Here's What All The 'Dance Moms' Stars Are Up To In 2021
When it comes to reality TV, few shows brought as much dramatics to the table as Dance Moms. The instructors, students, and especially the parents always had a bone to pick with the Abby Lee Dance Company, which meant some episodes turned downright ugly. Abby Lee Miller's notoriously harsh teaching methods didn't sit well with many parents, even if her students did excel in every competition they attended. If you've missed the Lifetime reality show and are in need of a quick catch-up on the cast, here's where the Dance Moms stars are now.
After the Dance Moms' last episode aired in September 2019, all of the series' stars took different paths. Some stepped away from the spotlight, while others took their fame to new proportions. Despite Abby's 2017 incarceration for fraud and her subsequent cancer battle, she and her former students continue to update fans on their lives as they branch out into TikTok stardom, acting, music careers, novel writing, and more. For day-one fans of the show, here's the in-depth update on all of the Dance Moms castmates.
1. Maddie Ziegler
Maddie was one of Abby Lee's most popular stars, and she's continued to be a highly-sought-after dancer in the real world. She has a tight-knit relationship with singer-songwriter Sia and has performed in a number of her music videos. In February 2021, Maddie is set to appear in Sia's directorial debut film, Music, where she will star alongside Kate Hudson. Steven Spielberg also cast Maddie as one of the stars in the upcoming West Side Story remake.
Maddie has also had a number of brand partnerships, which have further pushed her into the spotlight. She was the face of Kate Spade's December 2020 ad campaign and collaborated with Morphe beauty on a makeup collection that same year.
2. JoJo Siwa
Following the end of Dance Moms, JoJo's star quality never dulled. In fact, her fame has grown considerably and her colorful personality hasn't changed one bit.
The dancer embarked on a recording career, and released her first single, "Boomerang," in May 2016. She also kicked off an acting career. JoJo signed with Nickelodeon in 2017 and starred in various projects on the network, like Blurt!, Lip Sync Battle Shorties, and The JoJo & BowBow Show Show. In 2020, she released a festive new single titled "Run Run Rudolph" just in time for the holidays.
JoJo has also become the queen of colorful commercial products. She has her own accessories line with Claire's and previously teamed up with JCPenney to release a line of bedroom décor. Yep, fans can get a comforter with JoJo's face plastered across the front.
JoJo also notably became besties with the Kardashian family and she's hung out with Kim's daughter, North West, on occasion.
3. Mackenzie Ziegler
Following Kenzie Ziegler's time on Dance Moms, she's focused her efforts on acting and a recording career. The dancer is now better known for dropping infectious pop music, her role on the hit Brat TV show Total Eclipse, and her massive TikTok account. Much like her sister, she maintains a close relationship with Sia, so much so Sia agreed to hop on her June 2020 track "Exhale" as a featured artist.
In November of that same year, Kenzie released a catchy new single titled "Donuts" and told Elite Daily all about enlisting her friends to star in the music video. "When I'm with my friends it's always such a fun time and it's so genuine and authentic. I'm glad I got to have them be part of it," she said. Kenzie's fans can surely expect more music from the star in 2021.
4. Chloe Lukasiak
Since leaving Dance Moms, Chloe's life has been a lot less drama-filled. The dancer released her first book in 2018, an autobiography called Girl on Pointe, and has kept up with her 6 million Instagram followers.
Chloe has also taken marketing classes at Pepperdine University and, as she told the Daily Front Row in December 2020, she's looking forward to penning her second book.
Don't think Chloe's reality TV days are entirely behind her, though. She's since starred in the original web series Chloe Does It and the fashion competition show Ready Set Style.
5. Nia Sioux
Nia has slayed life since leaving Dance Moms at the end of Season 7. She dove head-first into an acting career and, since 2018, has starred on the CBS soap opera The Bold And The Beautiful. She also enrolled as a student at UCLA in 2019 and has carved out a lane in political activism. Most recently, she participated in YouTube’s Bear Witness, Take Action series on race.
6. Kendall Vertes
Kendall initially joined the Abby Lee Dance Company as a replacement for Vivi-Anne Stein in Season 2, but her time on the show was unforgettable. Since then, she's become a true triple threat. She even starred in Amazon's Rapunzel: A Princess Frozen in Time in 2019.
She's a brand ambassador for Bang energy, the popular energy drink which is hyper-focused on influencer marketing. With over 8 million Instagram followers, Vertes' influence is powerful to say the least.
7. Abby Lee Miller
Abby had a rough go the last few years after her lymphoma diagnosis in April 2018. She has been in and out of chemotherapy since, but has posted plenty of updates for the 4 million Dance Moms fans who follow her. Abby has been incredibly transparent about how her tumor affected her spine, leaving her unable to walk. As she regained her strength in 2020, she posted updates on her health periodically. As of October, she was up and walking again.
In 2020, Abby looked especially happy and healthy in her posts, and and she recently began hosting virtual dance classes during the pandemic.
Abby doesn't keep in touch with many of her students these days aside from JoJo. In fact, she's come under fire for her controversial comments about the cast. In June 2020, Abby was forced to apologize for making racist remarks after her former student from Season 8, Kamryn Smith, spoke out about her experience with Abby. In response, Lifetime parted ways with Abby once and for all.
The cast of Dance Moms may not have always gotten along, but there's no denying the show propelled them to fame.
In Elite Daily’s It’s Complicated series, we dissect the biggest celebrity drama to find out what happened in front of the camera, behind the scenes, and everywhere in between. Read more here.
