New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
TikTok star, Norwalk native to join ‘Dancing with the Stars’
Last September, TikTok star and Norwalk native Charli D’Amelio — along with sister Dixie and parents Heidi and Marc — debuted their Hulu series, “The D’Amelio Show.” This September, Charli and Heidi are reportedly heading to one of the most well-known network dance competition shows: “Dancing with the Stars.”
While the cast of the television dance competition’s 31st season hasn’t been confirmed yet, TMZ reports that Charli and Heidi will be competing on the upcoming season. The mother and daughter will reportedly be competing against one another and against the other celebrities rumored to be part of the lineup, which includes Robert Irwin — son of late zookeeper Steve Irwin — and “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” socialite Sutton Stracke, according to Parade Magazine.
The D’Amelios’ potential stint on the dancing show wouldn’t be uncharted territory for them. Charli first started making dance videos on TikTok in May 2019, and two months later she had her first video go viral. She has since become among Forbes’ ranking of top-earning TikTok content creators for 2022. Dixie also topped the Forbes’ list this year.
Before the family ever found themselves creating viral videos or competing on network television, the D’Amelios lived in Norwalk.
“Life in Norwalk was fun, familiar and fairly normal,” Marc told Hearst Connecticut last year in an email. “I lived in Connecticut most of my life and loved the fact that my daughters were growing up in the city that I called home at their age.”
While their TikTok fame took them across the country, the D’Amelios still make time to visit their native state. In February, the D’Amelio family visited several locations in Connecticut, including The Spot at Just Dance Studios in Norwalk (where Charli used to dance), Washington Prime restaurant in Norwalk and a UConn basketball game in Storrs.
At the time, they also visited the Norwalk Stew Leonard’s location. On Aug. 27, Stew Leonard’s shared video on Instagram of the family’s visit, showing television cameras following the family as they shopped in the store. In the post’s caption, the store wished the family “so much success” with the second season of “The D’Amelio Show,” which premieres on Hulu on Sept. 28.
Marc commented on the Stew Leonard’s post, writing, “As a former employee who worked in the produce department during high school, we love you!”
Dixie also performed at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater in Bridgeport in June as the opening act for boy band Big Time Rush.