Photo: Tendancer / Wikimedia Commons (GFDL)
Laurie Hernandez is an American gymnast who won team gold and balance beam silver with the "Final Five" at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Months later she joined Dancing with the Stars season 23 and, at just 16, won the Mirrorball Trophy with Val Chmerkovskiy — his second title.
Their joyful partnership cemented Chmerkovskiy's status as the pro producers trusted with the show's biggest stars, a reputation that makes his 2026 suspension all the more remarkable.