She’s a dance nepo baby, so let’s meet Dancing With The Stars’ Hailey Bills
She's the youngest pro this season
Hailey Bills is not only the youngest pro on this season of Dancing With The Stars at just 20, but she’s also in a same-sex pairing with none other than Sarah Jane Nader. She’s a bit of an icon, so let’s find out more about her!
Hailey’s first taste of the franchise came in 2018 on Dancing With the Stars: Juniors, the one-season spin-off that paired young celebrities and celebrity kids with junior pro dancers.
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She was partnered with Tripp Johnston Palin, the then nine-year-old son of Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston. They were the first couple eliminated, but Hailey did have a very familiar face in her corner as the pair’s mentor was her aunt, Jenna Johnson. Is there such a thing as a dance nepo baby?
Jenna Johnson is one of the most successful pros in DWTS history. She has won the Mirrorball Trophy twice, with Adam Rippon in season 26 and Joey Graziadei in season 33. Through Jenna’s marriage to fellow pro Val Chmerkovskiy, Hailey also counts Val as her uncle.
And as Aunt Jenna is on this season of DWTS with Harry Shum Jr, it means she’ll be directly competing against family!
Hailey grew up in Frisco, Texas, and has been dancing for 12 years. She’s a two-time national champion at The Dance Awards, where she won both Mini Female Best Dancer and Teen Female Best Dancer.
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She’s also a student at Brigham Young University, where she danced with the school’s Cougarettes dance team during the 2024-25 season. Away from college, Hailey has worked closely with DWTS judge Derek Hough. She’s toured with him, pops up regularly on his TikTok, and works as a pro assistant for Ovation Dance, the dance competition run by Derek and his sister Julianne Hough. She even danced with Derek at a Savannah Bananas game in September 2025.
In September 2025, Hailey was named one of four members of the season 34 troupe, alongside Onye Stevenson, Carter Williams and Jaxon Willard. Troupe dancers perform in the group numbers and background routines but don’t get a celebrity partner.
She then joined the DWTS Live tour, and this season, she’s been promoted to the main pro line-up, becoming one of two new pros alongside The Next Pro winner Adele Zaikman.
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And Hailey Bills is also making history as the third same-sex pairing in Dancing With The Stars history, as she’s been paired up with Sarah Jane Nader.
According to executive producer Conrad Green, the partnership came about because Sarah Jane wanted a female partner, and Hailey was keen on the idea. Sarah Jane has told Entertainment Weekly that it feels special to be the kind of representation she didn’t see growing up, and she’s said Hailey is the sweetest person but will also get strict in rehearsals when she needs to.
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