Bristol Palin was invited back this season. So was Kirstie Alley. Click through to see how the stars did, when they were sent home, and who won the Mirror Ball trophy.
Claim to fame: “Baywatch” babe, a tumultuous marriage to rocker Tommy Lee
Last seen on: Season 10 in 2010
Standout moment: Despite delivering her most graceful performance of the season, the actress-model and partner Damian Whitewood were booted off to the judges’ dismay. However, she and Whitewood received a standing ovation from the ballroom.
Week 1 All-Star elimination:
While she was a fan favorite, her cha-cha to Amy Winehouse’s “You’re No Good” only earned 17 points. She and partner Tristan MacManus were the first couple to unceremoniously get the boot at the end of a very long, two-hour results show. | Recap (Werner Kerschbaummayer / EPA)
Claim to fame: 98 Degrees singer, Nick Lachey’s younger brother
Last seen on: Season 2 in 2006
Standout moment: The former pop star and partner Cheryl Burke outlasted pro wrestler Stacy Keibler, thought to be the favored finalist, along with NFL great Jerry Rice. Lachey and Burke received their first perfect score from the judges in Week 6 of the competition, for their tango to “Shut Up.” They received two more perfect scores in later weeks.
Week 3 All-Star elimination:
This double-elimination episode sent home not one but two former “DWTS” champs. Lachey’s “Crazy In Love” cha-cha with partner Anna Trebunskaya earned the couple 24 points from the judges. But the Season 2 champion couldn’t quite get his foothold in the competition and found himself in jeopardy in the first week. Despite his best efforts to show his chest and bare his b-boy skills, he suffered from performing first in the competition. | Recap (Adam Larkey / Associated Press)
Claim to fame: Race car driver, Season 5 champ
Last seen on: Season 5 in 2007
Standout moment: Castroneves and partner Julianne Hough, above, wowed the audience with a high-scoring mambo (27 out of 30 points from the judges), making the racer an early favorite. Hough received an Emmy nomination for the upbeat dance.
Week 3 All-Star elimination:
The three-time Indianapolis 500 winner made a fatal mistake by tripping over partner Chelsie Hightower during their quickstep, which still earned them 25.5 points. He managed to keep his mega-watt smile, good humor and gratitude on throughout, saying thanks to Team Penske, his partner and to America. | Recap (A.J. Mast / Associated Press)Advertisement
Claim to fame: Being former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter, outspoken stance on gay marriage
Last seen on: Season 11 in 2010
Standout moment: Bristol “the Pistol” got high ratings for the show during her run with partner Mark Ballas, though there was quite a bit of controversy about poor performances that nonetheless got her to the finals. Death threats and allegations of fraudulent voting shined brighter than her sequins throughout the season.
Week 4 All-Star elimination:
Despite tension with partner Mark Ballas (tension that included accusations that he wanted a different partner and missed rehearsals) the couple reconciled in the fourth week of the competition, only to be sent home. They decided to put their differences behind them and compromise by performing a ‘50s-style sock hop with their “At the Hop” routine,; they only earned 22.5 points and were sent packing. | Recap (Adam Larkey / Associated Press)
Claim to fame: French actor, “Brothers & Sisters” star
Last seen on: Season 6 in 2009
Standout moment: Fans thought that Marini and partner Cheryl Burke were robbed, coming in less than 1% behind gymnast Shawn Johnson and her partner, Mark Ballas, who won the Mirror Ball trophy in Season 6.
Week 8 All-Star elimination:
The couples had to perform two whole dances: an individual ballroom dance with a military theme in honor of Veterans Day and a Latin trio performance with another professional or troupe member added to their group. Marini and partner Peta Murgatroyd looked Top Gun cool in their black flight suits performing what might have been the quickest quickstep in the ballroom to “Highway to the Danger Zone,” but Marini had a few “little slips in his feet.” His trio salsa included Chelsie Hightowner, but his timing and musicality were a bit off. Gilles and Peta received a 29.5 for their quickstep, and a 29 for their salsa trio but the judges’ scores weren’t enough to keep him safe and he was sent packing. | Recap (Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
By Nardine Saad
Claim to fame: “Cheers” and “Fat Actress,” Jenny Craig spokeswoman
Last seen on: Season 12 in 2011
Standout moments: A pig-inspired Twitter war with comedian George Lopez and a few rumbles and tumbles with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy, the bad boy of ballroom.
