Entertainment
10 Greatest Sci-Fi Adventure Movies of the Last 25 Years
Much of science fiction takes us into worlds and galaxies beyond our own. While some find darker corners in the darkest reaches of outer space, some rousing efforts are all about adventure. Despite the high budgets that often come with high adventures set in space or the future, these movies have been around since the days of silent cinema. Ever since Georges Méliès sent a group of astronomers on A Trip to the Moon, audiences have been excited by the adventures that sci-fi can take us on.
The 20th century was host to numerous sci-fi adventures. Forbidden Planet, Star Wars, Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and so many more brought audiences adventures on spaceships, across time and with bioengineered beasts. The adventure didn’t stop at the turn of the century, though, and we’ve gotten plenty of sci-fi classics in the 21st century. In the last 26 years, we’ve gotten new adventurous editions of some of the all-time best franchises. The adventure hasn’t stopped in the 21st century, and these ten films from the last 25 years are some of the best.
10
‘Atlantis: The Lost Empire’ (2001)
As the Disney Renaissance came to a close at the end of the ’90s, the studio began to try its hand at lots of different genres, adventure chief among them. Gone were the lavish musical numbers of films like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, replaced by Tarzan swinging to the sounds of Phil Collins and the second half of Mulan that subtly shifted it from a musical to a war epic. In the 21st century, Disney added some sci-fi to this formula with two of their most underrated cult films: the sci-fi pirate adventure Treasure Planet, and the steampunk Atlantis: The Lost Empire. The latter is still one of the best Disney movies of the 21st century and one of the best to combine sci-fi and adventure.
Set in the early 20th century, the film follows cartographer Milo Thatch (Michael J. Fox), who believes he can find the fabled lost city of Atlantis. He’s given the opportunity thanks to an eccentric millionaire and a ragtag team of adventurers who bring him on a journey to the depths of the oceans. The action is high octane, thanks to co-directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and it features a vastly different style to the studio’s previous efforts thanks to the heavy influence of Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, who also served as a production designer. Top to bottom, Atlantis: The Lost Empire is dynamite sci-fi entertainment.
9
‘Tron: Legacy’ (2010)
The original Tron was a landmark film in terms of visual effects technology, but had a more tepid response from critics and at the box office. Unsurprisingly, it became a major cult success with fans who fell in love with the dayglo circuitry aesthetic of the Grid. That cult following, coupled with the career resurgence of Jeff Bridges in the late aughts, led to the first major legacy sequel of the 21st century, aptly titled Tron: Legacy. It wasn’t exactly a blockbuster success, leaving the franchise dormant until last year’s low-rez Tron: Ares, but it’s still a visually astounding adventure across the digital frontier.
Decades after programmer Kevin Flynn (Bridges), the hero of the original, goes missing, his son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) receives a cryptic clue regarding his whereabouts. Sam is almost immediately digitized into the Grid, where he not only finds his father alive, but also his villainous digital doppelgänger Clu, who has designs on escaping his computer prison and spreading like a virus across the real world. Tron: Legacy brings back all the signature elements of the first film, from the light cycles to identity disks, and gives them all a new coat of digital paint. Director Joseph Kosinski excels at making digital effects feel tactile, making Tron: Legacy an incredible debut.
8
‘Star Trek’ (2009)
Despite his uneven track record, there’s no denying that J.J. Abrams can direct some spectacle, which is exactly what he brought, along with many lens flares, to his blockbuster reboot of Star Trek. Resetting the series with an alternate timeline, Abrams brought back the original series crew for a whole new voyage. Hardcore Trekkies may have taken major issues with the film and its liberties, but it helped revitalize a franchise that had been dormant for much of the 2000s after the failure of Star Trek: Nemesis.
In this rebooted timeline, James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) is a hotheaded cadet who’s got an antagonistic relationship with Spock (Zachary Quinto). After half of Starfleet is destroyed by the Romulan Nero (Eric Bana), Kirk and Spock must put aside their differences to save Earth from total destruction. There’s plenty of action and adventure in the film, which is pretty perfectly cast top to bottom, with every actor bringing new dimensions to their established characters. The film also makes room for Leonard Nimoy to return to his iconic role in a bit of fan service that actually benefits the movie. Despite a couple of diminishing sequels, this reboot is still stellar fun.
7
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (2014)
Most superhero movies qualify as science fiction. That definitely applies to every entry in the MCU, which came out strong in 2008 with the original Iron Man and dominated the box office and pop culture for a solid decade. It wouldn’t be until the franchise got into its second phase that it really started to embrace the more cosmic side of Marvel, with James Gunn‘s Guardians of the Galaxy. Still one of the best MCU movies ever made, this intergalactic adventure is chock-full of colorful characters, quick quips and lots of sci-fi settings.
In a far-off section of space, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) does his best impression of Han Solo and Indiana Jones by plundering a planet for an ancient relic. This mystical MacGuffin contains an Infinity Stone, and Quill quickly finds himself in a universe of trouble. In a space prison, Quill gathers a motley crew of misfits including Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), Drax (Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel) and Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper). The characters, and Gunn’s off-the-wall writing, are what make this such an indelible sci-fi adventure that proved the MCU was better off embracing the weirder corner of its galaxy.
6
‘Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi’ (2017)
Even though it’s been almost a decade, there’s still a fair amount of (completely online) controversy surrounding The Last Jedi. The film made major, deliberate changes to some of the most beloved Star Wars characters in an effort to release the franchise from the constraints of its past. That unfortunately led to a completely normal and rational online reaction from a very vocal set of fans that completely drowned out any reasonable discussion. Disney also ended up listening to too much of that reaction and towed a far safer line with every other film and streaming series (save for Andor).
There’s no opinion regarding The Last Jedi that won’t offend someone, so here it is: it’s the best Star Wars movie since The Empire Strikes Back. The continuing adventures of Rey (Daisy Ridley) bring us back into the orbit of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who’s become a miserable hermit after years of failing to find balance in the Force. She also discovers a hard truth about her parentage that promised a bold new direction for the franchise before being unceremoniously retconned. There are also a lot of subplots, including a casino planet, Leia (Carrie Fisher) flying through space, and that old devil Snoke (Andy Serkis). It’s a weird and uneven movie sometimes, but it’s also a fantastic adventure that offered new possibilities in a galaxy far, far away.
