It’s finally here, no more speculation or spoiler lists. Here it is, at last, the official cast of “Dancing with the Stars” Season 13. Will this be a lucky or unlucky season? Without fail, every time there’s an announcement of the new celebrity dancers made public via “The Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette” or this time “The Bachelor Pad” on ABC people vow they won’t watch the show. Mostly they verbalize how there are too many D-Listers and not enough A-Listers. Whatever the opinions one thing is certain this is certainly a unique group. For the first time the show will feature a transgender and an Iraqi war veteran. Let’s get acquainted with these twelve celebrities.
Chaz Bono – The only child of Sonny Bono and Cher who appeared regularly on their successful 1970s TV variety show. In 1995 Bono came out and has passionately supported LGBT rights and social issues. Earlier this year the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) premiered his self-revealing documentary “Becoming Chaz” about his before and after female-to-male gender transition surgery.
Hope Solo – She is considered one of the best goalkeepers in the entire soccer world. Solo was the starting goalie in the Women’s World Cup finals against Japan in 2011. The US team fought a valiant game to the bitter end. 2008 in Beijing, China Hope Solo was a member of the U.S. Olympic team winning the gold medal against Brazil.
Nancy Grace – A former prosecutor who now lends her legal expertise on HLN (Headline News). Grace is the fiery star of her own top rated TV talk show “Nancy Grace.”
Ricki Lake – Her charisma and underdog appeal made her a phenomenon in John Water’s original film “Hairspray.” The film later became a Broadway musical smash which its star, Marissa Winokur, was on season 6. During the 1990s Lake has hosted a successful talk show. Now she will return with “The Ricki Lake Show” in the fall of 2012.
Rob Kardashian – First it was his sister Kim who appeared on season 7 now another member of the Kardashian’s will hit the dance floor. Currently he appears with his entire family in the #1 hit show on the E! Network “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”
Kristin Cavallari – Here’s another reality TV star who appeared in the MTV reality series “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County.” The show’s spin-off “The Hills” starred Cavallari. Now she’s concentrating on feature films and other TV appearances.
Ron Artest – Another member of the LA Lakers joins the cast of “Dancing with the Stars.” Artest is a forward for the team. He has been with the NBA since 1999. In his first two seasons he became the only player to achieve 271 steals by breaking Michael Jordan’s record. Rick Fox, a former LA Laker, appeared in season 11.
Carson Kressley – He won an Emmy for being a member of Bravo TV’s “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.” Since then Kressley has hosted and appeared on many reality shows giving guidance and opinions from his background in fashion design and styling. His latest reality show “Carson Nation” is on Oprah’s OWN network.
Chynna Phillips – One of the members of the singing trio, Wilson Phillips, during the early 90s is now an actress. She is the daughter of John Phillips, one of the members of the 1960s group “The Mamas and The Papas.” She joined forces with the daughters of singer/songwriter Brain Wilson of “The Beach Boys” to form their girl group.
Elisabetta Canalis – You may have seen this beautiful Italian model on the covers of Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair and other high-fashion magazines. It wasn’t until she hit the red carpet events with a highly celebrated A-List actor, George Clooney, as her constant companion.
David Arquette – The Arquette family has many appearing in television show and films. He is not only an actor, but a producer, director and writer. He is currently separated from actress, Courtney Cox.
J.R. Martinez – Last, but never the least is a former Iraqi War veteran who suffered severe burns when his Humvee hit a landmine in Iraqi. In true DWTS fashion he joins with other past activists on the show. While in the hospital for his numerous surgeries he began speaking to other burn patients. News caught on of his incredible gift. Martinez started appearing on “60 Minutes”, “Oprah” and CNN. Now he is a cast member of the soap opera, “All My Children.”
Be sure to tune in on Monday, September 19 at 8 p.m. ET for the two-hour premiere on ABC. Tuesday, September 20 will be the results show and one couple will be eliminated. You can find out which celebrities and pros will be paired up on August 31. This to me is one of the better casts of DWTS since there are no Disney stars, current pop singers and other ringers vying for the mirror ball trophy.
SOURCES:
Dancing with the Stars, ABC.go.com
Lauren Sher, “‘Dancing with the Stars’ Season 13 Cast Revealed”, ABCNews.go.com