Julia Stiles stepped into the "Dancing With the Stars" ballroom for the first time on September 16, 2026, during night two of the Season 35 premiere, pairing her competition debut with the kind of polished, performance-ready styling the show is known for. The actress, competing alongside professional partner Ezra Sosa, danced a quickstep to Dolly Parton's "9 to 5," a song choice that carried extra emotional weight given Parton's death in August at age 80.
Julia Stiles Says Dolly Parton Cleared Her to Use '9 to 5' for 'Dancing with the Stars' Weeks Before Her Death https://t.co/2Yxp7LHzpX
— People (@people) September 17, 2026
Stiles revealed on air that Parton had personally approved the song for her routine just weeks before the singer's passing, turning the performance into something of a tribute. The pairing scored 18 out of 30 from the judges, with Derek Hough calling the routine "beautiful and graceful." As is customary for "Dancing With the Stars," Stiles' quickstep costume was created in-house by the show's wardrobe department, led by longtime costume designers Daniela Gschwendtner and Steven Lee, whose team builds custom, performance-ready looks for every couple each week rather than sourcing from outside fashion labels. Specific details on this particular costume, including exact color, fabrication and any accessories, have not been published by the show or confirmed through wire photography at this time.
What makes the moment notable for FashionTimes readers isn't a designer credit, but the visual and narrative shift it represents. Stiles, 45, is best known to audiences through her early-2000s film work, particularly the 2001 dance drama "Save the Last Dance," a role so closely tied to her public image that the actress has previously clarified a body double performed some of the film's dance sequences. Her arrival on "Dancing With the Stars" effectively closes that loop, putting her in an actual competitive ballroom for the first time in a wardrobe built specifically for live television performance rather than a scripted set.
JULIA STILES & EZRA DEVOURED!! #DWTS pic.twitter.com/qwDuEMcogu
— 𝐤𝐚𝐢 ෆ｡ (@bluecarthenist) September 17, 2026
The premiere also carried a bit of built-in drama. Stiles referenced a 2025 comment from Bravo host Andy Cohen, who had said on "Andy Cohen Live" that she was "not the greatest dancer on the planet." During a rehearsal segment aired in the premiere episode, Stiles told Sosa she planned to win the Mirrorball and eventually sit on Cohen's couch to needle him about it. After the performance, Hough took a swing at Cohen on her behalf, and Cohen later apologized to Stiles on "Watch What Happens Live," calling himself the "Jackhole of the Day."
Andy Cohen made himself the Jackhole of the Day and issued a public apology to Julia Stiles! #DWTS pic.twitter.com/FbwbyUrTpp
— Queens of Bravo (@queensofbravo) September 17, 2026
For "Dancing With the Stars" contestants, the weekly costume is as much a part of the performance as the choreography, engineered for stretch, movement and camera visibility under ballroom lighting rather than for red-carpet photography. That distinction matters for how Stiles' look should be read: it's a competition costume built to support a quickstep, not a fashion-week or premiere ensemble tied to a named designer. Even so, it marks her first visual introduction to viewers in this new context, and it's likely to be one of the more searched looks of the show's early season given the crossover appeal of Stiles' film career and the emotional resonance of her Dolly Parton tribute.
Stiles and Sosa are now moving into the next round of Season 35 competition, with future performances expected to bring new routines, new music and, week to week, new custom looks from the DWTS wardrobe team.