5
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ (2022)
Multiverses became a part of the mainstream pop culture lexicon in the 21st century, bringing the concept that comic book and sci-fi fans had been nerding out over in media for decades to a much bigger audience. It largely hit its zeitgeist apex when it was featured in the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once, an absurd sci-fi martial arts adventure that had more ideas in single scenes than a lot of Hollywood blockbusters had in their entire runtimes. Giving Michelle Yeoh a proper Hollywood leading role that was at least two decades overdue and featuring shining support from Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once gives you everything you want out of a movie.
Evelyn Wang (Yeoh) is a depressed laundromat proprietor being audited by the IRS, estranged from her husband Waymond (Quan) and with a strained relationship with her daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu). When Evelyn learns of the existence of the multiverse where she can inhabit her alternate selves, she also discovers her daughter is a multiverse maniac intent on destroying every last parallel world. The film can go from clever to overbearing to kick-ass and back again from scene to scene. It could all be overwhelming noise and nonsense, but directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert keep the story grounded, and Yeoh gives a full-bodied Oscar-winning performance.
4
‘Project Hail Mary’ (2026)
One of the best sci-fi adventures of the last 25 years also happens to be the best blockbuster of 2026 so far. Project Hail Mary is based on the hard sci-fi novel by Andy Weir. This newest adventure features a lone human scientist on a one-way mission to save Earth who teams up with an alien lifeform. The balancing act of humor and science jargon is handled expertly by co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who keep the tone as light as it needs to be and the pace moving. Ryan Gosling has more chemistry with a talking rock, making for one of the most unexpectedly beautiful bonds in modern sci-fi.
Ryland Grace (Gosling) is a middle school teacher and molecular biologist recruited to assist in a mission to study small organisms responsible for the dimming of the sun. Through a series of unfortunate events, Grace soon finds himself all alone on a spacecraft light-years from Earth. That’s when there’s a knock at the door, and he meets Rocky, the adorable alien voiced by James Ortiz, who also led the creature’s puppeteers. Grace and Rocky’s relationship makes Project Hail Mary such a fun adventure, but the film’s excitement towards science and the beauty of the universe should make any fan giddy as well. This hit is the kind of crowd-pleasing blockbuster that should be the rule and not the exception that it currently is.
3
‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ (2018)
Before Everything Everywhere All at Once explored the multiverse, and before Lord and Miller shot Ryan Gosling into space, there was Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. While Sony can’t seem to get their act together when it comes to a live-action expanded universe featuring Spider-Man and his amazing friends, animation has provided a medium for some of the most inventive and visually stunning superhero adventures ever made. Into the Spider-Verse gave the Spider-Spotlight to Miles Morales, an alternate-universe Spider-Man whose origin story here comes with multiversal consequences.
Miles (Shameik Moore) is a gifted but distracted kid from Brooklyn who has great power thrust upon him after he’s bitten by a genetically mutated spider and witnesses his universe’s Peter Parker (Chris Pine) die at the fists of Kingpin (Liev Schreiber). He’s not alone for too long as he quickly meets more Spider-People from across the multiverse, including an old, sadder Peter Parker (Jake Johnson), Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) and even the hard-boiled Spider-Noir (Nicolas Cage). Into the Spider-Verse is the best Spider-Man movie ever made. It reinvigorated a character and franchise that had been booted and rebooted too many times, with a fresh perspective and a wildly entertaining sci-fi adventure.
2
‘Dune: Part Two’ (2024)
The most epic sci-fi adventure of the 2020s and possibly the 21st century so far is Denis Villeneuve‘s two-part (soon to be three) adaptation of Frank Herbert‘s seminal sci-fi novel Dune. Depicting the feudal conflicts that stain the sands of Arrakis red with blood, Villeneuve’s films brought vivid, visually arresting life to Herbert’s sci-fi world. While the first film was a slow introduction to that world and its characters, the sequel kicked things into higher gear with epic sandworm riding and visceral fight sequences. It’s a stimulating and overwhelming adaptation of one of the biggest sci-fi adventures in the history of the genre.
After the destruction of his family’s empire, Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) now lives a nomadic existence with the Fremen tribes of Arrakis, some of whom believe him to be their messiah. Plagued by visions of a future of destruction caused by his actions while haunted by the machinations behind his existence, Paul is ultimately led to his role as a messianic leader and is able to exact vengeance upon the Harkonnens, who orchestrated the violent overthrow of his family. Dune: Part Two is a sprawling story told with sprawling visuals and is one of the most immersive sci-fi films of this century.
1
‘WALL-E’ (2008)
Pixar’s robot love story WALL-E might be the studio’s greatest. It was Andrew Stanton‘s follow-up to Finding Nemo as a director, and it represented a quantum leap forward in terms of what could be done in mainstream CGI animation and what could be expected of it. So beloved was WALL-E and its success so overwhelming that it contributed to the Academy Awards expanding their Best Picture category to include more than five films after they infamously snubbed the animated masterpiece.
In the future, Earth is no longer inhabited by humans, who have long since left it behind to live in luxury on massive cruise liners in space. Still on Earth is WALL-E, or Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth-Class, a trash bot built to clean up the mess left by humans, but he’s the only one of his kind left on the planet. That is until the robot EVE lands, and WALL-E finds love, while EVE finds a boot with a plant setting off the more madcap back half of the film. WALL-E is a wonderful romance, a fantastic family film, and even a more pointed satire of our technological reliance than Stanton’s own Toy Story 5. It is also the greatest sci-fi adventure of the last 25 years.
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The Odyssey‘s Samantha Morton has opened up about being homeless amid her mother’s mental health issues and father’s battle with alcoholism.
“I went pillar to post with foster families, homeless hostels, sleeping by the bins at the back of the Co-op,” Morton, 49, told The Sunday Times in an article published on Saturday, August 1. “I have made choices that have always been about survival, because I watched my mum trying to survive and I watched my dad trying to survive.”
The English actress, who portrays the sorceress Circe in The Odyssey, is the daughter of her late mom, factory worker Pamela, and late dad, coal miner Peter. Peter died last year while Pamela died in 2017 from lung cancer.
“Someone told me I was resilient when I was younger,” she told the outlet. “But sometimes you’ve got no choice other than to be resilient because if you are not you’re dead.”
Morton spoke about her upbringing during an interview with The Guardian in 2009, detailing that she lived between her separated parents’ houses up until the age of eight when she was placed as a “ward of court,” which sees a person placed under the legal guardianship of the U.K. Court of Protection.
