“Dancing With the Stars” celebrates 20 years with season 34 — and judge Carrie Ann Inaba has been there since the very beginning. Check out her nostalgic throwback photo with the other season 1 judges.
Carrie Ann Inaba Celebrates 20 Years of ‘DWTS’
On August 29, Inaba took to Instagram to share a season 1 “Dancing With the Stars” photo that had her feeling nostalgic.
“Look what I found. 👀 Len Goodman, @brunotonioliofficial and I, in our very first press photos for @dancingwiththestars,” she wrote in the caption. “We were just babies. (And I still love a good v neck and a hoop earring.) lol.”
Inaba continued, “It’s incredible to think that 20 years have gone by. Thank you so much to ALL OF YOU — our #DWTSFAMILY. We love you. And we are grateful for you. And I hope we make you smile this season and give you joy and inspire you this Season 34.”
“So much has changed over the years, but the heart of this show has stayed the same,” she noted. “Children have grown up watching us, and we’ve lost friends and family members along the way.”
The judge added, “But we are still going strong. And that’s because we are one big dancing family. ❤️Happy Friday everyone!”
The “Dancing With the Stars” Instagram account commented, “Since day one.”
In response to fellow judge Derek Hough commenting, “Iconic,” Inaba noted, “Can’t wait to get our new photos done together!!! 🙌🙌🙌 we are over due! 🙂 #newchapter.”
Fans were thrilled to walk down memory lane with Inaba. “WOW!!! Precious … yep, I’ve moved from my 40s to 60s alongside the show! 😂 It’s one of THE BEST produced shows around!!! Congrats Carrie Ann 💗🥂🥳.
Inaba responded, “I’m right behind you. I started when I was 37. And now I’m 57. Heading towards sixty with a lot of happiness in my heart.”
Others noted how much they miss Goodman on the judging panel. “What a wonderful memory since day one. Miss seeing Len on ‘DWTS,'” one fan shared.
Another person commented, “Beautiful picture of beautiful memories. I started watching from day one and I’m still watching. Len will forever be loved and missed ‘It’s a 10 For Len’!”
Carrie Ann Inaba Confessed She Was Scared at the Start of ‘DWTS’
In a July 2025 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Inaba explained what it was like her first day sitting at the judges’ table on “DWTS.”
She admitted, “That first show I was so scared. This was my first speaking role.”
Inaba continued, “I was really, really nervous sitting at that desk. But the judges’ chemistry was there from the first moment. There was something very magical in the sense that we were all from such different backgrounds.”
Though she didn’t know Len or Bruno, the trio leaned on each other. “We needed each other. We helped each other figure out what this was,” Inaba explained. “Len was our loving grandpa, and Bruno was my wild and crazy brother from another mother.”
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