Who Was the First Winner of Dancing with the Stars

Overview and Answer

Dancing with the Stars premiered in the United States in 2005 as the local version of the global format. The first season crowned a surprise champion: NBA star Emmitt Smith, partnered with professional dancer Cheryl Burke. This evergreen explainer details the original season’s format, scoring, and what made Smith’s win notable, while clarifying common confusion around the title of “first winner” in other versions and years.

Season 1 (U.S.) at a Glance

Season 1 of Dancing with the Stars aired in the summer of 2005 on ABC and established the core template still used today: celebrity–pro pairings, weekly elimination, and a combination of judges’ scores and viewer votes. The season featured eleven celebrities and professional partners across several ballroom and Latin dances, culminating in a two-night finale. Emmitt Smith, the NFL running back and Pro Football Hall of Famer, became the first winner of the U.S. edition, defeating actors Joey Fatone and Drew Lachey in the final vote.

Key Facts Table

Format and Scoring in Season 1

Each week, pairs performed a rehearsed routine and received judges’ scores typically out of 30. Viewers could vote via phone and, later in the season, online for their favorite couple. The combination of judges’ points and viewer votes determined which pairs advanced and which were eliminated. In the finale, the two remaining couples performed multiple dances; the cumulative scores across those performances decided the winner. This dual-system format has remained central to the show, though production specifics and voting mechanisms have evolved over time.

Judges and Scoring Weight

• Judges’ scores provided the baseline ranking each week.
• Viewer votes could shift pairings and influence advancement.
• No publicized exact numeric weight for votes versus judges; producers have typically confirmed both factors matter without releasing a fixed formula.

The First Winner: Emmitt Smith

Emmitt Smith entered Season 1 as an NFL legend and Hall of Famer, bringing widespread name recognition and intense public interest. He trained intensively with professional partner Cheryl Burke, mastering ballroom fundamentals such as posture, timing, and frame. His victory highlighted that athletic discipline can translate effectively to ballroom technique, though it also drew attention to uneven prior experience among contestants. Smith’s win remains the benchmark for the show’s premiere season, setting a high bar for subsequent celebrity winners.

Performance Highlights

• Consistently strong judges’ scores across standard dances: Cha-Cha, Waltz, Rumba, and Quickstep.
• Strong viewer engagement, particularly during nights featuring his well-known persona.
• Memorable final performances that combined technical execution with showmanship.

Common Points of Confusion

Because multiple countries launched their own versions of Dancing with the Stars/Strictly Come Dancing around similar periods, the phrase “first winner” can refer to different shows. Internationally, earlier celebrity ballroom shows existed, while domestically, confusion sometimes arises between the original primetime format and later spin-offs or holiday specials. This explainer focuses on the U.S. primetime ABC series that debuted in 2005, which establishes the context for talking about the first winner in the franchise most audiences recognize. Other regions and spin-offs have their own inaugural champions.

Legacy and Impact

The success of Season 1 and Emmitt Smith’s win demonstrated that a primetime celebrity ballroom competition could attract large audiences and sustain long-term interest. The format’s core elements—paired celebrities, recognizable dances, and a mix of judges and votes—became the blueprint for dozens of international adaptations. Subsequent seasons have iterated on production, casting, and choreography, but the foundational model remains rooted in that first competition.