She revealed during the interview that her father hit her. “I think anybody who has been abused as a kid – and I was abused as a kid, by various people – will say it’s irrational because violence is irrational,” she said at the time.
The outlet detailed that as a ward of court, Morton moved between foster parents and care homes before leaving school at the age of 13 and “spending most of her early teens raving, taking ecstasy and hallucinogenics with older children and young adults, lawless and lost.”
Morton noted that between the ages of 13 and 14, she was homeless for “almost a year” and would sleep at friends’ houses or “in bus shelters.” Despite her childhood experiences, she added that she never blamed either of her parents. “Never, never my parents. Always authority. Always the establishment. That’s because I grew up in Nottinghamshire in the 80s with Margaret Thatcher destroying everything,” she said at the time. “Just because somebody doesn’t bring up their children or can’t look after their children doesn’t make them a bad person. There are all sorts of reasons … illness. There are so many reasons you can end up in care.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. https://988lifeline.org/
The first Dancing With the Stars season 35 troupe member has been revealed!
News broke at DWTS Con on Sunday, August 2, that Kamri Peterson will perform in the troupe for the upcoming season of the hit ballroom competition. The rest of the cast lineup is set to be announced at a later date.
DWTS fans will remember Kamri, now 18, as one of the “junior pros” on the short-lived youth version of the competition. DWTS: Juniors only ran for one season in 2018, where Kamri cha-cha’d with former Scripps National Spelling Bee champ Akash Vukoti under the tutelage of mentor Witney Carson. (Skateboarder Sky Brown and JT Church ultimately won the show as members of Team Alan Bersten.)
After leaving DWTS: Juniors, Kamri has continued her ballroom training and even worked alongside fellow pros Rylee Arnold and Ezra Sosa, in addition to longtime choreographer Mandy Moore. She also attended multiple season 34 tapings last year, in which Witney, 32, took home the mirrorball with celebrity partner Robert Irwin.
The Dancing With the Stars ballroom is filling up fast for season 35. While simultaneously confirming the reality competition’s renewal, Hulu shared during the Get Real House event in April that Summer House’s Ciara Miller and Love Island star Maura Higgins would be lacing up their dancing shoes. The following month, Savannah Bananas second baseman Jackson […]
As for her professional accolades, Kamri has won the World ProAm champions, is a three-time Latin National Vice Champion and a 12-time Latin finalist. She also once represented the United States at the Open World Championships in Paris.
Kamri is far from the first DWTS: Juniors star to make the leap to the main show. Rylee, 21, was named a pro on DWTS for 2023’s season 32, while Hailey Bills made her troupe debut in season 34.
Kamri Peterson. Felicia Barton
The rest of the DWTS pro roster has not been revealed, with the dancers often learning the news just weeks (or days) before the public.
“Typically, once we have a list of the pros that are gonna be on, we then, at some point, we’ll get the opportunity to hear who’s gonna be [on the show],” show host Alfonso Ribeiro exclusively told Us in September 2025. “But it’s never final, right? It’s ever-changing, and there were some pairings that were different three weeks ago [this year].”
Ribeiro, 54, further explained that dance partnerships can continue “to evolve” as casting changes up until the premiere date.
Several Dancing With the Stars pro dancers began their journey in the ballroom in the troupe. The hit dance competition first introduced its troupe during 2011’s season 12, featuring a selection of performers who didn’t have a celebrity partner but still appeared in group numbers and their own “bumpers” between competitive routines. “When I first […]
“You realize, ‘Oh, actually, this is a better pairing than that pairing.’ And they work on it right up until the final day until [the stars and pros] meet each other,” Ribeiro told Us, adding that show executives Deena Katz, Conrad Green and Rob Mills “always get it right” with teams. “They figure it out. I don’t know how they do it, but they always figure out how to put the right people together. They’re magical.”
The celebrity contestants of season 35 will include Ciara Miller, Maura Higgins, Jackson Olson and Guillermo Rodriguez, with even more yet-to-be-announced famous faces also set to tango across the dance floor.
Dancing With the Stars season 35 premieres concurrently on ABC and Disney+ Tuesday, September 15, and Wednesday, September 16, at 8 p.m. ET and streams the next day on Hulu.
Rihanna and ASAP Rocky are celebrating their son’s third birthday with a timely theme.
The couple honored Riot’s third birthday on Saturday, August 1, with a Spider Man-themed bash, featuring balloons, banners and treats. Rihanna’s sister-in-law Nadia King gave fans a glimpse of the bash via Instagram on Sunday, August 2, sharing a video with decor that read “Riot 3” with fitting colors: blue, black and red.
At the end of the clip, the guests all sang “Happy Birthday” to Riot. Rocky, 37, could be seen wearing a white T-shirt with a baseball hat and scarf tied around his head, while Rihanna, 38, opted for a dress.
“Thanks for the invite Riot Rose,” King captioned the video.
ASAP Rocky is a proud papa while celebrating his and girlfriend Rihanna’s youngest son Riot’s first year around the sun. “HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY TO MY 2ND BORN SON RIOT ROSE MAYERS ❤️,” the rapper, 35, captioned a series of Instagram photos with the birthday boy on Thursday, August 1. Rocky, who also shares 2-year-old son […]
Rihanna and Rocky, who confirmed their relationship in 2021, became parents when they welcomed son RZA in 2022. The pair then added to their family with son Riot and daughter Rocki in 2023 and 2025, respectively.
“I’ll have kids — three or four of ’em,” Rihanna told British Vogue in March 2020 of her desire to be a mother even if she hadn’t found the right partner yet. “They diminish you as a mother if there’s not a dad in your kids’ lives. But the only thing that matters is happiness, that’s the only healthy relationship between a parent and a child. That’s the only thing that can raise a child truly, is love.”
Since welcoming her and Rocky’s third child, Rihanna hinted that she’s already thinking about adding a fourth to their brood.
“Deciding whether to get hot and sexy or get pregnant in 2026,” Love Island alum Montana Rose Brown wrote over an Instagram video in January, to which Rihanna commented, “Wait! So I’m not crazy then? Bet!”
Rocky, for his part, has been open about how fatherhood — and finding his person in Rihanna after years of friendship — has altered his life.
“A woman will change your whole life, especially if it’s a companion. Before I had my children, being with my girl took my blindfold off,” Rocky said during a January episode of The New York Times’ “Popcast” podcast. “I got with a very special woman.”
