Xochitl Gomez Named Winner of Season 32 of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars”

Xochitl Gomez is dancing on the ceiling…

The 17-year-old Mexican American actress and Marvel star and her professional dancing partner Val Chmerkovskiy have become the first pair to win Dancing With the Stars’ Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.

Xochitl Gomez, Dancing with the StarsThe DWTS grand prize was renamed to honor Goodman in September. Goodman, who died at age 78 in April, served as a judge on the reality competition series from 2005 to 2022. 

Gomez and Chmerkovsky claimed the trophy during the Tuesday, December 5, season 32 finale of the long-running ABC celebrity ballroom dancing competition, making her the fourth Hispanic celebrity to win Dancing with the Stars and the first celebrity of Mexican descent to claim the trophy.

“I don’t want this show to end, and I think it’s gonna be really good for me to keep coming back,” she joked after her big win during the finale.

After redeeming their foxtrot and bringing it home with a fiery freestyle, Gomez and Chmerkovskiy received two back-to-back perfect scores from the judges. With their scores from the semifinals also included in their judges’ totals Tuesday night, they were the only couple to earn a perfect score of 120 across all four dances.

“Gosh, I didn’t think that [we did that]. I forgot until there had been like a little thing that said, this is your score something out of something, and it was the score. I was like, ‘What? We did that?’ Yeah, we did that. I’m proud of that,” Gomez said.

Ahead of Tuesday night’s performances, judge Bruno Tonioli visited Gomez and Chmerkovskiy in the studio to reassign them the foxtrot and give Gomez some pointers on how to improve in the dance style. Tonioli said during rehearsals that he was hoping to see more “refined sophistication” than the couple’s first attempt at the foxtrot in week three.

Gomez was the last to grace the stage for the redemption round, but certainly not the least. She made her latest foxtrot look effortless, earning praise from all three judges, including Tonioli, who told her she is a “delight” to watch.

Gomez told Deadline the judge’s advice in rehearsals was invaluable to be able to perfect her foxtrot, especially when it came to lengthening her arms.

“That was one of the things that I tried to do, but I was never that successful. And I tried a lot, but it was hard. So for someone else to have a different voice and tell me, ‘This is something that is one of your weakest points. So fix it.’ And also for him to show me how to do it. I thought that was really nice and definitely helped me out for the foxtrot,” she said.

Chmerkovskiy expressed pride for his partner, beaming as he explained he was most impressed with “how much dance she’s learned.”

“I mean, we put in the work at the studio. But usually we like do a lot more warming up and practicing during the show leading up to the performance. Today, we just trusted ourselves and came out and just danced,” he said.

In the final moments of the Season 32 finale, Gomez and Chmerkovskiy stood on stage next to Jason Mraz and his partner Daniella Karagach, anxiously awaiting the news on who’d eked out the victory. Just as host Alfonso Ribeiro was about to announce the victors, he instead cut to a final commercial — prompting a loud groan from the audience.

“The whole night was special. I keep saying it feels bittersweet because, for us, every week that we had a great performance felt like exactly like this feeling. Truly, every time we got called safe, we felt like we were winning. So tonight, it felt like that times 100.”

Here’s the list of the DWTS winners of Hispanic descent:

Season 5: Hélio Castroneves (Brazilian) and Julianne Hough
Season 13: J.R. Martinez (Salvadoran American) and Karina Smirnoff
Season 23: Laurie Hernandez (Puerto Rican) and Val Chmerkovskiy
Season 32: Xochitl Gomez (Mexican American) and Val Chmerkovskiy

Justina Machado to Compete on ABC’s Upcoming Season of “Dancing With The Stars”

Justina Machado’s ready to paso doble her way into your hearts…

The 47-year-old Puerto Rican actress, who currently stars on PopTV’s One Day at a Time, will compete on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars this season.

Justina Machado

Machado will compete against Tiger King’s Carole Baskin, rapper Nelly, Selling Sunset’s Chrishell Stause and NBA legend Charles Oakley among others for the coveted DTWS mirrorball trophy.

The ABC celebrity ballroom dancing competition series, based on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, will premiere on September 14 with new host Tyra Banks.

This season’s other competirors include Monica Aldama, star of Netflix’s Cheer, Disney Channel actress Skai Jackson, The Real’s Jeannie Mai, Catfish’s Nev Schulman, Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir, Super Bowl champion Vernon Davis, Anne Heche, Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean, and The Bachelor’s Kaitlyn Bristowe.

This season’s professional dancers include Brandon Armstrong, Alan Bersten, Sharna Burgess, Cheryl Burke, Artem Chigvintsev, Val Chmerkovskiy, Sasha Farber, Jenna Johnson, Daniella Karagach, Keo Motsepe, Peta Murgatroyd, Pasha Pashkov, Gleb Savchenko, Emma Slater and Britt Stewart.

In addition to hosting, Banks will also serve as an executive producer this season. She replaces Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews as the show’s host in season 29.

One of the challenges for this season is to ensure that the production adheres to COVID-19 protocols, a trickier move for a dance competition format than many other productions. Details of the health and safety protocols and other format refreshes are expected imminently.

