Dancing With The Stars Winners Who Are Unrecognizable Without Makeup

Ahead of every "Dancing with the Stars" performance, the show's female celebrities have to spend a little more time prepping than their male competitors, thanks to the hair and beauty team's dedication to making them look like real ballroom dancers. While fans are used to seeing many of the women in heavy makeup because of their careers as singers, actors, models, and TV hosts, the glam on "DWTS" is next level — some stars are almost unrecognizable when they hit the dance floor with their strip lashes, spray tan, bright lipstick, and bronzer. As it turns out, many of the show's mirrorball trophy champs also look pretty different when every ounce of their foundation, concealer, and mascara is stripped away.

A lot of work goes into creating those ballroom beauty looks that are bold enough to be seen at a distance; former "DWTS" EP Joe Sungkur told Business Insider female celebs can spend as long as four hours getting their hair and makeup done. For some of the show's more permanent stars, getting all that makeup off after a performance is serious business. "I immediately clean my face with an oil makeup remover, cleanse, use an enzyme peel, and finish with vitamin C oil and moisturizer," pro dancer Witney Carson told L'Oréal Paris Beauty Magazine. Some "DWTS" stars also give their skin a breather when they're not filming; pro-turned-judge Julianne Hough goes makeup-free on the reg.

As for the show's mirrorball trophy winners, many of them like to keep things more natural at times, too. They also have some hard-won beauty wisdom that keeps them looking their best when they aren't wearing makeup.

Derek Hough has won more mirrorball trophies than any other "Dancing with the Stars" pro, and former "Wild On..." host Brooke Burke had the honor of helping him take home his first. The dynamic duo was partnered up for Season 7 of the show in 2008, and Burke later returned to the ballroom to host Seasons 10 through 17. In an exclusive 2022 interview with The List, the fitness and wellness influencer said of her experience on the show, "It taught me how to face fear."

Burke drew from that bravery in 2009 when she removed her makeup in front of a television audience on "The Doctors." She revealed that she had melasma, a condition that causes dark patches of skin, saying it first appeared when she got pregnant. "I have mastered the art of covering it," she stated, adding that she has to avoid sunlight like the plague because UV light can worsen the hyperpigmentation. She also felt like wearing makeup was a must at the time. "I never used to wear makeup when I wasn't working. Now I can't leave the house without thick cover-up, which stinks," she told Fitness magazine in 2012. While laser treatments and peels didn't improve her condition, in a 2022 blog post, she revealed that Vitamin C was making a difference. "I never skip sunscreen, not even in the car," she added. She was clearly feeling much more confident about her skin by 2024 — she went sans makeup to film a TikTok video for OneSkin, a beauty brand she had a paid partnership with.

Before Shawn Johnson and her pro partner, Mark Ballas, waltzed away with the win on Season 8 of "Dancing with the Stars" in 2009, the Olympic gold medalist had plenty of experience working up a sweat with makeup on. However, beauty wasn't something she was passionate about when she headed to Beijing to represent her country in 2008. During an Instagram Live video, she revealed that she borrowed teammate Nastia Liukin's black eyeliner for the all-around competition, and both gymnasts had a good laugh over Johnson's questionable decision to apply it below her lower lash line. But remember: She was just 16 years old at the time, and she had bigger things to worry about than makeup.

Johnson admitted that she was also pretty clueless about skincare back then. "I would use 10 makeup wipes every night before I went to bed and thought that was good enough," she told New Beauty. "I would fake bake, use tanning beds, and I never wore sunscreen." However, she did a total 180 as an adult, revealing that she became so passionate about skincare that she had accumulated hundreds of lotions and potions. So, it's probably a good thing that her interest in one beauty product category waned after Johnson and her husband, Andrew East, became first-time parents in 2019: cosmetics. "I barely wear makeup, and I think taking care of my skin makes me feel the most confident," Johnson revealed. These days, the mother of three is a popular mommy influencer, and the proof that she prefers a more natural look is all over her socials, including the screengrab above from a 2023 GRWM video.

Nicole Scherzinger's stunning transformation from a sexy pop diva into a respected Broadway star has been exciting for her fans to witness. Amid that journey, the Pussycat Dolls singer joined forces with Derek Hough to win Season 10 of "Dancing with the Stars" in 2010. She's also spilled a few beauty secrets along the way, including a trick for looking glamorous with little makeup on that could have come straight out of the playbook of her "Sunset Boulevard" character, Norma Desmond. "I think a bold lip is the perfect trick when you've just got off a long flight and just want to pull on a hat and sunnies but there's a chance paparazzi might be waiting!" she told HuffPost UK in 2016.