He continued, “We’re on the same page. Born the same year. My dad is from her country. When I go back, I get to see both sides of my family. It’s so many similarities. We laugh about it a lot. She was always my boo.”
The West End revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park With George production is reacting to Ariana Grande’s announcement that the singer will step back from the public eye after she completes her Eternal Sunshine Tour amid public scrutiny and concern over her body and health.
“Following this evening’s announcement from Ariana Grande’s team, we can confirm that she has decided to step back from Sunday in the Park with George,” the production’s official X account shared via a written statement on Sunday, August 2. “We know this cannot have been an easy decision, and she makes it with our complete understanding and support.”
The production added, “We wish her nothing but the best. The production will open at the Barbican in summer 2027 as planned, and casting will be announced in due course.”
Grande was previously scheduled to appear in the production opposite her Wicked costar, Jonathan Bailey.
Ariana Grande has heard it all about her body, and she’s had enough. The Wicked star recently appeared on the web series Oui Oui Baguette where she vented about the body shaming she has faced since first entering the public eye as a teenager. “I’ve been doing this in front of the public, and kind […]
Hours earlier on Sunday, Grande, 33, announced via her rep in a statement to People that she would be “taking a step back from visibility.”
“Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour,” a rep told the publication. “She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily.”
Ariana Grande Getty Images
The rep also confirmed to the outlet that Grande’s decision serves as a “much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances,” adding that the singer’s prior engagements have caused “endless, ongoing public scrutiny.”
The singer’s announcement comes on the heels of the Friday, July 3, release of her “Petal” music video, which left numerous fans and social media users concerned about the singer’s thin frame, leaving some to allege she is privately battling an eating disorder.
A source close to the singer also told the outlet that Grande “performs healthily and successfully at a very high level night after night,” pointing to the singer’s continued tour performances as a sign she is not unwell.
Grande has not personally responded to the announcement or criticism and concern. Us reached out to her team at the time for comment.
Ariana Grande got very emotional during a performance in Los Angeles. “Thank you so much, oh, my God. L.A., thank you so much,” Grande, 32, said in footage from the second of four performances at Crypto.com Arena for her Eternal Sunshine Tour. “Are you kidding? What the hell? I’ve never in my life experienced a […]
“This tour has been a beautiful experience for her,” the singer’s rep concluded in the same statement to People. “She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much.”
While the singer has yet to publicly comment on the growing online discourse over her body, she has previously discussed how those online conversations have impacted her mentally and emotionally.
“I don’t do this often. I don’t like it. I’m not good at it,” Grande said in a TikTok video shared back in April 2023. “I just want to address your concerns about my body. There are ways to compliment someone or to ignore something that you don’t like that I think we should help each other work towards.”
If you or someone you know struggles with an eating disorder, visit the National Alliance for Eating Disorders website or call their hotline at (866) 662-1235. Text “ALLIANCE” to 741741 for free, 24/7 support.
Several Dancing With the Stars pro dancers began their journey in the ballroom in the troupe.
The hit dance competition first introduced its troupe during 2011’s season 12, featuring a selection of performers who didn’t have a celebrity partner but still appeared in group numbers and their own “bumpers” between competitive routines.
“When I first started [in the] troupe, I never had professional ballroom training before,” Britt Stewart said on “The Squeeze” podcast in October 2025. “I was trained in ballet and jazz and contemporary and tap.I was not expecting to get a call from Dancing With the Stars for that one reason.”
Stewart, however, had worked with choreographer Mandy Moore on one of Derek Hough’s outside dance gigs that piqued Moore’s attention. (Moore often crafts pro numbers, while former pro dancer Hough is now a judge.)
“Last minute, Mandy was like, ‘Britt, go dance with Derek,’” she recalled. “That [rehearsal] video, Mandy sent to all the Dancing With the Stars producers, ABC, Disney and I got my audition for troupe from that video. … They knew I wasn’t trained, but they knew I could do it.”
Stewart performed in the troupe for five seasons before she was promoted to a pro in 2020.
Other stars, including Rylee Arnold and Jan Ravnik, were cast as pros without appearing in the troupe first. Ravnik, who gained global recognition as one of Taylor Swift’s backup dancers on her Eras Tour, was cast on DWTS for 2025’s season 34. His inexperience in the ballroom led to some criticism about his dance résumé.
“I mean, look, I am new so I’m gonna take every note that they’re giving to me,” Ravnik exclusively told Us Weekly in October 2025 of the judges’ feedback. “I don’t think it’s in a bad way that they’re always saying.”
Keep scrolling to see which DWTS pros got their big break in the troupe — and who went right to competing with a celebrity partner:
Who Were the First Members of the ‘DWTS’ Troupe?
The group was first formed during season 12 and featured Oksana Dmyrenko, Peta Murgatroyd, Nicole Volynets, Tristan MacMahon, Kiki Nyemchek and Ted Volynets. Out of this squad, Murgatroyd was the sole star to eventually be bumped up to a pro — and later won two mirrorball trophies.
Which ‘DWTS’ Pros Got Their Start in the Troupe?
Many of the most recent pros got their start in the troupe, including Stewart, Brandon Armstrong, Alan Bersten, Sharna Burgess, Witney Carson, Artem Chigvintsev, Sasha Farber, Jenna Johnson, Daniella Karagach, Tristan MacManus, Keo Motsepe, Emma Slater and Ezra Sosa.
The troupe also notably featured dancers including Hayley Erbert, Brittany Cherry, Alexis Warr, Marcquet Hill, Roman Nevinchanyi, Kailyn Rogers and Stephani Sosa, none of whom were ever promoted. Warr, meanwhile, is now a pro on the U.K. precursor of the franchise, Strictly Come Dancing. The season 34 class stars Hailey Bills, Onye Stevenson, Carter Williams and Jaxon Willard.
Just like Hailey previously appeared on DWTS Juniors, costar Kamri Peterson joined the troupe for season 5.
Hailey Bills, Onye Stevenson and Carter Williams during season 34. Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images
Are There Any ‘DWTS’ Pros Who Did Not Join the Troupe First?
Aside from the OG pros cast before season 12 — including Derek and Julianne Hough, Maks and Val Chmerkovskiy, Mark Ballas, Louis Van Amstel, Cheryl Burke and more — there have been instances of dancers bypassing the troupe. In addition to Ravnik, stars Pasha Pashkov and sisters Lindsay and Rylee Arnold got star partners when they were first hired. Lindsay, however, later claimed she was “demoted” to the troupe after season 16.