Week 8 All-Star elimination:
Despite her Viennese waltz to Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” being the best dance of her season (she scored a 27 for it), her winged paso doble trio to Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life” was considered “sloppy” and lacking “finesse.” She was sent home along with Gilles Marini in the week’s double elimination. | Recap (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Claim to fame: Olympic speed skater
Last seen on: Season 4 in 2007
Standout moment: Ohno is one of many Olympic competitors on “DWTS”: Shawn Johnson, Evan Lysacek and Kristi Yamaguchi have made it to the finals or won the competition. Ohno and partner Julianne Hough earned the show’s first perfect score from the judges and were named champions of their season after delivering a sizzling rumba, paso doble and freestyle hip-hop dance.
Week 9 All-Star elimination:
Ohno and partner Karina Smirnoff were sent home after performing a modern Big Top Jazz routine with lots of circus tricks and lifts that seemed to exhaust Ohno. Judge Bruno Tonioli dubbed it “a blend of Cirque du Soleil and ‘Clockwork Orange.’” After displaying impressive mime skills behind the curtain, Apolo slipped as he made his way to the center of the dance floor, which threw him for the remainder of the dance. The couple also danced a rumba to Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror,” for which they received a perfect 30, but it wasn’t enough to keep them in the competition. “This competition was hard from the beginning,” the gold medalist said. “Karina’s a champion. I’ve learned so much about her, she taught me so much about myself... Every single person who does this show is a champion. It forces you to become a champion in your own right.” | Recap (Carol Kaelson / Associated Press)Advertisement
Claim to fame: Dallas Cowboys running back
Last seen on: Season 3 in 2006
Standout moment: Smith paved the way for NFL players on the show, including ballroom favorite Chad Ochocinco Johnson. He was the first athlete to win the competition and was credited with “making dancing look manly.”
Week 9 All-Star elimination:
Smith and partner Cheryl Burke performed an Espionage Lindy Hop in which she was the bad guy, he was the good guy and they were trying to blow up the Mirrorball trophy. Their second dance, a flashy Argentine tango, was a little out of Smith’s expertise of “ease and elegance.” The two dances earned them a total of 54 points and they were sent packing by the voters, leaving only female all-stars to battle through to the finals. | Recap (Adam Larkey / Associated Press)
Claim to fame: Olympic gymnast
Last seen on: Season 6 in 2009
Standout moment: The show’s youngest competitor at the time, Johnson and partner Mark Ballas, pictured, came in less than 1% ahead of actor Gilles Marini for the Mirror Ball trophy.
Week 10 All-Star elimination:
The judges’ scores were close, with each of the three remaining couples doing one last instant dance for judges’ points. Though Shawn and partner Derek Hough brought the house down (including special audience guest member Julianne Hough) with their perfect 30 “Respect” cha cha -- with a signature Derek crotch bob added, just for kicks -- the trophy eluded her yet again in the finals. | Recap (Kelsey McNewal / Associated Press)
Claim to fame: Former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, “The Bachelor” contestant
Last seen on: Season 8 in 2009
Standout moment: Rycroft appeared on “DWTS” one week after the finale of one of the most-talked-about seasons of ABC’s “The Bachelor,” with only two days to prepare for the debut. She and partner Tony Dovolani waltzed their way to third place during their season.
Week 10 champion:
It was like a dream season for the erstwhile Bachelorette and the Albanian stallion. They just kept getting stronger with each week and their judges’ scores and viewer votes vaulted them over fellow finalists. | Recap (Kelsey McNeal / Associated Press)
