Abby Lee Miller rose to fame as the outspoken dance instructor on Lifetime’s hit reality show Dance Moms. With her abrasive teaching methods and brutal honesty towards her young students, Miller quickly became one of the most controversial personalities on reality TV. Now, over two years after Dance Moms aired its final episode, Miller is plotting her return to the spotlight.
Launching Dance Careers
Dance Moms followed the young students of Miller’s Abby Lee Dance Company as they learned challenging routines and competed at national dance competitions. Miller pushed her dancers to perfection, often provoking drama with her blunt critiques and stern teaching style. She frequently clashed with the dance moms, who accused Miller of playing favorites and giving the best routines to Maddie Ziegler.
Under Miller’s tutelage, Ziegler and several other Dance Moms dancers achieved mainstream success. Ziegler has become a sought-after performer, dancing in music videos for Sia and acting in films like West Side Story. Thanks to Dance Moms, JoJo Siwa also landed a lucrative branding deal with Nickelodeon. Miller undoubtedly played a pivotal role in launching these young dancers to stardom.
Legal Troubles
Behind the scenes, Miller was hiding financial issues that eventually caught up with her. She filed for bankruptcy in 2010, but continued to hide income from Dance Moms and other projects. In 2016, Miller pled guilty to felony bankruptcy fraud. She was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison.
Miller served only eight months of her sentence before being released early to undergo emergency spinal surgery. While in prison, she reportedly felt betrayed that none of the Dance Moms cast came to visit her. After getting out, Miller expressed frustration that the public seemed to have forgotten everything she did for those dancers’ careers.
Cancer Diagnosis
Shortly after getting out of prison, Miller was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. She underwent ten chemotherapy treatments and two spinal surgeries. Today, Miller is cancer-free but still suffers from the side effects of the lymphoma and surgery. She is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair.
On the one year anniversary of her diagnosis, Miller posted about the harrowing experience on Instagram. She shared that she still has one more spinal surgery ahead of her. Miller has been open about the intensive physical therapy she does to maintain strength and mobility in her upper body. Though she remains positive, it seems unlikely that Miller will walk again.
Life After Dance Moms
Dance Moms aired its final episode in 2019 after nine drama-filled seasons. Miller has rebounded with a YouTube channel of over 200,000 subscribers. She uses the platform to post reaction videos to old Dance Moms clips, share her opinions on pop culture, and document her health struggles. Miller also makes money through the video service Cameo, recording custom video messages for fans.
Earlier this year, Miller announced she is actively casting and scouting for an all new group of dancers for Dance Moms season 9. This time around, she hints the show will air on a streaming service rather than Lifetime. It remains to be seen whether a new generation of dance moms will be eager to deal with Miller’s extreme teaching methods.
Some fans speculate that Miller could be joining the Real Housewives franchise, potentially Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Miller fueled rumors by playfully ranking the Housewives in a YouTube video. She placed herself firmly on top, so it seems she would jump at the opportunity to join reality TV’s most popular series.
Abby Lee Miller became an infamous reality TV personality through Dance Moms. Though her career almost fell apart due to financial legal issues, Miller is ready for a comeback. She beat cancer, and it appears prison has not softened her tough teaching approach. Dance moms and their dancers should brace themselves, because Abby Lee Miller is determined to once again find the next Maddie Ziegler.