“I was given the boot down to troupe for four or five seasons, and then brought [back] up to pro,” Lindsay said on a 2022 episode of the “Trading Secrets” podcast. “I just was not ready. Honestly, that was probably one of the hardest parts of my career even though it’s such an incredible job; it’s an amazing job.”
She added, “You put in more hours on troupe sometimes than you do as a professional because you are basically on call 24/7. You’re on the show’s schedule, always on call, ready to go. As a backup dancer, back when I did it, yes [the salary was livable], because there were two seasons a year.”
What Are the Troupe Duties?
As a member of the DWTS troupe, dancers will perform in short routines in between competitive numbers and as backups to the celebrities.
“They had a time limit in the recent seasons I was on,” Peta Murgatroyd recalled on her “Penthouse With Peta” podcast in November 2025. “It’s like, ‘They can come on for the first two eight [counts] and then end with you guys if you want.’ You can’t have them for the whole time. … [They’re] like little pops in and out.”
Nikki Bella offered an update on her sister Brie Bella’s condition after she sustained a shoulder injury during WWE’s 2026 SummerSlam.
“She’s doing OK. She is in a lot of pain,” Nikki, 42, said during a Sunday, August 2, appearance on Busted Open Radio, commenting on her identical twin’s health. “[Doctors] are still determining what is going on. Brie will share that whenever. I’ve been told to ‘zip it.’”
Nikki and Brie, also 42, stepped into the ring on Saturday, August 1, for a Six-Woman Tag Team Match. The Bella twins joined forces with fellow wrestling phenom Paige to take on Fatal Influence before eventually turning on Paige, 33.
As the twins walked away victorious, Brie could be seen holding her shoulder in pain.
Brie Bella is receiving treatment after sustaining a shoulder injury during WWE SummerSlam. “Yeah, no, she’s injured,” WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque said during a press conference after SummerSlam on Saturday, August 1. “I don’t have an update yet. She was here, got some treatment here [and] has been taken to the […]
“She’s injured. I don’t have an update yet,” WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque said during a press conference later that night, referring to Brie’s condition. “She was here, got some treatment here [and] has been taken to the hospital to get some scans done.”
At the time, Levesque, 57, stated that he didn’t “have a clean answer” about Brie’s health or a recovery timeline.
“I know [she] hurt her shoulder,” he added. “Seems pretty bad, but I don’t have that answer yet. Hopefully, we will soon and hopefully it won’t be as bad as we thought it was, but that’s the nature of the game.”
Brie, who has not publicly addressed her injury, previously told Us that she was looking forward to stepping into the SummerSlam ring.
Nikki Garcia is getting ready to return to the ring. The WWE Hall of Famer — who goes by Nikki Bella professionally — shared an update on her recovery after undergoing ankle surgery for an injury she sustained in the lead-up to WrestleMania 42 in April. In a series of Instagram Stories posts on Sunday, July […]
“This run has been unlike any run we’ve both have ever done,” Brie exclusively revealed of training on Friday, July 31. “I feel so comfortable, and … when you’re so comfortable, and I’m looking at this as, ‘I’m not gonna lie to myself. I’m not in denial. This is my last run.’”
She continued, “It’s, like, you’re gonna go out there and you’re gonna have fun. I’m gonna make sure I take more moments having fun with the audience and looking at them because I don’t know if it’s the last time I’ll be wrestling in the city.”
Despite her readiness, Brie also acknowledged that it would be a “tough match” against Fatal Influence.
“These women are driven, they’re strong, they’re capable of so many things,” Brie told Us. “Then, you put their personalities on top. It’s why they’re moving fast and they’re making names for themselves, and it’s going to be a tough match at SummerSlam because we are looking at our younger selves. We’re seeing these girls, and they’re not going to give up and they’re going to make a name. We love it.”
WWE SummerSlam continues Sunday, August 2, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, streaming live on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET.
Entertainment
Netflix’s Whimsical 3-Part Black Comedy Is the Most Underrated Show You Haven’t Rewatched
In Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Lemony Snicket (Patrick Warburton) tells the dreadful tale of the Baudelaire orphans, Violet (Malina Weissman), Klaus (Louis Hynes), and Sunny (Presley Smith), who recently lost their parents in a terrible fire and are being pursued by a treacherous villain named Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris), who is dying to get his greedy hands on their fortune. Visually stunning, delightfully whimsical, and perfectly cast, the series is an adaptation of Lemony Snicket’s (an alias for author Daniel Handler) 13-book children’s series — a much more successful adaptation than the failed 2004 film (sorry, Jim Carrey).
For the average viewer, especially an older viewer, A Series of Unfortunate Events is a fun, if repetitive, ride that roughly follows the same formula: The highly intelligent Baudelaires are placed in the care of a completely incapable guardian, Count Olaf finds them and fools the completely incapable guardian with a terrible disguise, chaos ensues, and then the Baudelaires are shipped off to another incapable guardian. It is, quite literally, a series of unfortunate events. But underneath the theatricality, satire, and brilliant original songs, A Series of Unfortunate Events offers something a little deeper than that.
‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ Adapts the Tone and Feeling of the Original Series
A Series of Unfortunate Events is a children’s story, but if you look closer, it is also a surprisingly sophisticated musing on the nature of morality. As a child reading the book series, I saw a trio of kids outsmarting the adults time and time again — the classic “adults are clueless, kids are smart” trope that is so common in children’s literature. I laughed at the complete incompetence of Mr. Poe (K. Todd Freeman) and all the other foolish adults who were, without fail, astounded when it was revealed that (gasp!): it was Count Olaf in a disguise all along!
A Series of Unfortunate Events is a faithful adaptation of the book series. It’s tremendously gloomy. It’s hilariously absurd. It’s wildly theatrical. It’s a faithful portrait of everything I envisioned in my head when I was a child. As an adult watching the series come to life on screen, I still laugh just as heartily as I did then because there’s no question that A Series of Unfortunate Events is rich with an absurd, sardonic wit. But unlike when I was just a child with my nose stuck in a book, cracking up over Count Olaf’s latest disguise, I now also find myself struck by how surprisingly, beautifully introspective the series is as the narrative unfolds.
‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ Doesn’t Shy Away From Confronting Moral Dilemmas
The final season of A Series of Unfortunate Events in particular explores difficult, complex questions about morality. In “Grim Grotto,” the Baudelaire orphans meet Fiona (Kassius Nelson), the daughter of the missing Captain Widdershins and interim captain of his submarine, the Queequeg. They are horrified to learn that Fiona’s mysterious brother is none other than Fernald (Usman Ally), Count Olaf’s hook-handed henchman. While the Baudelaires have started to question the nature of nobleness and treachery after they were forced to make some questionable decisions of their own, their confrontation with Fernald is perhaps their greatest moral conflict yet.
Up until this point, the Baudelaires have based all their decisions and their beliefs on the black and white ideology that there are noble people (their parents, the Snickets), and there are villainous people (Count Olaf, Esme). But Fernald forces them to face the reality that there is always more than one side to the story. Fernald, a former V.F.D. apprentice of Anwhistle Aquatics, burnt down the Anwhistle Aquatics headquarters when he learned that Gregor Anwhistle was doing dangerous research on Medusoid Mycelium, a poisonous mushroom he planned to use on their enemies.
The Baudelaires have trouble reconciling the fact that Fernald did a wicked thing, even if it was for a noble reason. Fernald then says what captures the heart of what A Series of Unfortunate Events is really about: Can a person be both noble and villainous? And if so, then where do you draw the line? When does doing something wicked for a noble reason just not cut it? He says, in a classic Snicket fashion, “People aren’t either wicked or noble. They’re like chef’s salads, with good things and bad things chopped up and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict.”
‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ Made the Baudelaires Question Themselves
The Baudelaires have also done wicked things for noble reasons, which is something they have to confront during the trial in “Penultimate Peril.” It seems like perhaps the Baudelaires have finally found a safe place where they can tell their side of the story after being unfairly persecuted at every turn by foolish adults who fall for Count Olaf’s schemes. But as Lemony Snicket tells us, there is no happiness in this story. When the Baudelaires call Count Olaf to the stand, he flippantly admits to all of his crimes. (Of course, we know later that he’s not worried because the man with a beard but no hair and the woman with hair but no beard are the two mysterious members of the court.) But unlike the Baudelaires, he says, he doesn’t pretend to be noble.
Suddenly, the tables are turned when Olaf reminds them of the wicked things they’ve done, like burning down Caligari Carnival or stealing Hal’s (David Alan Grier) key and breaking into the hospital’s Library of Records. Any viewer with a conscience knows the Baudelaires are victims, and they were forced to make difficult decisions in order to survive. But the Baudelaires are suddenly not so sure. They plead innocent “enough.” Now they have to face the very thing they accused Fernald of: When is it okay to do a wicked thing for a noble reason?
At the end of “Penultimate Peril,” the Baudelaires choose to set fire to the Hotel Dénouement so that the occupants (who are, again, completely useless) evacuate before Count Olaf can release the Medusoid Mycelium. Setting a fire in A Series of Unfortunate Events is the most unforgivable offense, but the Baudelaires are doing it for the noblest of reasons: to save innocents. Of course, every adult they try to warn about the fire acts like a complete fool, as expected. We can safely assume that everyone in that hotel perished in that fire that the Baudelaires themselves set in motion. Now that is dark for a kids’ series. As the Baudelaires escape with Count Olaf, they are plagued by guilt, wondering if it was right to fight fire with fire, literally and figuratively. Their moral compass says what they’ve done is wicked; but is it really that simple?
‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ Makes Us Question Our Prejudice Against Count Olaf
Count Olaf is one of the most wicked villains in any children’s series. He tries to marry Violet, a 14-year-old girl, so he can obtain her fortune; he threw Aunt Josephine (Alfre Woodard) to the leeches; he threw a very brave and noble librarian into a pit of lions. But even Count Olaf has brief moments of moral clarity. In “Penultimate Peril,” the Baudelaires step in front of Dewey Denouement (Max Greenfield) before Count Olaf can shoot him with his harpoon gun. As Olaf tentatively gives them to the count of ten to get out of his way, he wavers. The Baudelaires slowly walk toward him and remind him that he doesn’t have to do this. And then, in perhaps the first time in the whole series, Count Olaf appears conflicted, and maybe even a little defeated. He lowers his harpoon gun and, with a regretful slump of his shoulders, says, “It’s all I know how to do.”
Later, we learn that it isn’t in fact all he knows how to do since Olaf was originally on the “good” side of the schism — but after Beatrice (Morena Baccarin) accidentally kills his father with a poison dart, making him an orphan, he does what any person facing a tragic loss would do and decides to turn his back on the people who inflicted that loss. Having lost someone obviously doesn’t excuse any of Olaf’s treacherous deeds, but it does bring the concept of good and evil into focus in a way that many kids’ shows do not.
‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ Gave Its Most Dastardly Villain Depth in a Brand New Way
In the final episode of the series, appropriately titled “The End,” Count Olaf performs one act of kindness before his demise and carries a pregnant Kit (Allison Williams), his lost love, to shore so that her baby will live. Before he dies, he does something shocking. Count Olaf, a proud anti-intellectual, starts to recite a poem to Kit, “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes.” They recite the poem together, and it’s a bittersweet reminder of the life Olaf used to have before the schism, a man who lived in a world that valued literature and art, who then felt betrayed by that world.
His final words — an excerpt from “This Be the Verse” by poet Philip Larkin — are, “Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as early as you can, And don’t have any kids yourself.” It seems like strange parting words, but it makes perfect sense for Olaf, who was yet another person caught up in the cycle of violence, heartbreak, and death that comes with V.F.D. In the end, the Baudelaires are the ones who have the chance to finally break that cycle with Kit’s child, Beatrice II.
Lemony Snicket told us that this story has no happy endings, and it does seem that way in some respects. In the end, the Baudelaires are essentially alone, no guardian and no adults because they’ve all let them down. But the Baudelaires do get a happy ending with Beatrice. They will be her guardians, and they will break the cycle by teaching her that the world is not as simple as heroes and villains, nobility and treachery. The truth is somewhere in between.
Teen Mom’s Jenelle Evans is honoring her eldest son, Jace, on his 17th birthday amid her family’s public struggles.
“I HAVE A 17 YEAR OLD! 🎉🫶🏼😭,” Evans, 34, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, August 2, while sharing a series of photos of the pair through the years. “Being a teenager can be hard, but you seem to handle it well.”