When the "When I Grow Up" singer was growing up, a bold lip was not an option for her. In a 2020 video for Marie Claire about her beauty routine, she recalled how she had to become a makeup MacGyver when she was a little girl because her mom wouldn't allow her to wear lipstick. Her solution? She tinted some Vaseline herself and put it on her lips. However, Scherzinger's mom was clearly onto something with that ban, as "The Masked Singer" judge's skin looks dewy and flawless without a makeup mask. One of her tricks for achieving that radiant glow? She starts her day by sprinkling collagen powder in her cup of joe.

"Dirty Dancing" star Jennifer Grey had to overcome a serious injury during her inspiring quest to be crowned "Dancing with the Stars" champion in 2010. Luckily, the Season 11 winner was in the very capable hands of Derek Hough, who ensured that she had the time of her life on the show, despite her physical setbacks.

Grey's appearance was a frequent topic of discussion in the media during the competition, thanks to her plastic surgery transformation. Getting a nose job stopped her career dead in its tracks for a bit, but her stint on "DWTS" proved that everyone had finally moved on from the change. Since then, she's starred in a handful of movies and TV series, including Jesse Eisenberg's 2024 dramedy "A Real Pain." While prepping for a red carpet event amid its press run, Grey let her fans watch facialist to the stars Fabricio Ormonde work his magic on her bare skin in an Instagram video. Grey frequently appears with little or no makeup on in her social media photos, and she explained why in a 2020 NewBeauty interview. "I've noticed that after a certain age, the less makeup I have on, the younger I look, and the more makeup I have on, the older I look," she said. And with no makeup on at all? Baby has the skin of a baby, clearly.

Derek Hough continued filling up his trophy case when he scored yet another talented partner for "Dancing with the Stars" Season 17 in 2013: "Glee" alum Amber Riley. Their victory was made even sweeter by their last dance getting a perfect score. Riley is just as dedicated to skincare as she was to killing it on the dance floor, and her makeup-less face definitely deserves nothing but 10s.

While discussing all things beauty in a 2020 Marie Claire video, Riley revealed that her favorite version of herself isn't the one that's been powdered and painted for a Hollywood event. "I feel the most beautiful when my skin is clean, when I first get up in the morning and wash my face and put my moisturizer on and I see this brown, caramel-ish glow," she said. Riley is so passionate about beauty that she participated in the 2022 documentary "The Black Beauty Effect," which explores how Black women have successfully made the beauty industry more inclusive. While promoting the film, Riley told People she used to bring her own products to some sets because makeup artists were woefully unprepared to perform their artistry on a Black woman's skin — and she certainly deserves props for not letting them mar such a perfect canvas. "I take so much pride in my skin and taking care of it," Riley told Marie Claire.

One of the saddest details about Rumer Willis' life is the relentless online bullying she experienced as a teenager. Apparently, some people (we're glaring at you, Perez Hilton) thought the daughter of Hollywood heavyweights Demi Moore and Bruce Willis should look a certain way, and because she evidently didn't, they felt this gave them license to be ruthlessly cruel. Rumer could have shunned the spotlight to escape her critics, but instead, she embraced it.

Rumer's refusal to withdraw from public life paid off when she and Val Chmerkovskiy won Season 2020 of "Dancing with the Stars" in 2015. She got another big confidence boost when she woke up feeling pretty great about herself on her 35th birthday in 2024. In an Instagram post, she shared that becoming a first-time mother a year earlier was the ultimate self-esteem booster. "I feel like myself without any make up on and I feel more beautiful every day," she captioned the above-left image, "especially when I look into my daughters face and I see so much of myself and her."

Before Robert Irwin's spicy transformation into an underwear model was the talk of Season 34 of "Dancing with the Stars" in 2025, his older sister, Bindi Irwin, competed on the show at age 17. The year prior to her 2015 debut in the "DWTS" ballroom alongside partner Derek Hough, the Season 21 victor shared a makeup-free selfie and encouraged other girls to embrace their natural beauty. "The world puts way too much pressure on girls to be perfect," she captioned the Instagram pic.

While the daughter of late "Crocodile Hunter" star Steve Irwin seemed to prefer a more understated beauty look back then, she wasn't crying any crocodile tears over her over-the-top "DWTS" makeup. She gamely let the show's glam squad dramatically alter her appearance each week, and she was especially unrecognizable with the blood-red lipstick, dark eye makeup, and pointy fangs they used to transform her into a vampire for Halloween week. While Bindi later said that one makeup product she can't live without is eyeliner, it seems that being on "DWTS" didn't make her into a full-blown cosmetics convert. "I am not fond of having to put on makeup and a dress and shave my legs," she confessed on Kylie Kelce's "Not Gonna Lie" podcast in 2025. She added that she also prefers dressing in her family's favorite color, khaki, but it's not the only neutral you'll see her wearing in her fresh-faced social media photos, as evidenced by the 2024 snapshot above.

