Julia Stiles Joins Dancing With the Stars: What We Know

Julia Stiles is heading to the ballroom. The actress best known for 10 Things I Hate About You and Save the Last Dance is joining the cast of Dancing With the Stars Season 35, and honestly, the casting makes almost too much sense.

The news is already getting fans talking because Stiles isn’t exactly a random celebrity stepping onto the dance floor. More than 25 years ago, she starred in one of the most memorable dance movies of the early 2000s.

Now she’s getting another chance to dance in front of a huge audience, this time under the bright lights of the Dancing With the Stars ballroom.

Julia Stiles Is Joining Dancing With the Stars

The news that Julia Stiles is joining Dancing With the Stars has quickly become one of the more unexpected celebrity casting stories surrounding Season 35.

Page Six reported that Stiles will compete for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy when the new season arrives this fall. TMZ also reported that Stiles is among the celebrities joining the upcoming season. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

The timing couldn’t be more interesting.

Stiles has spent much of her career being associated with some of the most recognizable movies of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Bringing her into a dance competition naturally brings all of that nostalgia with her.

Why Julia Stiles and Dancing With the Stars Make So Much Sense

Let’s be honest: if you’re going to cast Julia Stiles on a dance show, there is one movie everyone is going to remember.

Save the Last Dance.

Released in 2001, the movie became one of Stiles’ signature roles. She played Sara Johnson, a young woman who moves to Chicago and becomes immersed in a new world of dance, friendship and romance.

The movie has remained a nostalgic favorite for many viewers who grew up watching it in the early 2000s.

Which makes the idea of Stiles walking into a ballroom more than a little amusing.

The internet is almost guaranteed to bring up Save the Last Dance every time she steps onto the floor.

Yes, Julia Stiles Has a Dance Connection

This is probably the biggest reason the casting has people so interested.

Julia Stiles isn’t being remembered for dance purely because of a random movie role. Save the Last Dance made dance a major part of her screen identity.

In fact, the movie’s famous audition sequence remains one of the scenes most closely associated with her career.

That doesn’t mean Stiles has an automatic advantage on Dancing With the Stars.

Ballroom dancing is very different from performing choreography for a movie, and the competition requires learning completely different styles under intense time pressure.

Still, she probably won’t be walking into the ballroom completely unfamiliar with the demands of performance.

Julia Stiles Has Actually Talked About Doing DWTS Before

Here’s the part that makes the new casting even more fun.

Stiles has previously talked about her love for Dancing With the Stars.

In a 2025 interview with People, she described the show as her version of Monday Night Football and said she had gone down YouTube rabbit holes watching old performances.

She had also discussed the possibility of doing the show before, although living in New York had been a practical obstacle.

So this doesn’t appear to be a completely out-of-nowhere decision. Stiles has been a fan of the show for years.

When Does Julia Stiles’ Dancing With the Stars Season Start?

Dancing With the Stars Season 35 is scheduled to return in September.

The season is set to premiere on September 15, 2026, with the show airing on ABC and streaming on Disney+.

The complete celebrity and professional-dancer lineup is scheduled to be revealed on September 2 on Good Morning America.

That means there is still plenty of room for more casting news, surprises and speculation before the ballroom officially opens.

ABC has already announced several Season 35 participants, while additional names have been reported by entertainment outlets in the days leading up to the official reveal. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

Who Could Julia Stiles Be Dancing With?

This is the question fans will probably start asking next.

At the moment, Stiles’ professional dance partner has not been officially announced.

And that’s actually a good thing for the buildup.

One of the most entertaining parts of every Dancing With the Stars season is seeing which celebrity gets paired with which professional.

The chemistry between the partners can completely change how a contestant performs.

A great professional can take someone who has almost no ballroom experience and turn them into a genuine contender.

Could Julia Stiles Actually Win the Mirrorball Trophy?

It’s far too early to know.

Being comfortable performing on camera is one thing. Learning ballroom technique, remembering complicated choreography and performing live under pressure is something else entirely.

But Stiles has a few things working in her favor.

• She has years of professional acting experience.
• She has a strong connection to dance through Save the Last Dance.
• She already has a nostalgic fan base.
• She is familiar with performing for large audiences.
• She has publicly expressed interest in the show before.

Whether that translates into a Mirrorball Trophy is another question.

Fans Are Already Thinking About Save the Last Dance

The funniest part of this entire casting announcement may be what happens when Stiles finally performs her first routine.

You already know someone is going to post a clip from Save the Last Dance.

Someone else will compare the choreography.

Someone will ask whether Sara Johnson would approve.

And then the nostalgia machine will take over social media.

That’s exactly why this is such smart casting.

It gives longtime viewers a reason to tune in while potentially introducing a younger audience to an actress they may know from clips, memes or streaming-era discoveries of her older movies.

Julia Stiles Is More Than Just a 2000s Throwback

It would be easy to frame this as a simple nostalgia story.

But Stiles’ career goes far beyond her early romantic comedies and dance movies.

She has appeared in the Bourne franchise, worked in television and continued taking on different types of roles throughout her career.

Earlier this year, she also spoke about the realities of working in a changing entertainment industry and balancing her career with motherhood. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

Her appearance on Dancing With the Stars therefore feels less like a comeback and more like another unexpected chapter in a career that has lasted decades.

Why This Could Become One of DWTS’ Most Talked-About Castings

The best reality-TV casting isn’t always about choosing the biggest celebrity.

Sometimes it’s about choosing someone who gives viewers a reason to care.

Julia Stiles has exactly that.

Older fans remember her movies.

Younger viewers can discover her through the clips and conversations that will inevitably spread across social media.

And fans of Dancing With the Stars get something even better: a contestant who already has a genuine connection to dance.

The Big Question: Can Julia Stiles Dance?

Technically, that’s what we’re going to find out.

Her performance in Save the Last Dance gives her an interesting backstory, but ballroom dancing will test her in completely different ways.

She’ll have to learn styles that require precise footwork, timing, posture and coordination while performing them live.

And unlike a movie set, there won’t be endless takes to get the perfect performance.

That’s what makes DWTS so addictive.

What We Still Don’t Know About Julia Stiles on DWTS

There are still several important details fans are waiting for.

• Who will be Julia Stiles’ professional dance partner?
• What will her first dance style be?
• What song will she perform?
• How much dance training will she have before the premiere?
• How far can she make it in the competition?

Those answers should become clearer as the Season 35 premiere approaches.

So, Is Julia Stiles Really on Dancing With the Stars?

Yes — reports from Page Six and TMZ say Julia Stiles is joining Dancing With the Stars Season 35.

The only important distinction is that the complete official Season 35 cast announcement has not happened yet. ABC has scheduled the full reveal for September 2 on Good Morning America. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

So if you’ve been searching for “Is Julia Stiles on Dancing With the Stars?”, you’ve found the answer: she is reported to be part of the upcoming Season 35 cast.