She continued, “You’re so smart, curious about life, and handsome. Hope today is everything you’ve wanted and more! I love you @jace_vahn ♥️.”
Evans welcomed her son in 2009 with ex Andrew Lewis. After the pair split, Evans welcomed son Kaiser in 2014 with ex-boyfriend Nathan Griffith. She has since added to her family with the arrival of daughter Ensley in 2017, whom she welcomed with David Eason.
Earlier this year, news broke that Jenelle’s mother, Barbara Evans, filed for emergency custody of Jace. (Barbara’s motion for custody was ultimately denied.)
TMZ reported at the time that Jace had been placed in a mental health facility after allegedly pulling a gun on Barbara in late February, claiming that the incident occurred while he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol. (Jace was living with Barbara in North Carolina at the time.)
Months later, Jenelle shared that Jace was in a good place.
“I’ll let you know something that I haven’t told anyone,” Jenelle said during an episode of the “La Femme Talk” podcast in April. “You know I’ve been very quiet online, and behind the scenes, I’ve been actually getting help for my son as needed, and he’s in a safe place [in a] holistic approach.”
Teen Mom alum Jenelle Evans is assuring fans that her 16-year-old son Jace is in good hands. “I’ll let you know something that I haven’t told anyone,” Evans, 34, shared on the Monday, April 13, episode of the “La Femme Talk” podcast. “You know I’ve been very quiet online, and behind the scenes, I’ve been […]
Jace was “very happy right now” and “very focused on himself,” according to Jenelle.
“I think that’s the most important thing,” she explained. “A lot of people, they think since I’m being so quiet that I might not be doing anything and not taking action. But just know that if I’m quiet, I’m up to something.”
Jenelle shared a subsequent update on Jace in July, while posting several images of her son. In one photo, Jace smiled as he strummed a guitar.
“And here’s a real update about Jace. From what I choose to share, he’s working on himself and focusing on his emotions. He’s obviously had ups and downs but I’m hoping for the best in his future. Here’s some awesome pictures of his progress,” Jenelle wrote via Instagram at the time.
She continued, “I’ve had countless night of crying over the past 6 months because i want him to be happy and will do whatever it takes to help him mentally and physically. As his mother I WILL NOT give up. 🥹❤️🩹 #TeamJace.”
There is plenty of great science fiction television being produced today. From game-changing anthology series like the timeless Black Mirror to prestigious award winners like Severance, many modern sci-fi shows are proof that the genre is still alive and well. But all 21st-century genre shows inevitably stand on the shoulders of giants, and sci-fi masterpieces like those are no exception. If one looks back at the greatest classics that the genre had to offer throughout the 20th century, one will always be able to find classics that have aged so well that they’re still better than most shows being made today.
It can be yet another anthology masterpiece, such as the criminally underappreciated The Outer Limits; or a revolutionary serialized classic such as Babylon 5. Regardless of what kind of sci-fi classic we’re talking about, the genre’s best 20th-century productions can all be put side by side with even the best science fiction gems being made for the small screen today and come out on top. They are foundational to these sorts of stories, proof that all television genres are the product of a long trajectory of shows that kept evolving the way such stories were told.
7
‘The Outer Limits’ (1963–1965)
After the unprecedented success of The Twilight Zone in the late ’50s and early ’60s, a wave of copycat shows started to visit families’ living rooms across the globe. But even though these shows were clearly other networks’ attempts at replicating the impact of CBS’ timeless classic, that didn’t necessarily mean that such copycat shows were always bad. Case in point: ABC’s The Outer Limits, which was sometimes genuinely just as great as the CBS classic that clearly influenced its creation.
The Outer Limits is one of those forgotten horror shows that have aged like fine wine, steering clear of the occasional supernatural fantasy that Twilight Zone sometimes threw into its episodes and instead remaining pure science fiction and horror throughout. For sci-fi superfans, this should prove terribly appealing. It’s full of creative premises and hugely original ways of approaching them, making the absolute best of its shoestring budget.
6
‘Stargate SG-1’ (1997–2007)
The 1990s were arguably the best decade for sci-fi TV, and few shows demonstrate all the reasons why better than Stargate SG-1. The Stargate franchise was born in 1994 with Roland Emmerich‘s classic film, but where the series really took off was with the airing of SG-1, which is still one of the best military sci-fi shows ever made. With its incredible world-building and its flawless balance of serialization and episodic elements, it’s one of the most timeless series the genre has seen in modern times. It’s better than the original 1994 film, and it’s definitely better than most sci-fi movies being produced today.
It’s not soapy, it’s not overly serious, and it never pretends to be deeper than it needs to be. Instead, Stargate SG-1 consistently focuses on being pure small-screen entertainment, having fun with its “planet of the week” format in all sorts of unexpected ways that keep it rewatchable even after several re-visits. Its cast ensemble has exceptional chemistry, and its sense of humor keeps all of its high-stakes stories irresistibly fun throughout. There simply aren’t very many military sci-fi shows this dedicated to ensuring that the audience has a good time with every single passing episode.
5
‘Cowboy Bebop’ (1998–1999)
Largely credited with having helped popularize anime television in the late ’90s and early 2000s, Cowboy Bebop has genuinely aged like fine wine, still being as widely beloved today as it used to be—If not even more so. It’s just that great of a show, a genre-bending masterpiece that functions equally well as a delightful space Western and a mysterious neo-noir crime drama. It only ran for a mere 26 episodes, making it remarkably breezy to binge-watch in a few afternoons.
It’s generally regarded as one of the few anime shows without any significant flaws, proof that even though perfection may not technically be possible when it comes to television-making, some series can come surprisingly close. With its perfectly-written dialogue (which is memorable in English and the original Japanese alike), its deeply endearing set of main characters, its iconic jazz soundtrack, and its visuals (which are still awfully impressive to this day), this is essential viewing for anyone and everyone who loves science fiction.
4
‘The X-Files’ (1993–2018)
If online sci-fi geekdom is as huge as it is today, that’s only because there was a certain massively influential sci-fi series whose audience pretty much pioneered fandom culture on the worldwide web: The X-Files, still widely recognized as one of the most groundbreaking shows the genre has ever produced. There is virtually no sci-fi or supernatural procedural being made today which doesn’t owe at least some inspiration to The X-Files, and no buddy series which wasn’t at least a little influenced by the chemistry between Mulder and Scully.
