HOT GALLERY: Get to Know the Remaining Contestants on Dancing with the Stars Before They Were Famous
Are you dazzled by sequins? Is your heart set aflutter by sexy sambas and salsas? Then you’re probably already watching season 14 of Dancing with the Stars—and if you’re not, you should. Several fan favorites have already been eliminated (including Motown legend Gladys Knight), but the seven remaining contestants are showing off some mad dance skills—and some big personalities. So who will emerge victorious? Here’s our look at the remaining contestants—and their chances to win. By Nina Hämmerling SmithShe’s all grown up, but she’ll always be “Half-Pint” to us. The child star of Little House on the Prairie has appeared in many TV movies and series over the years (including Touched by an Angel, Nip/Tuck, and 7th Heaven), in addition to voicing Batgirl on Batman: The Animated Series, but she will forever be remembered as the smart, tough tomboy Laura Ingalls who had a special relationship with Michael Landon’s “Pa.” Gilbert held one of the most high-powered positions in Hollywood—president of the Screen Actors Guild—from 2001 till 2005. And it’s somewhat incredible that Gilbert is dancing at all: While performing in a touring musical production of Little House on the Prairie in 2010, Gilbert broke her back and had surgery to repair the damage.
Will She Win? It’s not very likely. Though America clearly has warm feelings toward Gilbert, her scores have hovered at the lower end and she’s looked fairly stiff and awkward on the dance floor—understandable, given her injury. “The only time fear comes into play is when I feel that I might fall,” Gilbert has said. “I am very protective of my back. I am learning to let go of that.” Gilbert’s partner, DWTS favorite Maksim Chmerkovskiy, admitted that he had no idea who Gilbert was when they first met.