Over the years, many members of "Bachelor Nation" have put on their boogie shoes and extended their 15 minutes of fame on "Dancing with the Stars." But viewers clearly had no complaints about "The Bachelorette" star Hannah Brown joining the Season 28 cast in 2019, as they voted her and pro dancer Alan Bersten all the way to victory. Amid competing on the show, Brown shared a little beauty-related trivia about her season of "The Bachelor" in an interview with Into the Gloss. "When I wasn't on a date, I didn't wear makeup. I had the worst skin out of all the girls, but I was one of the only ones who wouldn't wear makeup when we were just sitting around," she said. Brown also described her "DWTS" makeup as being "like paint," saying it took two different makeup remover wipes and two cleansings to get it all off.

Brown struggles with acne, and she revealed that the harsh treatment of her skin during the dance competition made her break out. Unfortunately, she also can't figure out how to use one of the most popular products for camouflaging those pesky red bumps. In a 2024 GRWM video on TikTok, the former beauty pageant competitor admitted that she had no clue what she was doing while trying to apply concealer underneath her eyes. But after seeing the end result, she said, "I guess it helps." 

In 2020, "Bachelorette" fever struck again in the "Dancing with the Stars" ballroom when Kaitlyn Bristowe and Artem Chigvintsev were named Season 29 champions. While she was willing to put her face in the capable hands of the "DWTS" makeup artists, Bristowe had previously revealed that she feels best without makeup. In a 2019 Instagram confessional, she bared her soul and her face while sharing her true feelings about beauty. She admitted that social media makes her question her stance that a natural look is ideal, presumably because of the glut of glammed-up images that she and other users are constantly bombarded with. "I often have to remind myself that I actually feel sexier like this, than I do dolled up and in edited glam shots," she captioned her makeup-free selfie.

During a 2019 appearance on the "Almost Famous" podcast, Bristowe also recounted a moment when she felt a little vulnerable without makeup. Just be forewarned: It might make you sad that you'll never get to see Bristowe's vision for her wedding to her now-ex Jason Tartick. "The other day I absolutely broke out in this hormonal acne around my mouth," Bristowe recalled. "I was FaceTiming [Tartick] and I forgot that it was there, and he was like, 'What happened to your face?' And I was like, 'Oh my gosh,' and he goes, 'You still look so beautiful.'" This made Bristowe realize that Tartick loved the way she looked regardless of whether she was wearing makeup or not. (Cue the waterworks.)

The TikTok world and "Dancing with the Stars" joined forces in 2022 when popular content creator Charli D'Amelio traded the bite-sized choreography that made her the app's most-followed user for full-length dance numbers. There was no beating her formidable combination of talent and a massive fanbase, and she and Mark Ballas were awarded the Season 31 mirrorball trophy.

At the time, then-18-year-old D'Amelio had 147 million TikTok followers, and she wasn't just using her status as a popular influencer to win reality competitions. She also used it as a force for good by showing teens that even the most popular among them can struggle with zits. Months before her first dance, her followers applauded her for sharing a few unfiltered Instagram photos where her acne was not covered up. On X, she demonstrated wisdom and a level of maturity beyond her years when she explained why she posted the images. "It's taken me a long time to feel comfortable in my skin but this is how I look and makeup only helps so much," she wrote. "I have to be confident and learn to love every 'imperfection' that I have but each one makes me unique and special in my own way."

Charli D'Amelio isn't the only Gen Z "Dancing with the Stars" contestant who has gotten refreshingly real about her beauty struggles. In a 2025 TikTok video, "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" star Xochitl Gomez, who won Season 32 with a little help from Val Chmerkovskiy, revealed the aftermath of a task that takes some Marvel-level fortitude to endure: waxing her upper lip. The painful process ended with the red-ringed frown in the above left screengrab.

In addition to now knowing that she bravely waxes her upper lip herself — at-home waxing isn't for the faint of heart! — Gomez's followers are well aware that she uses products from one of TikTok's favorite beauty brands: CeraVe. She got hooked on them while competing on "DWTS" in 2023. "With 'Dancing with the Stars,' you're doing crazy makeup. It's very packed on, and there's lots of glitter," she told Byrdie. "So, it was very important for me to take care of my skin. CeraVe sent over products, and they all worked amazingly for me." CeraVe also offered her a sweet paid partnership, and she has appeared in telenovela-themed ads for the brand. As for how she keeps her skin looking so smooth aside from her tear-inducing hair removal process, Gomez said, "I try to exfoliate often and not wear makeup if I don't need it." As far as we're concerned, she never needs it.