Photo: Albert Domasin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Maksim "Maks" Chmerkovskiy is a Ukrainian-American ballroom dancer and choreographer who became a star of Dancing with the Stars in its early seasons and won the Mirrorball Trophy in season 18 with Meryl Davis. Fiery and outspoken, he famously clashed with head judge Len Goodman in season 13, declaring the show was his — a moment that defined the Chmerkovskiy family's combative relationship with the judges' desk.
He is the older brother of two-time champion Val Chmerkovskiy.