The Celebrity Cast of Dancing with the Stars Season 11

Fans of Dancing with the Stars don’t have to wonder anymore about the Season 11 cast. ABC made an official announcement during their reality show Bachelor Pad. Hosts Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke led a press conference style announcement as the names of the twelve celebrities were made public. Most of the celebrity cast rumors were false, but in my previous hub all but one of the cast members names were mentioned.

Here are the names of the cast members for Season 11 of Dancing with the Stars.

Professional partner: Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Brandy was born Brandy Rayana Norwood on February 11, 1979. She is a Grammy nominated singer. Her album Brandy earned the singer two Grammy nominations – one for Best New Artist and one for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. She also earned a Grammy nomination for her vocals on the single Missing You.

Brandy is an accomplished actress as well. She made her acting debut on the ABC sitcom Thea. She later went on to star in the UPN series Moesha for six seasons, where she played the role of Moesha Mitchell, a girl coping with life.

Brandy appeared with fellow cast member David Hasselhoff as a judge on the NBC reality television program America’s Got Talent.

Professional partner: Derek Hough

Jennifer Grey was born on March 26, 1960 to stage and screen actor Joel Grey and the former actress and singer Jo Wilder. Her acting debut was in an ad for the beverage Dr. Pepper. Grey came to really be noticed in the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, where she played the role of Ferris’ sister. In 1987 she went on to a role in the teen movie Red Dawn, followed by her most famous role as Baby in the hit movie Dirty Dancing.

Grey had a rhinoplasty surgery performed in the 1990’s, but the results of the surgery so changed her look that she became almost unrecognizable to the average fan.

After her early movie success Grey appeared in the ABC television series It’s Like, you Know..., had a guest spot in the hit NBC series Friends, and had a role in the HBO series John From Cincinnati.

Professional partner: Louis Van Amstel

Moran “Margaret” Cho is a comedian, actress and author. Cho was born December 5, 1968 in San Francisco. Cho is famous for her stand up comedy routines that cover topics such as sexuality, gender, and race.

Cho is also a well recognized actress. She currently can be seen on the Lifetime TV show Drop Dead Diva. She appeared in the John Travolta action move Face/Off, playing an FBI agent. Her acting career began in 1992 when she had a role in The Golden Palace, a spin off of the hit comedy The Golden Girls. She had her own ABC series called All American Girl, but it only lasted one season.

Professional partner: Tony Dovoloni

Audrina Patridge was born May 9, 1985 in Placentia, California. She is best known for being one of the four original cast members of the MTV reality television series The Hills. Patridge has acted in the movies Into the Blue 2: The Reef and Sorority Row. She has appeared in the television series Mad TV and Do Not Disturb.

Professional partner: Corky Ballas

Florence Henderson (born February 14, 1934) is an actress, singer and American Icon, best known for her role of Carol Brady on the hit 1970’s comedy show The Brady Bunch.

Henderson started out as a stage actress, making her Broadway debut in 1952 in the musical Wish You Were Here. She holds the distinction of being the first woman to guest host The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1963. For years Henderson was the celebrity spokesperson for Wesson cooking oil. In 2006 she was a cast member of the VH1 reality television series The Surreal Life.

Henderson has been a regular in the Dancing with the Stars ballroom over the past few seasons as a spectator. It isn’t too surprising to see her appear on the show as a contestant.

Professional partner: Mark Ballas

Bristol Palin is the daughter of Alaska governor Sarah Palin. She was born on October 18, 1990. She has appeared in the tabloid press recently because of her on-again, off-again relationship with the father of her son Levi Johnston. She now is a paid spokeswoman promoting abstinence.

I don't see the celebrity appeal in her selection for the cast. I think the producers are hoping that her mother will show up in the ballroom to watch Bristol perform. I have no personal ill feelings towards Bristol Palin. I just question having her as a "celebrity" member of the cast.

Professional partner: Chelsie Hightower

Michael Bolton is a Grammy award winning singer and songwriter. He was born on February 26, 1953 in New Haven, CT. While he is most famous for his soft rock and adult contemporary music style, he started off his career as a hard rock/heavy metal singer. His band Blackjack once toured with Ozzy Osbourne.

Professional partner: Karina Smirnoff

Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino is a reality television personality who appears on the MTV program Jersey Shore. He was born on July 4, 1981 in Staten Island, New York.

Professional partner: Kym Johnson

David Hasselhoff is an actor and singer, born on July 17, 1952. Hasselhoff started his acting career with a role on the soap opera The Young and the Restless, but really gained popularity with his role as Michael Knight on the 1980’s television show Knight Rider. In 1989 Hasselhoff returned to television in the hit syndicated program Baywatch. Since the end of Baywatch Hasselhoff has appeared in several movies, including The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, and Click.

Hasselhoff has also appeared on Broadway, with his debut in 2000 in the show Jeckll & Hyde. He also appeared in the London performances of Chicago in 2004.

In 2006 Hasselhoff appeared with fellow Dancing with the Stars Season 11 cast member Brandy as a judge on the NBC reality program America’s Got Talent.

Professional partner: Anna Trebunskaya

Kurt Warner is a retired NFL quarterback. Warner was born on June 22, 1971 in Burlington, Iowa. He is considered by some football experts as the best undrafted player of all time. Warner played for 12 years in the NFL for the St. Louis Rams, New York Giants, and Arizona Cardinals. Warner won two NFL MVP awards (in 1999 and in 2001) and was MVP of Super Bowl XXXIV.

Professional partner: Lacey Schwimmer

Kyle Massey was born on August 28, 1991 and is a singer and actor. He is best known for his roles on the Disney channel shows That’s So Raven and Cory in the House. He also starred in the Disney Channel movie Life is Ruff. His musical performances have been featured on the Disney Channel Holiday soundtrack, the Shaggy Dog soundtrack, and the Life is Ruff soundtrack.

Massey is the only Dancing with the Stars Season 11 contestant not mentioned in my hub about the cast rumors for this upcoming season.

Professional parter: Cheryl Burke

Ulrich Alexander “Rick” Fox was born on July 24, 1969 in Toronto, Canada and is retired from the NBA. He played his college ball at the University of North Carolina where he led the team to the NCAA Final Four in 1991. Fox began his NBA career as a member of the Boston Celtics, and then joined the Los Angeles Lakers (where he won three NBA championships).

Fox is also an actor. He appeared on the HBO series Oz, and has appeared in the movies He Got Game and Blue Chips.

The premier episode of Dancing with the Stars Season 11 airs on Monday, September 20, 2010 on ABC, beginning at 8:00 pm Eastern Time.  It will be fun to see these celebrities in action.