Who Is Cathy Nesbitt-Stein?

Cathy Nesbitt-Stein is an American dance studio owner and reality television personality from Canton, Ohio. She is best known as the founder of Candy Apple's Dance Center, a studio she opened back in 1988 and has been running ever since. To millions of viewers, though, she is the Dance Moms cast member who spent five seasons feuding with Abby Lee Miller on national television.

Off camera, Cathy lives a much quieter life than the show suggested. People who have worked with her in Canton have often described her as sweet and warm, very different from the villain edit she got on TV. She has spent most of her adult life teaching young dancers, and she still does.

Age and Early Life

Cathy was born on April 19, 1959, in Canton, Ohio, which makes her 66 years old as of 2026. She grew up in Ohio and has lived in the Canton area for essentially her whole life. She has kept her parents, her siblings, and her schooling out of the public eye, and she has never really spoken about her childhood in interviews.

What we do know is that she fell in love with dance early. Ballet was her favorite style as a kid and it still is. That love is what eventually pushed her to open her own studio in her late twenties, a decision that ended up shaping the rest of her life.

Full Name and Ethnicity

Her full name is Cathy Jean Nesbitt-Stein. Nesbitt is her maiden name and Stein comes from her husband Mike. She uses the hyphenated version in her professional life, on her studio paperwork, and on social media.

Cathy is American, and her ethnicity is White. She was born and raised in Ohio and has never lived anywhere else for any real length of time. Icon Polls finds that questions around her ethnicity come up a lot in search, mostly because her daughter Vivi-Anne was adopted from Guatemala, which sometimes confuses readers about the family's background.

Husband: Mike Stein

Cathy has been married to Mike Stein since 1992. Mike works as an insurance adjuster and also owns a beef jerky store in the Canton area, which actually appeared on an episode of Dance Moms back in the day. The store sits right next to Candy Apple's Dance Center, and Cathy used to joke on the show that Dance Moms tourists would stop in at both places on the same trip.

Mike has always stayed more in the background than Cathy, though he did show up on the show a few times during the feud years. By most accounts the two of them have a steady, low-drama marriage, which is a nice contrast to the noise of the show that made Cathy famous.

Daughter: Vivi-Anne Stein

Cathy and Mike do not have biological children. They adopted their daughter Vivi-Anne from Guatemala in 2004, when Vivi-Anne was just a baby. She was born on September 11, 2004.

Vivi-Anne grew up inside her mother's studio and appeared on Dance Moms during seasons one and two. She was the reason Cathy ended up on the show in the first place. These days Vivi-Anne has moved past competitive dance. She attends Cleveland State University and cheers for the Vikings. Cathy still posts about her often on Instagram and seems genuinely proud of how her daughter turned out.

Career: Candy Apple's Dance Center and Dance Moms

Cathy founded Candy Apple's Dance Center in Canton, Ohio, in 1988. The studio offers classes in ballet, tap, jazz, and acro, and she has been teaching there personally for more than three decades. It is the thing she built from nothing, and she is still running it in 2026.

Her national break came in 2011, when Lifetime cast her in the first season of Dance Moms. Cathy originally placed Vivi-Anne at Abby Lee Miller's studio, then pulled her out and brought her back to Candy Apple's. That moment set up the rivalry that carried the show for years. From season two onward, Cathy and her Candy Apple's teams were positioned as the main competition for the ALDC, and their arguments at competitions became some of the most replayed moments on the show.

She appeared regularly through season five and then stepped away. She has said more than once that she left because running an actual studio back home mattered more to her than filming a TV show in Los Angeles. She did not return for the 2024 Dance Moms reunion special.

Net Worth in 2026

Icon Polls estimates that Cathy Nesbitt-Stein's net worth sits somewhere between $1 million and $2 million in 2026. The number comes mostly from her dance studio, which has been in business for more than 35 years and still runs classes, competition teams, and workshops. Her earnings from Dance Moms, guest appearances, and her social media presence add to that total.

