much better than studying.
