'Dancing With the Stars': Meet the Season 18 Cast

''Full House'' and ''Wonder Years'' faves; Olympic gold medalists; a Real Housewife of Atlanta: Annie Barrett on dozen new arrivals to Planet Mirrorballus
By Annie Barrett
March 04, 2014 at 02:05 PM EST

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NeNe Leakes & Tony Dovolani

Saint Tony gets another drama queen! It’s because he’s so gosh darn agreeable and patient. The Real Housewives of Atlanta star, 46, never backs down from a chance to be brutally honest. Prepare for a NeNe-Bruno Tonioli blowout that may require subtitles.

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Charlie White & Sharna Burgess

Charlie, 26, and his Sochi gold medalist ice dancing partner Meryl Davis have their work cut (ice-carved?) out for them with two of DWTS‘s hottest pros?.

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Meryl Davis & Maksim Chmerkovskiy

?Hello! Welcome back, Maks! I can’t wait for the Bad Boy of the Ballroom to incorporate the phrase ”Sex on a Twizzle” into his training (in reference to himself, of course) with ice dancing’s golden girl, 27.

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Sean Avery & Karina Smirnoff

The Canadian former hockey pro and ”bad boy” of the ice (you better step it up/reinvent yourself, Charlie White!) has spoken out for gay rights and interned at Vogue. What can’t the 33-year-old do?! The Argentine tango?

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Candace Cameron Bure & Mark Ballas

The former Full House actress, 37, doesn’t look a day over D.J., and she’s got ”Tanner” — the No. 1 mandate on Dancing With the Stars — in her blood.

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Drew Carey & Cheryl Burke

The price must have been right for the game show host/actor/comedian, 55, to sign on the gem-studded line and commit his life to the cha cha cha. He may be the most familiar face of the bunch.

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Danica McKellar & Valentin Chmerkovskiy

Wait, did I really just call Drew Carey the most familiar when both D.J. Tanner and Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years (now 39 and an author of multiple books about math!) are in the mix? For shame.

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Billy Dee Williams & Emma Slater

I’m probably underestimating the DWTS/Star Wars crossover audience, too. The swing standards singer, 76, played Lando Calrissian in Episodes IV-VI. When you think about it, Star Wars is a fitting alternate title for Dancing With the Stars.

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Amy Purdy & Derek Hough

The actress and former Amazing Race contestant, 34, lost both legs to bacterial meningitis at 19 and began snowboarding with prosthetic legs a few months later. She’s cofounder of the non-profit organization Active Adaptive Sports, a category into which ballroom dancing will fit quite nicely. Not to mention, Derek Hough can’t lose.

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Cody Simpson & Witney Carson

The 17-year-old Australian pop singer has the biggest social media following by far — but do any of his young fans watch Dancing With the Stars?

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Diana Nyad & Henry Byalikov

The world record-breaking long-distance swimmer, 64, is an author, motivational speaker, and all-around cool lady. If she can swim from Florida to Cuba without a shark cage, surely she can quickstep past Len Goodman and avoid his dreaded side-eye. This is Troupe member Henry’s first season with a celebrity partner!

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James Maslow & Peta Murgatroyd

The actor and singer, 23, is best known for playing James Diamond on Nickelodeon’s Big Time Rush. If he can keep channeling a character named Diamond, he’ll have no problem assimilating into the sparkly atmosphere of Planet Mirrorballus (as the audience collectively wonders, ”?Wait, who?”).

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