Mackenzie Frances ZieglerMagnocavallo, Fabio. "Kenzie", Euphoria, March 28, 2024 (born June 4, 2004) is an American singer, actress, internet personality, and former dancer. She appeared as a child for six years on the Lifetime reality dance series Dance Moms together with her older sister, dancer and actress Maddie Ziegler.
Ziegler's music career began with her 2014 studio album, Mack Z. In 2018 she released her second studio album, Phases. She has joined singer Johnny Orlando in joint concert tours in North America and Europe and has released several other singles with Orlando and several solo releases. In 2017 and 2018, Ziegler traveled in Australia and New Zealand on dance workshop tours with her sister. She has also modeled for Polo Ralph Lauren. Her third album, Biting My Tongue, was released in 2024. Later in 2024, she joined Mark Ambor on his Rockwood tour.
In addition to Dance Moms, Ziegler has appeared on other television series, including the sitcom Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn (2015 and 2017). From 2018 to 2020, she starred in the Brat TV high school drama series Total Eclipse. In 2018 she also competed on Dancing with the Stars: Juniors and starred as Dorothy in a holiday stage pantomime adaptation, The Wonderful Winter of Oz, in Pasadena, California.Kozlowski, Carl. "Kermit the Frog leads an eclectic cast in the Christmas panto musical The Wonderful Winter of Oz" , Pasadena Weekly, December 13, 2018; Miller, Valerie-Jean. "BWW Review: The Wonderful Winter of Oz, Presented by the Lythgoe Family Panto, Scores Another 100% Entertainment Mark for the Holidays at Pasadena Civic Auditorium", BroadwayWorld.com, December 28, 2018; and Stanley, Steven. The Wonderful Winter of Oz, Stage Scene LA, December 14, 2018
As of February 2022, Ziegler had accumulated more than 14 million Instagram followers, 23 million TikTok followers, 3 million YouTube subscribers, and one million Twitter followers.
Early life Ziegler was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Melissa Ziegler-Gisoni and Kurt Ziegler and grew up in Murrysville, Pennsylvania. She is of Polish, Italian and German descent. Her parents divorced when she was 6 years old after a 2009 bankruptcy. Her mother remarried Greg Gisoni in 2013. Ziegler has an older sister, Maddie, who is also a dancer and actress, as well as two older paternal half-brothers, Ryan and Tyler, and two older step-siblings, Matthew and Michelle.Franklin, McKinley. "All About Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler's 4 Siblings", People, March 16, 2024 She began dancing at the Abby Lee Dance Company in Pittsburgh at the age of two. With that company, she won titles in dance competitions."Competition results" , Abby Lee Dance Company. Retrieved December 27, 2016 Ziegler was homeschooled.
From August 2020 to late 2023, Ziegler dated Tacoda Dubbs.
Career
2011–2016: Dance Moms and Mack Z Ziegler first appeared on television in 2011 on Lifetime's reality dance show Dance Moms, alongside her mother and sister.Nardino, Meredith. "Dance Moms’ Most Memorable Stars: Where Are They Now?" US Weekly, March 31, 2022 In 2016, the Zieglers left the show after six seasons to pursue other projects. Ziegler also appeared on Dance Moms''' sister shows Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition and Abby's Studio Rescue.
In 2014, Ziegler released her debut album titled Mack Z, which she also used as a stage name for singing appearances. The album peaked at #1 on the iTunes pop charts, as well as #7 on iTunes' albums sales chart across all genres. The music video for the album's lead single, "Girl Party", also reached #1 on the iTunes pop chart.Jane, Deborah. "'Dance Moms' Season 4: Maddie Ziegler's Unhappy, Mack Z Chooses Singing, Kendall Stands Up To Mom-ager?", EnStars, May 2, 2014 The video of the single has been viewed more than 85 million times. Later that year, her videos for "Shine" and "Christmas All Year Long" premiered. She continued to release singles and videos as Mack Z in 2015 and 2016. In 2014, Ziegler and her sister released a limited edition fashion line, The Maddie & Mackenzie Collection, through Mod Angel."Dance Moms Stars Launch Limited Fashion Collection" , L'Art Magazine, October 13, 2014
In 2015, Ziegler made her acting debut on Nickelodeon's sitcom Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn and appeared in a WowWee commercial alongside her sister. She returned to Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn in January 2017 in the episode "Keeping Up with the Quadashians". Also in 2015, she walked the Polo Ralph Lauren Runway in New York City and appeared in an ad campaign video for Glamour Magazine.
2016–2017: Music and touring In November 2016, Ziegler released her first single under her full name, a duet with singer Johnny Orlando, titled "Day & Night". The duet's music video was released on December 21, 2016, and has been viewed more than 25 million times. In 2017–2018, Ziegler and Orlando presented their Day & Night Tour throughout North America and the UK. Her 2017 video "Breathe" has been viewed more than 54 million times, and the video of her 2018 duet with Orlando, "What If", has been viewed more than 75 million times.
In 2016, she and her sister were the faces of Clean & Clear's fall back-to-school campaign. Ziegler was the face of Polo Ralph Lauren's children's spring 2016 collection and was named a brand ambassador for girls' fashion line Emily West in 2017.Garvey, Cas. "Spotted: Dance Moms stars share Whitsundays snaps" , Chinchilla News, January 10, 2017 In 2016, Ziegler collaborated with TurnBoard to release the Kenzie Ziegler TurnBoard, a turning practice tool for dancers."Kenzie Ziegler TurnBoard" , BalletIsFun.com. Retrieved December 27, 2016 In 2017 and 2018, Ziegler collaborated on dance-inspired activewear clothing lines with tween retailer Justice.Juneau, Jen. "Back to Cool! Peek Into Mackenzie Ziegler’s New Dance-Inspired Justice Activewear Line", People magazine, August 31, 2017; and "Mackenzie Ziegler Designs New Spring Clothing Collection in Collaboration with Justice", NASDAQ Global Newswire, February 26, 2018 Justice also collaborated with her on a video of her song, "Teamwork", a back-to-school social media campaign with an anti-bullying theme, to promote the line. Later that year, Ziegler released a tee-shirt line called Tee4Too, and, with FanJoy in 2019, she released a line of sweatshirts and tee-shirts.
