15 Surprising Facts About the ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 30 Cast

Dan Clarendon September 20, 2021, 5:00 pm

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Dancing With the Stars Season 30 cast members Iman Shumpert, Suni Lee, and Cody Rigsby — ABC/Maarten de Boer

It’s hard to believe we will soon be watching the 30th season of Dancing With the Stars. But sure enough, the ABC dancing competition is waltzing its latest batch of celebrities out to the dance floor this Monday, September 20.

This season’s Mirrorball hopefuls include a Bachelor, a Spice Girl, a U.S. gymnast, and…a Peloton instructor? Hey, maybe ABC’s definition of “star” is a little generous, but you never know who will break out each season.

Ahead of Monday’s premiere, we’re rounding up 15 fun facts about the Season 30 cast, one for each contestant!

Jimmie Allen shared the screen with Taylor Swift

'Dancing with the Stars' Season 30 Cast, Jimmie Allen

Maarten de Boer/ABC

The country singer appeared in a 2013 Diet Coke ad with Swift, singing a bar of her song “22.”

Melanie “Melanie C” Chisholm competed in the London Triathlon

I did it! 😀RT @bloodwise_uk: Here's @MelanieCmusic after completing the Blenheim Triathlon. Well done! @BlenheimTri pic.twitter.com/hPWVGFN5fE

— Melanie C / Mel C (@MelanieCmusic) June 4, 2016

The Spice Girls star also completed the Blenheim Palace Triathlon. Sporty Spice, indeed!

Christine Chiu was almost one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

The Bling Empire star told TMRWxTODAY that she was offered a role on theBravo’s RHOBH but had to back out because of family obligations.

Brian Austin Green released a hip-hop album

That would be the Beverly Hills, 90210 actor’s One Stop Carnival, from 1996. AllMusic critic Jason Ankeny called it “pallid, uninspired, and insufferably arrogant.”

Melora Hardin lost a big part in Back to the Future

She was the first actress cast as Marty McFly’s girlfriend, Jennifer Parker. But when Michael J. Fox replaced Eric Stoltz as Marty, she was deemed too tall to play his onscreen partner, as she told WIRED in 2011.

Olivia Jade already has Tyra Banks’ support

Jade’s involvement with DWTS is bound to be controversial, considering her famous parents, Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli, went to jail for their role in a nationwide college admissions scheme. But DWTS host Banks called Jade “so brave” in an Entertainment Tonight interview, adding that she trusts Jade didn’t know about her parents’ activities.

Matt James became Bachelor because of Bachelorette fave Tyler Cameron’s mother

James is friends with Bachelorette contestant Tyler Cameron, and it was Cameron’s mom who nominated James for the franchise since she wanted him to have the same growth opportunity her son had.

Amanda Kloots was a Radio City Rockette

The cohost of The Talk hosted some of her “Rockette sisters” at her home last summer following the death of her husband, Broadway star Nick Cordero.

Martin Kove costarred with his son in Cobra Kai

Jesse Kove, one of the Karate Kid actor’s children, played a varsity captain who bullies a younger version of Martin’s character in the Season 3 episode of Cobra Kai.

Suni Lee is the first person of Hmong descent to make the U.S. Olympic team

The Hmong people are an ethnic group that migrated from China to Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand in the 19th century, CBS 8 reports.

Mike “The Miz” Mizanin was a Real World cast member

Years before his WWE fame, this wrestler was one of the housemates on the MTV reality show’s 10th season. He has also participated in and hosted many seasons of The Challenge.

Kenya Moore starred in a Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri music video

'Dancing with the Stars' Season 30 Cast, Kenya Moore

Maarten de Boer/ABC

The Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member was Jay-Z’s leading lady in the music video for “Money Ain’t a Thang,” a track he did with Jermaine Dupri.

Cody Rigsby was already a dancer

The Peloton instructor was a professional dancer for five years, telling IN Magazine earlier this year that dancing helped him “learn to perform, know how to engage with a camera and how to use musicality to create an experience that people connect to.”