Where Are The Stars Of Dance Moms Now?

Fame is fleeting — ask anyone who's ever been involved in the entertainment industry. Some actors and personalities stay popular for a long time, while others settle into lower strata of fame, sink to their weakest career points, or fade out altogether. For reality stars, the spotlight is often more fleeting. The best reality TV shows often make celebrities of their contestants, while the worst reality programs are, at best, the last stop on the fame train for its contestants, and at worst, leave a lingering aura of shame.

"Dance Moms" is no exception. The Lifetime series, which ran from 2011 and 2019, granted both fame and notoriety to the young dancers and moms that orbited around and clashed at Abby Lee Miller's dance studio in Pittsburgh (and later Los Angeles). Some "Dance Moms" participants went on to major stardom, while others enjoyed more normal lives, and one went to prison. The following list will bring you up to date on what the parents and kids of "Dance Moms" are doing now.

The founder of and choreographer for the Abby Lee Dance Company, Abby Lee Miller verbally took apart her dancers and their parents, and if that didn't work, insults and even physical aggression became part of her training plan. Miller's combustive personality made "Dance Moms" a must-watch series, but it also tore the dance troupe apart. Miller left the series in 2017 and announced her official departure from the "Dance Moms" universe in 2020.

Miller had landed in hot water while on "Dance Moms" as the subject of lawsuits filed by Kelly Hyland and her daughter, Paige, who accused her of assault, among other charges. Though the cases were dropped, Miller was indicted on bankruptcy fraud charges in 2015 stemming from false claims made about her income from "Dance Moms"-related merchandise and deals. She was sentenced to 366 days in federal prison and served eight months before being transferred to a halfway house.

Things then got much worse: Miller was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma, a type of cancer, in 2018, which required spinal surgery and left her in a wheelchair. In 2020, Lifetime cut all ties with Miller after two former dancers' mothers claimed that she had made racially insensitive statements. The network canceled a spin-off, "Abby's Virtual Dance-Off," and said that Miller would be excluded from future episodes of "Dance Moms."

A standout performer alongside younger sister Kenzie on the show's first 6 seasons, Maddie Ziegler's popularity on the series transformed her from "Dance Moms" performer to a Hollywood actor and author. Her ascent began when singer Sia tapped Ziegler to dance in her 2014 music video for "Chandelier." More collaborations with Sia, including music videos for "Cheap Thrills" and "The Greatest" followed, as did guest roles on TV and supporting turns in features like "The Book of Henry" and "The Fallout." Steven Spielberg tapped Ziegler to play Velma in his remake of "West Side Story," and she followed that breakout turn with roles in "Fitting In" and "My Old Ass."

In addition to her dance and acting work, Ziegler also modeled for Ralph Lauren and Target, among other companies, and launched an array of fashion lines and products, including team-ups with her sister and fellow "Dance Moms" alum Mackenzie on lines for American Eagle Outfitters, among others. She became a New York Times bestselling author in 2017 with the publication of her memoir, "The Maddie Diaries," which was followed by a trilogy of YA novels, which began with "The Audition" that same year.

Arguably the biggest celebrity to emerge from "Dance Moms," JoJo Siwa left the series in Season 6 and embarked on a seemingly ceaseless pursuit of stardom on numerous media fronts. Her 11 million followers on Instagram and 45 million followers on TikTok helped her score a massive online hit with her first single, "Boomerang," which netted over 1 billion views; concert tours, TV series like "Lip Sync Battle Shorties" and "So You Think You Can Dance," and guest appearances on "The Masked Singer" soon followed. More importantly, Siwa spawned dozens of products, including her own line of bows, of which the retailer Claire's reportedly sold more than 60 million in 2019. The following year, Siwa was named one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2020 by Time magazine.

Siwa came out as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community in 2021 and released a 2024 single, "Karma," that laid out in mature terms a major aspect of her transformation from childhood to a 20-year-old. The song reached the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs list, but it and its accompanying EP, "Guilty Pleasure," were also met with negative response. The criticism soared exponentially after Siwa told the magazine that she wanted to create a new subgenre of music she called "gay pop" – a comment that she later walked back.

Chloe Lukasiak's four seasons on "Dance Moms" came to an abrupt halt in Season 4 when clashes between her mother, Christi Lukasiak, and Abby Lee Miller, spurred the pair to leave the series. She returned briefly in Season 7 as a member of the Irreplaceables, a team forged from former members of the ALDC and coached by Cheryl Burke. Since then, Chloe has remained active in dance and other mediums, while also speaking honestly about her experiences on the series.  

Lukasiak later danced with several companies, including Studio 19 Dance Complex, and at live events like the VIP Dance Events convention. She also modeled for Oxyje and Tutu DuMonde and walked the runway for Max Azria BCBG in 2016. Movies and television soon followed via roles in films like "Center Stage: On Pointe" and "Camp Arrowhead," as well as on YouTube and promotional programming for Disney and Vic. 

