Dance Moms will go down in reality television history for its fiery clashes between teacher Abby Lee Miller and the parents, as well as the undeniable talent from its child cast.
One argument that fans will never forget happened between Kelly Hyland – mother of Brooke and Paige – and Abby.
Hot-headed Abby imitated biting Kelly’s finger, with Kelly retaliating by slapping her around the face and pulling her hair.
READ MORE: Jojo Siwa accidentally butt-dialled dad during sex and he thought she was ‘drowning’
As Kelly celebrates her 52nd birthday (May 16), Daily Star is taking a look at what some of her co-stars have been up to in the years since Dance Moms came to an end.
Tragic cancer battle
(Image: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Abby appeared on Dance Moms for all eight seasons and was arguably the main star, as she was the owner of the dance studio.
In 2016, she pleaded guilty to felony bankruptcy fraud and was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison.
The 57-year-old was released early, but her troubles didn’t end there.
In 2018, she was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma.
This type of fast-growing blood cancer is rare and develops when white blood cells called lymphocytes grow out of control.
Abby was always very open about how her tumour affected her spine, leaving her wheelchair bound.
She had to undergo 10 rounds of chemotherapy and several surgeries and announced in May 2019 that she was finally cancer-free.
Making TV history
(Image: Sarah Morris/Getty Images)
Following the end of Dance Moms, JoJo Siwa’s career has gone from strength to strength.
The 19-year-old dancer has since embarked on a recording career, releasing her first single Boomerang in 2016.
In 2020, she released a festive single called Run Run Rudolph.
She was named one of TIME magazine’s most influential people in the world in September 2020.
Four months later, JoJo came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
In August 2021, JoJo joined season 30 of Dancing With the Stars and made TV history in the process.
She became the first celebrity on the show to be paired with a professional dancer of the same sex.
The Nickelodeon star now regularly shares snippets of her love life on TikTok, where she has 45.9million followers.
Autism row
(Image: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
Maddie Ziegler was just eight years old when she made her Dance Moms debut and it was well-known that she was Abby’s favourite student.
She has continued to be a highly-sought-after dancer and has a close relationship with singer-songwriter Sia, performing in a number of her music videos.
In 2021, Maddie, now 20, stared in Sia’s directorial debut film Music.
The film follows a newly sober drug dealer who becomes the sole guardian of her half-sister Music, a teenage autistic girl.
The film sparked a huge backlash, with viewers criticising Sia for casting an able-bodied, neurotypical person in the lead role.
Many people also criticised Maddie for relying on stereotypical tropes about autistic people for her performance.
Successful writing career
(Image: Araya Doheny/Getty Images)
During her time on the show, Chloe Lukasiak was constantly pitted against Maddie and eventually couldn’t handle the pressure.
Chloe, 21, left the show after four seasons and went on to star in Lifetime’s TV movie Center Stage: On Pointe in 2016.
Since then, Chloe has become a successful writer, releasing her first book, Girl on Pointe: Chloe’s Guide to Taking on the World, in January 2018.
More recently, Chloe has come out as a member of the LGBT community too and gone public with girlfriend Brooklinn Khoury.
She has been right by model Brooklinn’s side, after a pitbull completely ripped off her top lip and she went through reconstructive surgeries.
Transgender star
(Image: @lennon_torres_/Instagram)
Lennon Torres starred as the first male-born contestant on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition.
This show featured young dancers competing for the chance to win a cash prize and ballet school scholarship.
Lennon went on to star in Dance Moms, joining in the shows third season.
In May 2021, the 23-year-old announced on TikTok that she was transitioning, having come out as transgender and non-binary in her sophomore year.
She said: “I’m transitioning! That means I’m transgender if you didn’t know. My pronouns are they/she, which means that they or she are totally fine.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
