Jenna Dewan credits her and Channing Tatum's daughter for 'DWTS' stint
Dewan shares 13-year-old Everly with Tatum, who is her former 'Step Up' costar and ex-husband
Published September 18, 2026
Jenna Dewan is giving her daughter Everly credit for encouraging her to join Dancing with the Stars.
The actress revealed after her season 35 debut that her 13-year-old daughter, whom she shares with ex-husband Channing Tatum, was a major reason she decided to take on the competition.
“She was a huge reason why I was so excited to do this because she loved the show so much. We came to the finale last year,” Dewan, 45, told E! News. “She was like, 'Please, Mom, I love this.'”
Everly’s support did not stop there. After watching Dewan and her professional partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, perform a fiery tango to Blondie’s Call Me, the teenager became emotional.
Dewan told Entertainment Tonight that Everly was “so proud of us over there and she had literal tears in her eyes.”
The performance earned the pair scores of 6, 6 and 7 from the judges, giving them 19 points overall.
Dewan, who previously worked as a backup dancer for stars including Janet Jackson and Ricky Martin before earning her breakout acting role in Step Up, is now bringing those skills to the ballroom.
Dewan met Tatum while filming the 2006 teen dance film Step Up. They tied the knot in 2009 and welcomed Everly in 2013, before divorcing in 2018.
Soon after, Dewan began dating actor Steve Kazee, and the pair have been engaged since 2020. Dewan and Kazee are now proud parents to 6-year-old son Callum and 2-year-old daughter Rhiannon.