Fifth Harmony Performs on “Dancing with the Stars” During Normani Kordei’s Performance

Ally Brooke Hernandez and Lauren Jauregui have entered the ballroom…

On Monday night’s Dancing with the Stars (April 10), the Latina singers and their fellow Fifth Harmony member Dinah Jane showed support for fellow member Normani Kordei, who is competing in this installment of the celebrity ballroom dancing competition.

Fifth Harmony on DWTS

During Kordei’s dance routine, Hernandez, Jauregui and Jane offered a beautiful performance.

This week’s segment was based on the contestants’ “Most Memorable Year,” for which the singer picked 2012, the year she joined Fifth Harmony on X Factor. She dedicated the performance to her family and her “girls” when talking about the hardships and success she faced during that part of her life.

All four ladies took the stage following Kordei’s introduction, singing a beautiful, stripped-down rendition of Shontelle‘s “Impossible” while she and partner Val Chmerkovskiy danced the rumba. After the captivating routine, all four harmonizers got emotional while they went in for a hug.

“It was such a special moment,” she shared with co-host Erin Andrews. “I wouldn’t be in the position that I’m in without these beautiful girls and I recognize that. They make up [for] all of my weaknesses, and I thank them for that.”

The touching moment did not go unnoticed by Chmerkovskiy, who witnessed the band’s deep love and connection for one another. “I’ve been on tour with them for three weeks now,” shared Chmerkovskiy. “It’s a beautiful thing to see them collectively celebrate each other’s individuality.”

For the “harmonious” dance routine, Kordei and Chmerkovskiy scored a total 32 out of 40 for their performance.

Hernandez Recreates Grocery Store Dance Scene from “Sing”

Laurie Hernandez has aisles of style when it comes to her dance moves…

The 16-year-old Puerto Rican Olympic gold medalist and Dancing with the Stars champion recreated one of her favorite scenes from the upcoming animated movie Sing.

Laurie Hernandez

In the video, Hernandez dances her way through the grocery store while the Gypsy Kings flamenco classic “Bamboleo” blasts on the speakers, recreating Rosita’s (Reese Witherspoon) dance routine in the film set to debut on December 21.

“Was so excited about Sing, I couldn’t help recreating one of my favorite scenes,” Hernandez wrote on Twitter.

Her DWTS partner Val Chmerkovskiy also makes a cameo in the fun clip.

Hernandez: First Latina to Win ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars”

She may be a teenager, but Laurie Hernandez is already dancing royalty…

The 16-year-old Puerto Rican gymnast, an Olympic gold and silver medalist at the 2016 Rio Games, has been crowned the champion of the 23rd season of ABC‘s Dancing with the Stars.

Laurie Hernandez

Hernandez was crowned the belle of the ballroom alongside her dance partner Val Chmerkovskiy in Tuesday night’s finale, which also featured former Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson and IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe.

Hinchcliffe was the runner-up as Johnson finished third.

At just 16 years old, Hernandez is the youngest champion in the show’s history. She’s also the first Latina to take home the coveted mirrorball trophy, and only third Hispanic competitor to claim the title in the show’s 23-season run. Brazilian IndyCar racer Helio Castroneves won DTWS in Season 5, while El Salvadoran-American actor J.R. Martinez, a former U.S. Army soldier, won the title in Season 13.

Hernandez joins Shawn Johnson as Olympic gold medalist gymnasts that have also won a season of Dancing with the Stars. Fellow gymnasts and Olympic champions Nastia Liukin and Aly Raisman have fourth place finishes on their DTWS resumes.

Other previous Olympians to win Dancing with the Stars include Apolo Ohno, Kristi Yamaguchi and Meryl Davis.

Castroneves to Perform on DWTS: All-Stars with Chelsie Hightower

Hélio Castroneves will begin his quest for a second mirror ball trophy when Dancing with the Stars‘ first All-Star season premieres in just over a month… And, now he’s received his partner assignment.

ABC revealed the pro partners who’ll guide celebs including the 37-year-old Brazilian auto racer Kirstie Alley, Pamela Anderson and Bristol Palin in their second time on the dance.

Helio Castroneves

Castroneves, the fifth season champion of the hit celebrity ballroom dancing competition, will perform with pro Chelsie Hightower. He’d previously performed with Julianne Hough, who won’t be participating in the show this season. 

Here’s a look at the pairings:

Season 4 champ Apolo Anton Ohno & pro Karina Smirnoff
Kirstie Alley & her season 12 pro partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Joey Fatone & his season 4 pro partner Kym Johnson
Season 8 champion Shawn Johnson & Derek Hough
Bristol Palin & her season 11 pro partner Mark Ballas
Season 3 champ Emmitt Smith & his pro partner Cheryl Burke
Kelly Monaco & pro Val Chmerkovskiy
Melissa Rycroft & her season 8 pro partner Tony Dovolani
Pamela Anderson & pro Tristan McManus
Season 2 champ Drew Lachey & pro Anna Trebunskaya
Gilles Marini & pro Peta Murgatroyd

Meanwhile, the All-Stars edition’s 13th contestant will be voted on by the public. Carson Kressley, Sabrina Bryan and Kyle Massey are all jockeying on ABC.com for viewer votes before the August  24 deadline, with the winner being revealed on Good Morning America August 27.

Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars will premiere on September 23.