ABC’s Dancing With The Stars is currently airing its 30th season and has had a total of 351 celebrity contestants over the years. With each new season comes a fresh batch of contestants ranging from some dance experience to none at all, looking to learn new skills in Latin and ballroom styles.

Since DWTS’s premiere, fans have had a chance to vote for their favorites to go further and further into the competition. When looking back at the 15 plus years of the reality series, some celebrity contestants have earned the title of being the best of all time or are just pure joy to watch on-screen, according to users of Reddit.

10 Mya (Season 9)

Singer-songwriter and actress Mya competed on season 9 of Dancing With The Stars and was partnered with professional dancer Dmitry Chaplin. The two ended up getting second place on the show and received consistently high scores throughout the season.

A Reddit user by the name of calipiano81 added Mya to the best contestants of all-time discussion by sharing, “She doesn’t get talked about much, probably because she has a rather reserved personality that made some people label her as ‘cold’ or ‘boring’ and she was a HUGE ringer, but I thought every dance she did looked so professional and effortless.”

9 Juan Pablo Di Pace (Season 27)

Actor Juan Pablo Di Pace and partner Cheryl Burke were shockingly eliminated at the semi-finals of season 27 of DWTS. Despite receiving the first perfect score of the season during week three and being a fan-favorite to watch, he did not make it to the finals of the competition, but that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t one of the best celebrities the show had ever seen.

Redditor neneleakesstony created an entire discussion thread to praise Juan Pablo and wrote, “In my honest opinion, I have not seen a celeb as good as him in standard and Latin in a LONG time. Cheryl gave him lots of technical choreography and his execution was extraordinary.”

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8 Heather Morris (Season 24)

Glee star Heather Morris was partnered with Maksim Chmerkovskiy on season 24 of Dancing With The Stars. She had a background in dancing that gave her a leg up on her fellow contestants, yet fans still saw themselves rooting for her and wanting to see her go far. She was surprisingly eliminated in 8th place but is still someone that fans believe deserves another chance.

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Redditor sbenember recalled Heather being one of the best dancers DWTS had ever seen, “Personally, I loved Heather Morris, but she was an ex-SYTYCD contestant, Beyoncé dancer, and Glee performer. Bit of a ringer, all around. I loved her Jive and ChaCha with Alan Bersten, when Maks was injured. Must have watched both dances dozens of times.”

7 Rashad Jennings (Season 24)

Football player Rashad Jennings competed on season 24 with one of the best professional dancers, Emma Slater. The pair were underdogs at the beginning of the competition but quickly won over the hearts of the judges and the audience and ended up winning the mirrorball trophy.

“Rashad Jennings will ALWAYS be my favorite. Such a stand up guy. His contemporary that he danced in honor of his dad was absolutely beautiful. One of my favorite dances in the history of the show!” wrote Redditor ltwdee on a thread about fans’ favorite celebrity contestants.

6 Monique Coleman (Season 3)

High School Musical star Monique Coleman competed on season 3 of Dancing With The Stars alongside professional dancer Louis de Amstel. The pair made it to week eight before getting eliminated and got a near-perfect score for their last dance, a cha-cha.

Redditor JPCRam310 commented on a thread, “When HSM was still huge, I saw Monique Coleman’s dances on YouTube. Looking back on it, I regret not watching her season because I would’ve voted for her HARD! I think if she had been on a recent season, she might’ve made the finals or even win.” Another Reddit user vdw84, added, “Monique was such a good dancer, I basically forgot about her. Louis had her and he didn’t play around with the difficulty of her choreography either.”

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5 James Hinchcliffe (Season 23)

IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe competed on the reality series shortly after a racing accident that almost ended his life. He was partnered with Sharna Burgess, who took it upon herself to tell James’ story through the power of dance, something that allowed fans to connect with him on a different level.

Redditor secretlyslytherin had a simple answer to who their favorite celebrity contestant on the show was in a comment that said, “James Hinchcliffe James Hinchcliffe James Hinchcliffe. Embodied the purpose of the show.” Though James didn’t end up winning the season, he and Sharna are one of the best couples to never win DWTS.

4 Shawn Johnson (Season 8/15)

Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson has been on Dancing With The Stars twice. The first time she competed she won the mirrorball trophy, and she nearly won it again when she returned for the first and only all-star season.

Redditor starluxlady answered a question on the subreddit as to who their favorite DWTS contestant was by writing, “SHAWN JOHNSON. Honestly- either seasons she danced. I liked her partnership with Mark a little more than with Derek, but she absolutely killed it both times she competed. I would not have been upset with her winning All Stars she was that good.”

3 Jordan Fisher (Season 25)

Disney Channel actor Jordan Fisher and professional dancer Lindsay Arnold were a fan-favorite couple when they competed together on season 25 of the ABC series. Jordan consistently got rave reviews from the judges, danced to his own cover of a song from Moana, and ended up becoming a mirrorball champion.

Reddit user starluxlady credited Shawn Johnson as being their favorite female contestant, and wrote of Jordan Fisher being their favorite male by saying, “Oh my goodness I was just blown away week after week by him. He’s also in general just a good egg and I will be a life long fan of his thanks to his appearance on DWTS.”

2 Kristi Yamaguchi (Season 6)

Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi was crowned the mirrorball champion of season 6 of Dancing With The Stars alongside her professional partner Mark Ballas. Kristi got her first perfect score in week six after performing a fun jive to the song ‘Rip It Up.’

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Reddit user calipiano81 contributed to a thread where fans discussed their favorite past contestants and wrote of Kristi, “She made everything look effortless. There was one week where they actually showed Mark getting frustrated in rehearsal and her calming HIM down.”

1 Meryl Davis (Season 18)

Olympian Meryl Davis was partnered with one of the Chmerkovskiy brothers on season 18 of Dancing With The Stars. When the pair wasn’t fueling romance rumors they were blowing fans away on the ballroom floor with their graceful, passionate dances that showcased Meryl’s sheer talent as a performer.

Redditor LoudPattern08 praised the Olympian for her performances while on the reality show by writing, “Meryl Davis is probably the most undeniable winner ever. She has the best average and should really have the most perfect scores ever in my honest opinion.” Another user hereforthefoodd, added, “She is one of those people that was probably an angel reincarnated.”

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Emily Proctor
(212 Articles Published)

Emily Proctor is an entertainment writer and avid television fan. She recently graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in Communication, Media, and Theatre Arts. In addition to writing for Screenrant, Emily frequently publishes personal essays on her Medium profile and personal blog SheWritesTV.com. She is also an aspiring actress and songwriter.

You can follow Emily on Twitter at @emproct for more of her opinions on pop culture, the latest TV and movies, and links to her work.

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