Dancing With the Stars has officially awarded the winner of its 32nd Season after 11 weeks of waltzes and quick step. The Len Goodman Mirrorball trophy was awarded to Xochitl Gomez and Ukrainian dancer Val Chmerkovskiy on Tuesday night.
Gomez and her partner, Chmerkovskiy, received perfect scores for their freestyle dance set to District 78's "Que Calor" and a foxtrot to Katy Perry's "Unconditionally," earning them the top spot. They were the only couple to score a perfect 120 across all of the four dances.
In the finale, Gomez topped actor Alyson Hannigan, singer-songwriter Jason Mraz, "Vanderpump Rules" star Ariana Madix, and former "Bachelorette" Charity Lawson.
Gomez, who is most commonly recognized from the blockbuster movie Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, is a Los Angeles native, who was born in Hollywood and raised in Echo park by a set decorator mother and Mexican-born father in 2006. Gomez, who is a rising star among a new generation of young Latinos in Hollywood, made a statement on Tuesday’s finale by paying homage to Dia De Los Muertos during her last dance on the show; a dance of celebration, collaboration, legacy, and honor.
Gomez, who won the dancing competition show at age 17, is not the youngest champion to date. That title goes to gold medal-winning gymnast Laurie Hernandez who, at the age of sixteen, won the Mirrorball Trophy in 2016. After Hernandez, who is of Puerto Rican background, Gomez is the second woman of Latino descent to win the competition. Hernandez's dance partner was Chmerkovskiy as well.
The young Marvel star shared the importance of showcasing her Mexican heritage in her ballroom dances through her song choices, set design, and wardrobe. Gomez is a constant advocate for representation both on movie sets and now in the ballroom.
“Representation is really huge for me. Mainly in Latin ballroom dances, I want to really focus on the Latino portion of it and making it as accurate as I can,” she told “Good Morning America.”
Gomez took to her social media to share some words after winning: “ I'm forever grateful for my journey on Dancing with the Stars and to whoever made the decision to pair Val and I together.”
Alfonso Ribeiro, the co-host of Dancing with the Stars, made an announcement regarding the upcoming Dancing with the Stars Live 2024 tour. Gomez will participate in the tour in a few towns, Ribeiro said.
The tour's opening is scheduled to take place at Richmond, Virginia's Altria Theater on January 11, 2024. Gomez will begin her segment of the tour at that time, in addition to stopping in 22 cities across the United States and Canada.