The X-Files is the very definition of a timeless show, and it’s definitely one of the best crime shows of the ’90s. Aside from the “oozing-off-the-screen” chemistry shared between both Mulder and Scully and David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, The X-Files has plenty more to offer to fans of classic science fiction television. Its elements of serialization should be perfectly able to appeal to people who love self-contained sci-fi stories on the small screen, while its episodic “case of the week” format should keep fans of the likes of Supernatural and Buffy the Vampire Slayer glued to the screen throughout.
3
‘Babylon 5’ (1994–1998)
What made Babylon 5 so special back in the day is that, in a twist quite uncommon for American broadcast television at the time, it was designed as a sort of “novel for television” where every season would serve as a pre-planned chapter of that story. Of course, serialized sci-fi being the norm in today’s streaming era, that doesn’t really set Babylon 5 apart anymore. And yet, it’s still one of the best sci-fi series of all time, a must-see today just as much as it was back during the ’90s.
It’s one of the best military sci-fi shows of its era and of all time, a delightfully entertaining space opera whose serialization doesn’t feel primitive or thin in the slightest. On the contrary: Babylon 5 tells a story that’s still among the most compelling that American science fiction television has ever told. The characters are endearing, their arcs are compelling, the narrative keeps a great sense of momentum throughout all five seasons, and the top-tier production values are a phenomenal foundation for it all.
2
‘The Twilight Zone’ (1959–1964)
There are those who would very reasonably hail Rod Serling‘s The Twilight Zone as the single most influential sci-fi TV show of all time, and for good reason. Serling’s masterpiece didn’t just break new ground in the realm of anthology science fiction: It revolutionized the sci-fi genre altogether, proving that these stories that audiences had looked down on as “low-brow” for so long could actually serve as serious, dramatic, thought-provoking reflections of contemporary society.
Today, The Twilight Zone and all of its deeply engaging meditations on humanity’s relationship to technology and the future have aged like fine wine, some episodes even feeling a bit prophetic. It’s one of those soft sci-fi shows whose every episode’s a masterpiece, and even though some Twilight Zone stories are more memorable and better-written than others, all of them are worth watching. Over six decades after its pilot aired, Rod Serling’s creation is still remembered as one of the most important shows in the history of science fiction television.
1
‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ (1987–1994)
There are many Star Trek fans who long for the good ol’ days, and it’s not just because of nostalgia. In no small measure, it’s surely because it’s the good ol’ days during which The Next Generation was airing, and that’s a show that many still confidently call the best piece of Star Trek media ever. Not only that: We’re also talking about one of the greatest and most essential space operas in television history, one of those classic sci-fi shows that have aged like fine wine.
What’s not to love about Star Trek: The Next Generation? The cast is absolutely perfect, and the characters they’re playing are among the genre’s most memorable; the writing for almost every episode of the show is done with the kind of uniquely optimistic attitude that makes Star Trek so special to begin with; and the production values all still look terrific nowadays. Adventurous, inspiring, deeply philosophical, and feel-good to the core, it’s top-tier Star Trek and thus better than 99% of the science fiction films being made today.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
- Release Date
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1987 – 1994-00-00
- Network
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Syndication
- Showrunner
-
Gene Roddenberry
- Directors
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Cliff Bole, Les Landau, Winrich Kolbe, Rob Bowman, Robert Scheerer, Jonathan Frakes, Robert Wiemer, Gabrielle Beaumont, Alexander Singer, David Carson, Paul Lynch, Corey Allen, Patrick Stewart, Chip Chalmers, Joseph L. Scanlan, James L. Conway, Robert Lederman, Tom Benko, Timothy Bond, Robert Legato, Adam Nimoy, Robert Becker, David Livingston, LeVar Burton
Jaime VandenBerg is breaking down the reason she decided to hide her pregnancy while competing at Miss Universe in 2025.
“We did not tell our family nor the Miss Universe Canada organization at that time, and chose to keep it to ourselves for quite some time,” VandenBerg told People in an interview published on Sunday, August 2. “I really loved that we did that because it made the pregnancy feel that much more intimate in an era of my life where everything was so in the public eye.”
VandenBerg explained that she wanted to be judged based on her work rather than her pregnancy. (VandenBerg has raised awareness about gender-based violence after surviving a near-fatal shooting in 2021.)
“I felt strongly that if I announced my pregnancy publicly, I risked becoming viewed primarily as ‘the pregnant contestant,’ rather than being evaluated for my advocacy work, my resilience and the decade of dedication that led me there,” VandenBerg said. “I feared that no one would pay attention to my philanthropy anymore, and I would only be seen under the veil of my pregnancy.”
VandenBerg, who discovered she was pregnant while working on a modeling contract in Mexico City, added that finding out she was going to be a mother changed her priorities.
“Representing Canada at Miss Universe had been my dream for over a decade, but the moment I found out I was pregnant, my perspective shifted completely,” VandenBerg recalled. “Suddenly, my greatest dream was simply to be a good mother to a healthy baby, and that had felt more powerful than my dream of becoming Miss Universe.”
Ultimately, however, VandenBerg did compete in Miss Universe, where Fátima Bosch of Mexico ultimately walked away with the coveted title. VandenBerg went on to announce her pregnancy in March.
“While we weren’t necessarily trying to start a family, [my boyfriend] Aaron [Hernandez] and I had spoken extensively about the possibility of pregnancy,” she said. “I wasn’t on any form of birth control, and I felt very ready in my life that if it happened, I would feel incredibly happy and blessed.”
Many stars grew their families in 2026. Ushering in the year, Becca Kufrin, Justin Theroux, MLB player Freddie Freeman, TikTok star Allison Kuch and NFL star Baker Mayfield all welcomed little ones into their respective families in April, followed Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden in May. That month also brought new arrivals to Stephen Coletti, Josh […]
VandenBerg and Hernandez welcomed their daughter, Charlotte Nicole Hernandez-VandenBerg, in May. Since giving birth, VandenBerg has retired from pageantry and is instead focusing solely on motherhood.
“As a survivor of violence, I truly believe there is no greater gift than life itself. To be able to experience that gift alongside my daughter and simply be here for her feels like the greatest blessing imaginable,” VandenBerg said. “To me, success is not measured by fame or money, but by the number of happy memories you create. That is the kind of success I hope to build through motherhood.”
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