Ezra Frech has spent most of his life proving people wrong, and season 35 of Dancing with the Stars is just the latest arena. The 21-year-old two-time Paralympic gold medalist, paired with pro dancer Daniella Karagach, has consistently landed at the top of the show’s leaderboard — and in an interview published by PEOPLE on 13 October 2026, he explained why the moment means so much more than a trophy.
“I know that little kid would be tripping out if he saw what we were doing right now,” Frech told PEOPLE during a break from rehearsals, reflecting on the boy he once was: a Los Angeles kid with congenital limb differences who felt stared at everywhere he went.
Who Is Ezra Frech?
Frech was born in Los Angeles, the oldest of three boys, to Bahar Soomekh, a former actress, and businessman Clayton Frech. He was born without his left shin bone and left knee, and with only one finger on his left hand. At age 3, he underwent surgery to remove his lower left leg and transplant his big left toe onto his left hand to give him a thumb. According to TV Insider, his leg was amputated above the knee, and he now has two fingers on his left hand.
Growing up, the attention was relentless. “Everywhere you go in public, people are staring and pointing fingers and whispering. I felt like a zoo animal for many of those early years,” he told PEOPLE. What saved him, he says, was his family and a near-constant rotation of sports. “Basketball, soccer, football, whatever was in season, I was playing sports all the time, and that gave me an escape, a place where I could separate myself from the identity of always being a kid with a disability and just be one of the guys,” he said.
The early recognition came fast. At age 9, Frech was named a finalist for Sports Illustrated Kids‘ SportsKid of the Year and appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. But the real turning point came in 2016, when he watched track and field at the Rio Paralympics on television and described it as an “out of body experience.” “It was like the switch flipped,” he told PEOPLE.
From Tokyo to Paris: Two Gold Medals
That switch set him on a path to the Tokyo Paralympics, where he placed fifth in the high jump and eighth in the long jump. No podium, but no regrets. “Nothing could have dimmed that moment for me,” he said.
Three years later in Paris, everything came together. At the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, Frech won gold in both the 100-meter dash and the high jump. “There’s nothing like your first gold,” he told PEOPLE. “There’s something magical about winning something like that for the first time, and when you put so much into it, it’s very special.”
Today he has paused his studies at the University of Southern California to train for the LA28 Paralympic Games — with a Mirrorball Trophy run squeezed in between.
Why Dancing with the Stars Matters to Him
Frech is the fourth amputee ever cast on Dancing with the Stars, following Heather Mills in 2007, Amy Purdy in 2014 and Noah Galloway in 2015, and the first to compete with a mechanical knee, according to PEOPLE. That history is not lost on him. When he was younger, he said, DWTS was “the only place in the mainstream media I really saw disability representation.”
Now he wants to pass that on. “I dream of continuing that legacy and being that person for the next generation,” he told PEOPLE. “If you have a disability, you should be able to turn on the TV screen and see people like you.”
He is part of a longer lineage, too. As TV Insider notes in its roundup of disabled DWTS contestants, the show has featured deaf contestants including Marlee Matlin, Nyle DiMarco and Daniel Durant; J.R. Martinez, burned over nearly 40% of his body while serving in the US Army in Iraq, won season 13 in 2011, and DiMarco won season 22 in 2016 with Peta Murgatroyd. Jack Osbourne, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2012, finished third in season 17. Selma Blair competed in 2022 after her MS diagnosis before withdrawing in week five. Frech’s season 35 run adds a new chapter — and a new first — to that list.
Life in the Rehearsal Studio With Daniella Karagach
Dancing on a prosthetic leg brings complications most contestants never think about. Perfecting each move while deciding whether to use his walking or running blade “takes a lot of trial and error,” Frech told PEOPLE.
Whatever the logistical hurdles, the results speak for themselves: he and Karagach, 33, have repeatedly topped the leaderboard this season. The partnership has clearly clicked off the floor as well. “We’re always having the best time together,” Frech said of Karagach. “I know I’m going to be friends with [her] for the rest of my life.”
The pair’s chemistry has even become a running joke in interviews. In a USA Today video published 7 October 2026, Karagach delivered a playful message to Frech’s future girlfriend as the two laughed about handling a flood of new DM requests from fans.
“I never would have thought I’d fall so in love with dance, but I’m enjoying every second,” Frech told PEOPLE ahead of the show’s 13 October episode.
Angel City Sports: The Achievement He Values Most
Ask Frech about his proudest accomplishment and he does not point to a medal or a leaderboard. He points to Angel City Sports, the nonprofit he co-founded with his father in 2013, which makes adaptive sports accessible to people with disabilities in Southern California.
“The power of sport, what it does for you physically, psychologically, what it does for the soul, those same effects are tenfold in someone with a physical disability,” he told PEOPLE.
One day he hopes to expand the work globally while continuing what he sees as his core mission: normalizing disability. “What I was put on this earth to do,” is how he described it to PEOPLE.
What’s Next for Frech
For now, the schedule is packed: Dancing with the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu, and LA28 training continues in the background. Whether he leaves season 35 with the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy or not, Frech has already made his point — the same one he has been making since he was a kid refusing to be defined by what he was born without.
FAQ
Who is Ezra Frech on Dancing with the Stars season 35?
Ezra Frech is a 21-year-old American Paralympic track and field athlete and two-time gold medalist at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (100-meter dash and high jump). He is competing on season 35 of Dancing with the Stars with pro partner Daniella Karagach.
What disability does Ezra Frech have?
Frech was born with congenital limb differences: he was born without his left shin bone and left knee and with one finger on his left hand. At age 3, his lower left leg was amputated and his big left toe was transplanted onto his left hand to serve as a thumb. He is the first DWTS contestant to compete with a mechanical knee.
Has an amputee ever won Dancing with the Stars?
No amputee has won, but disabled contestants have taken the title: J.R. Martinez won season 13 in 2011 and deaf model Nyle DiMarco won season 22 in 2016. Previous amputee contestants include Heather Mills (2007), Amy Purdy (2014) and Noah Galloway (2015).
When and where does Dancing with the Stars air?
Dancing with the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.