Ziegler and her sister conducted a dance workshop tour of Australia in January 2017.Ziegler, Maddie and Mackenzie. "Australian Tour: Ziegler Girls 2017" , ziegleraustraliatour.com. Retrieved December 11, 2016 Ziegler is featured in a 2017 dance advertisement for General Electric. They conducted another dance workshop tour of Australia and New Zealand in mid-2018.
2018–2023: Total Eclipse and Dancing with the Stars Juniors From 2018 to 2020, Ziegler starred as Cassie, a teenage girl coping with unpopularity, in the high school drama series Total Eclipse on the Brat TV digital network. She was an executive producer for the show. She also co-starred as the same character in the film Brat Holiday Spectacular (2018). In February 2018, Ziegler and her sister appeared on The Slow Mo Guys YouTube channel. She appeared on the cover of the April/May 2018 issue of Girls' Life magazine. Ziegler released a self-help book in May 2018, titled Kenzie's Rules for Life: How to be Happy, Healthy, and Dance to Your Own Beat, "a collection of inspirational, upbeat lessons for kids learning to navigate life." The book ranked No. 7 on the Publishers Weekly best-seller list for juvenile non-fiction. In fall 2018, Ziegler launched her own cosmetics line, "Love, Kenzie".
Ziegler was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars: Juniors in 2018, reaching the finals. On one episode of this show she danced together with her sister for the first time on television since Dance Moms. On November 20, 2018, Ziegler released her second studio album, Phases. One of the singles on the album, "Wonderful", was written by Sia, and Ziegler premiered the song on Dancing with the Stars."Mackenzie Ziegler Performs 'Wonderful' on DWTS" , ABC News, September 25, 2018 In December 2018, Ziegler starred as Dorothy in a holiday stage pantomime adaptation, The Wonderful Winter of Oz, in Pasadena, California. In mid-2019, Ziegler signed with Arista Records and toured the US as the warm-up act for PrettyMuch. She stars as the title character in an animated film, released in the US in November 2019 with the American title Ice Princess Lily, about an ice princess who befriends a dragon to defeat the evil snowman who rules her land.
Ziegler and her sister were guest judges in 2020 on the Quibi dance competition show Floored.Tilchen, Jordyn. "Liza Koshy's Floored Will Literally Knock You Off Your Feet", MTV, April 27, 2020 She duetted with Sia on Ziegler's song "Exhale", released in June 2020. In 2020–2021, Ziegler competed on The Masked Singer spin-off The Masked Dancer as "Tulip", finishing in third place. In 2023, she and her sister launched a back-to-school fashion collection with American Eagle Outfitters.Lockwood, Lisa. "American Eagle Launches B-t-s Collection and Campaign With Maddie and Kenzie Ziegler", Women's Wear Daily, July 27, 2023
2024–present: Biting My Tongue Ziegler released an album, Biting My Tongue, on July 26, 2024,"Kenzie on her latest single “Bad 4 U” and her viral TikTok tutorial", The Morining Show at 38:30, June 21, 2024"Biting My Tongue", Apple Music, July 26, 2024 which she says she wrote as "a form of therapy".Olson, Samantha. "Kenzie Ziegler Always Had a Voice. Now, She’s Ready to Unleash It.", Cosmopolitan, July 26, 2024 From October 2024 to May 2025, she opened for Mark Ambor on his Rockwood tour.Chung, Katherine. "See Mark Ambor on his Rockwood Tour", United by Pop, October 24, 2024Greenberg, Isabelle. "Singer-songwriter kenzie discusses new album, opening for Mark Ambor", The Daily, November 27, 2024 She released an EP, Notes from the In Between, on April 10, 2026.Alana. "Kenzie’s New Project, notes from the in between, Is Finally Here", The Honey Pop, April 10, 2026Gehlich, Clare. "Kenzie announces new EP notes from the in between out April 10", Melodic, April 2, 2026
From September to November 2026, Ziegler plans to make her Broadway debut in the featured ensemble role of Charmion in & Juliet.
Philanthropy In 2012, Ziegler, along with her mother and sister, partnered with Starlight Children's Foundation to help raise awareness for chronically ill youth. Ziegler has also partnered with foundations such as Love Your Melon and Dancers Against Cancer to raise awareness and funding for childhood cancer.Cruz, Rainbow. "‘Dance Moms' alums Maddie, Mackenzie Ziegler, JoJo Siwa team up for a new project after leaving Lifetime show?", Yibada, December 8, 2016 In 2016, Ziegler and her sister made a public service announcement for DoSomething.org's Birthday Mail campaign, which enables people to send homemade birthday cards to children living in homeless shelters. The same organization placed the Ziegler sisters on their 2016 list of charitable young celebrities.Jacobsen, Kevin. "Most Charitable Celebrities: Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift Among Stars 'Gone Good'", EnStars, December 29, 2016 Ziegler has also joined her sister to support Dancers Against Cancer.
In 2018, Ziegler performed at the first We Day Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She appeared on Celebrity Family Feud in 2019 together with her sister, mother, aunt and dancer Charlize Glass, playing for "My Friend's Place", where they have volunteered in the past, which provides meals for homeless youth in Los Angeles.
Reception and accolades