She is not in the same financial bracket as some of the bigger Dance Moms names, but she has built something steady and lasting in Canton. Her Instagram following of more than 200,000 also helps her keep the Candy Apple's brand visible, long after the show wrapped.

Where Is Cathy Nesbitt-Stein Now?

In 2026, Cathy is still in Canton, still running Candy Apple's Dance Center, and still teaching. Her day-to-day life is mostly about the studio, her family, and her hobbies, which she has said include gardening, golf, reading, and vintage decorating. She stays active on Instagram, where she posts about her students, her daughter, and the occasional throwback from her Dance Moms years.

She has not been part of the reboot or the recent reunion specials, and based on her public comments, she does not seem to miss being on camera. The studio is her thing. Always has been.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cathy Nesbitt-Stein

1. What is Cathy Nesbitt-Stein's full name?

Her full name is Cathy Jean Nesbitt-Stein.

2. How old is Cathy Nesbitt-Stein in 2026?

She is 66 years old. She was born on April 19, 1959.

3. Where was Cathy Nesbitt-Stein born?

She was born in Canton, Ohio, in the United States, and she still lives there today.

4. What is Cathy Nesbitt-Stein's ethnicity?

Cathy is White and she is of American nationality.

5. What is Cathy Nesbitt-Stein's net worth in 2026?

Icon Polls estimates her net worth at between $1 million and $2 million, mostly from her dance studio and her years on Dance Moms.

6. Who is Cathy Nesbitt-Stein's husband?

Her husband is Mike Stein. He is an insurance adjuster and also owns a beef jerky store in the Canton area. They married in 1992.

7. Does Cathy Nesbitt-Stein have children?

She has one daughter, Vivi-Anne Stein, who was adopted from Guatemala in 2004. Cathy and Mike do not have biological children.

8. How did Cathy Nesbitt-Stein become famous?

She became famous through the Lifetime reality show Dance Moms, where she was positioned as the main rival to Abby Lee Miller. She appeared on the show from its first season in 2011 through season five.

9. What is Candy Apple's Dance Center?

It is the dance studio Cathy founded in 1988 in Canton, Ohio. She still owns and runs it, and she teaches there herself. The studio offers ballet, tap, jazz, and acro classes.

10. Why did Cathy leave Dance Moms?

She has said she left because the show relocated to Los Angeles and she needed to be back in Ohio running her actual studio. She also said she was tired of the constant on-camera conflict.

11. Are Cathy Nesbitt-Stein and Abby Lee Miller really enemies?

No, not in real life. They have been colleagues since 1988 and have said in interviews that they get along off camera. The show heavily played up their rivalry for TV.

12. What happened to Vivi-Anne Stein?

Vivi-Anne grew up and moved on from competitive dance. She now attends Cleveland State University and is a cheerleader for the Vikings.

13. How tall is Cathy Nesbitt-Stein?

She stands at 5 feet 4 inches tall, which is about 1.63 meters.

14. When did Cathy Nesbitt-Stein open her dance studio?

She opened Candy Apple's Dance Center in 1988, which means the studio has been running for more than 35 years.

15. What is Cathy Nesbitt-Stein's favorite dance style?

Ballet is her favorite style. She has mentioned it many times in interviews and on the show.

16. Is Cathy Nesbitt-Stein on social media?

Yes. She is most active on Instagram, where she has more than 200,000 followers, and she uses the platform to post about her studio, her students, and her family.

17. Did Cathy Nesbitt-Stein appear in the 2024 Dance Moms reunion?

No, she did not take part in the 2024 Dance Moms reunion special. She has kept her distance from the reboot and reunion content in general.

18. What are Cathy Nesbitt-Stein's hobbies?

Outside of dance, she enjoys golf, reading, gardening, shopping, and designing vintage decorations.

19. How long have Cathy and Mike Stein been married?

They married in 1992, which means they have been together as a married couple for more than 30 years.

20. What is Cathy Nesbitt-Stein doing in 2026?

She is still running Candy Apple's Dance Center in Canton, Ohio, teaching, and spending time with her family. She is not currently involved in any reality TV projects.