In 2018, Lukasiak published "Girl on Pointe: Chloe's Guide to Taking on the World," which addressed her time on and after "Dance Moms." A student at Pepperdine since 2019, she joined JoJo Siwa and others in the 2024 "Dance Moms" reunion special and later told Entertainment Tonight (via People) that she was still sorting out her feelings about the show. "It was really hard," she said. "I think when you're that young, you're really vulnerable and you absord everything people tell you."

Nia Sioux was the dancer with the longest tenure on "Dance Moms," with seven seasons under her belt before she departed. A talented performer who some believed was constantly overlooked by Miller, Sioux appears to have made a clean break from the series and has enjoyed the spotlight in a variety of mediums.

Sioux released a trio of singles between 2015 and 2018, including "Slay" and "Star in Your Own Life," and made her off-Broadway debut in "Trip of Love," a tribute to the music of the 1960s, in 2016. Acting roles soon followed, including a year-long run on "The Bold and the Beautiful" and a recurring turn on "Sunnyside Up." She also hosted a Facebook Watch series called "Dance with Nia" and also found time to study American literature and culture at UCLA.

Roles in indie projects like "I Am Mortal" led to major productions like the 2024 remake of "Mean Girls" and the Apple+ series "The Lady in the Lake." And though Sioux declined to appear in the "Dance Moms" reunion special, she told E! News that she remains close with many of her fellow former dancers, and recently enlisted Mackenzie Ziegler to participate in a series of mental health videos she directed for the Ad Council in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and JED Foundation.

Kenzie Ziegler and her older sister, Maddie, were featured on Seasons 1 through 6 on "Dance Moms" before departing the show. Now known professionally as Mackenzie Ziegler, she's focused largely on a career in music but has also made forays into acting like Maddie. Her first album, "Mack Z," dropped in 2014, and was followed four years later by "Phases," which featured a songwriting collaboration with Sia on the song "Wonderful."

Ziegler began acting in 2015 with a pair of appearances on "Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn" (which notably starred Aidan Gallagher of "The Umbrella Academy") and later co-starred on the Brat TV series "Total Eclipse." Other roles included the independent horror movie "Let Us In" with "Saw" star Tobin Bell and "Zombies 2: The Collab," a 2020 short for the Disney Channel that reunited her with fellow "Dance Moms" alums Chloe Lukasiak, Nia Sioux, Kendall Vertes, and others.

The Ziegler sisters teamed up in 2022 for a podcast, "Take 20 with Maddie and Kenzie," which Mackenzie said was an opportunity for them to present a more honest depiction of themselves. "We definitely feel like people needed to see a more personal, real side of us," she told E! News. Both sisters also declined to participate in the 2024 "Dance Moms" reunion special.

The Ziegler sisters' mom, Melissa Giosoni, was proud of their accomplishments, which occasionally resulted in friction with Abby Lee Miller and the other moms. Some viewed her stream of praise as boastful, while others accused her of cozying up to Miller in order to assure that her girls had prime placement in team performances. But she was also shrewd enough to step away from the show in Season 6 when she perceived that Maddie and Kenzie were no longer benefitting from the show. "When my kids aren't happy anymore, I don't care about anything else," she wrote in an essay for Cosmopolitan in 2016.

Gisoni's post-"Dance Moms" activities include "Because Mom Said So," a parenting and pop culture podcast she co-hosted with fellow "Dance Moms" vets Kelly Hyland, Jill Vertes, and Holly Hatcher-Frazier discussing parenting and pop culture topics from 2020 to 2024. She also launched a jewelry business and sat on the Board of Directors for The Unity Project, an organization that brought together celebrities and content creators with fans to support various causes.

Chloe Lukasiak's mom, Christi, also appeared on "Dance Mom" from Seasons 1 through 4, and her tenure there was marked tension with the other series regulars. She squabbled openly with Miller over perceived favoritism extended towards Maddie and Kenzie Ziegler, as well as with the Ziegler sisters' mom, Melissa Gisoni. In a 2017 interview with People, Lukasiak commented on pushing back against Miller. "What's the source of the drama. It's Abby. She's a strong personality and it's difficult to stand up to her."

After joining Chloe to leave in Season 4, Lukasiak has kept busy with a wide variety of pursuits. She co-hosts a "Dance Moms" rewatch podcast, "Back to the Barre," with Brooke and Paige Hyland's mother, Kelly, and oversees Adulting 101, a business which advises Gen Z women on life skills. Lukasiak is also active with YourMomCares, a nonprofit founded by the mothers of celebrities like Jonah Hill and Adam Levine that promotes access to mental healthcare for young people.

Elliana Walmsley's tenure on "Dance Moms" was brief, but she's managed to parlay that fame into a career both on and off stage. A member of the ALDC mini team in Season 6, she joined the elite team in Season 7 but departed at the end of the year, returing only for occasional appearances in Season 8. By that time, she had already stepped into the spotlight, touring with fellow "Dance Moms" album Maesi Caes and starring in the Off-Broadway production "Dance Divas Nutcracker."

Stints on "Dancing with the Stars: Juniors" soon followed, as did a leading role in the "Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes" at New York's Radio City Music Hall in 2019 and 2020. In 2020, she joined the YouTube series "Chicken Girls" as a main cast member in Season 7 and continues to appear on the program. Walmsley is also a popular YouTube personality with more than 2.2 million subscribers.

Iowans Maesi Caes and her mother, Jaime Caes, joined "Dance Moms" in Season 7 and remained with the series until the elite team was broken up in Episode 25 ("Everybody's Replaceable... Even Abby"). The pair briefly appeared in the Season 8 special "The New Team," but did not return to the ALDC or the series after that. Since then, Maesi has maintained a relatively low profile on television while continuing to dance in various capacities.

Caes made guest appearances on the talent series "Little Big Shots" and the short-lived "World of Dance" and on an episode of JoJo Siwa's "JoJo's Juice" series. She also toured as a dancer with Justin Bieber in 2016. More recently, Caes completed her high school education and began studies at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, where she is a member of its dance team, the Golden Gophers. Like most of her "Dance Mom" co-stars, she also has an active presence on social media.

One of the most memorable altercations in "Dance Moms" history took place between Abby Lee Miller and Kelly Hyland over the former's alleged lack of attention to her two daughters, Brooke and Paige. This culminated in a physical dust-up between Miller and Hyland that resulted in both daughters departing the series.

Brooke — the eldest of three children by Hyland and her ex-husband Randy — began appearing with younger sister Paige in Season 1 and left during Season 4. After a brief foray into pop music in 2013, she earned a degree in marketing and management information from Ohio University before launching a second and successful career as a content creator. 

Among Hyland's many social media pursuits are vlogging via her YouTube channel and a food blog, @bitesized_foodie. In 2024, the Hyland sisters returned to the "Dance Moms" universe for the reunion special; in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Brooke reflected on the Season 4 fight between Miller and her mother. "It's become a TikTok trend," she noted. "The reunion was the first time we've sat there and gone, 'Wow, this happened.' And it was my mom and my dance teacher, who was a very important person in my life. It was really hard."

In 2014, Brooke Hyland's younger sister, Paige, filed a lawsuit against Abby Lee Miller, accusing her of assault after an incident in which Miller angrily threw a chair while Paige was in the room. The suit was dismissed in 2015 but it effectively ended the Hylands' association with "Dance Moms" for a long time.

Since then, Paige has maintained a distance from dance while forging her own career and life paths. She graduated from high school in 2019 and earned a degree in business administration from West Virginia University in 2023. She is also a model and popular influencer on social media, with over 4 million followers. In 2024, the Hyland sisters discussed the impact of their time on the reality series on the "Dance Moms" reunion special. "It definitely made me stronger," she told E! News. "As I've gotten older, you can say whatever you want to me and I will not cry. Because I cried enough in the past."

A member of the Abby Lee Miller dance team at the age of eight, Kelly Hyland returned to the studio with daughters Brooke and Paige for Seasons 1 through 4 of "Dance Moms." Her tenure on the series was marked by conflict over Abby Lee Miller's alleged lack of attention toward her daughters, which culminated in a meme-generating Season 4 physical altercation that led to the Hylands' dismissal from the studio and the show. A flurry of lawsuits followed, filed against Miller and the series' production company, Collins Avenue Entertainment, all of which were dismissed or settled in 2014 and 2015. Since then, Hyland and her daughters have kept the "Dance Moms" universe at arm's length ... though also at not too great a distance.

Hyland served as co-host of two podcasts with "Dance Moms" connections: "Back to the Barre" with Christi Lukasiak, and "Because Mom Said So," with Jill Vertes, Melissa Giosoni, and Holly Hatcher-Frazier. Hyland also made headlines in 2024 for a breast cancer diagnosis, for which she successfully completed her first round of chemotherapy in August of that year.

Kendall Vertes was featured on "Dance Moms" from Seasons 2 through 7, with a brief break to perform with Cathy Nesbitt-Stein's Candy Apple's Dance Center. Vertes later joined the Irreplaceables dance team in Season 7 and toured with them in 2017. During this time period, she also released a single, "Wear 'Em Out," in 2015, and appeared in videos for JoJo Siwa and Todrick Hall.

After her stint with "Dance Moms," she graduated from Penn-Trafford High School in 2021 and studied at James Madison University, where as part of the school's dance team, she won a national championship in 2024. She's also acted in several independent and direct-to-video features, including "Santa in Training" and "Anastasia" with Brandon Routh.

She also joined other "Dance Moms" vets for the 2024 reunion special, which for Vertes, was an emotionally challenging but ultimately positive scenario. "It was definitely a very vulnerable experience for us," she told Yahoo Entertainment. "But I'm glad that the girls were there. We get each other. We can talk each other through any situation, and I'm very thankful that I had them there."