Whitney Leavitt Made It Happen

All month long, Bustle’s annual The Entertainers Issue is celebrating the performers and creators who lit up our screens and beyond in 2026.

Whitney Leavitt wants to commit murder — in a movie or TV drama, that is. “I want to kill someone,” she says, cheerfully, about her dream role. “I don’t know what, but I want to be the murderer. I’ve been told I play a good villain.” She may very well get her chance: The day after we speak, Peacock announced Leavitt as a contestant in the upcoming season of The Traitors.

Making her dreams happen, one way or another, is the Whitney way. The 33-year-old entered the spotlight as a TikTok star on “MomTok” — that loose collective of young Mormon mothers and content creators in Utah — before becoming a household name on the hit Hulu reality show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, where she anchored the cast as a frequent foil to her controversial costar Taylor Frankie Paul.

Reality TV notoriety, however, was never Leavitt’s endgame. She earned a bachelor’s degree in modern dance at Brigham Young University with hopes of pursuing film, TV, and musical theater. “It’s always been a part of who I am to be like, ‘Let me get up and entertain you,’” she says. “It doesn’t feel like a job to me.” She also wasn’t shy about using Mormon Wives as a springboard for something more. Leavitt briefly departed the series during negotiations for Season 3 after asking for a scripted acting role on another project, but she ultimately returned to the show for, by her own admission, the chance to audition for Dancing With the Stars.

Her plan worked: She nearly made it to the finale of DWTS’ 34th season in 2025, which paved the way for her record-breaking Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago earlier this year. “This trajectory — the steps that have led to this point — is never in a million years how I thought I would get to where I am,” Leavitt says. “It’s very unique. But you know what? That’s who I am, and I think it will continue to look that way. I will continue to do it like nobody else has done, and that’s just what makes me me.”

When Season 5 of Mormon Wives temporarily halted production amid concerns around Paul, Leavitt decided it was time to take the leap, announcing during her final Chicago performance that she was leaving the reality show for good. “It’s almost like when you’re in a relationship with someone and you’re just like, ‘This isn’t working anymore, and that’s OK,’” she says. “There were multiple times that I tried to leave and wanted that exit, but every time I left, it was out of bitterness and resentment and anger. This time is with gratitude and in good standing with everyone.”

And with a full slate ahead: In addition to Traitors, she’s producing and starring in the upcoming holiday film All for Love, and in December she’ll return to Broadway as Sandra Dee in the Bobby Darin musical Just in Time — a role Leavitt says she’s already pushing herself for. “I’m practicing the songs every day. I’ve got a vocal coach. It’s definitely more vocally challenging than Chicago, but I love that because I want to continue to do this,” she says. “Hey, Broadway, I can hang. This is my life. Prepare to get sick of me.”

On Dancing With the Stars as a career turning point:

It was the first time I got a platform to showcase what I can do. It’s not like on Secret Lives I can go, “Hold on, guys. Let me show you this dance move.” And it helped prepare me for Chicago because nobody sees how grueling [DWTS] is. You’re dealing with the emotional side of things, then you’re learning something you’ve never done before, and you’re reminded that it’s live, so no making any mistakes. If you make a mistake, what do you do with that? I got to take all of those things onto the Broadway stage.

On relating to Roxie Hart’s ambition in Chicago:

She knows what she wants, and she’s not ashamed of it. Do I love how she went about it? Absolutely not. But she knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to say it. There was a time when Secret Lives came out, and I was honest about what I wanted out of it. You either loved me or hated me for it. But you know what I think is so interesting? What if I was honest about it, and I failed? Would they still love me? I don’t know. I would hope if I did fail, that would’ve still been shown. But sometimes I’m like, “Are we so happy because what you’re seeing is the win?”

On her final Mormon Wives scene:

We stopped filming [in the middle of Season 5], so saying bye to everyone, you’re going to see that in Season 6. It was very heartfelt and warm. More than anything, the sentiment that I want to tell the women is, regardless of where we stand today — coworkers, friends, whatever the f*ck — we went through this together, and no one can take that away from us. Every time our paths cross, it’s going to feel like it was yesterday, even if it’s years from now. And that was received. Honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better ending.

On Ariana Madix being her Broadway guru:

Ariana Madix is in Just in Time right now, so I have the inside scoop [on what to expect]. She’s playing the opposite role of me — she’s Connie, and I’m Sandra Dee. I’m literally begging her, “Please just stay so we can have a one-night-only crossover.” Wouldn’t that be so iconic? I don’t know how we’re going to make it happen, but I told her, “You let me know who I need to call to make this happen.” It’s funny because she was also the person I went to for [advice about playing] Roxie. She’s absolutely crushing it.

On her first feature film, All for Love:

The world sees the wins, but trust me, I’ve had plenty of rejections, and it’s still happening. But this was one that happened so organically, and everyone was so excited about it. You know when those moments just happen, you’re just like, “This is meant to be.” It’s my first feature film. It’s my first film [where I’m] No. 1 on the call sheet, and I’m an EP on the film as well. I’m so excited for everybody else to see it. It’s just like those feel-good Christmas movies that everybody wants to watch during the holidays.

On dealing with rejection:

It’s a daily thing. It sounds so overdramatic, but it really is. I am constantly auditioning — you have to. You have to have the stamina because there will be more losses than wins. But you can’t let the losses win, and I’m never going to let that happen. If anything, there’s something inside of me that motivates me even more when that does happen. I’m like, “OK, you don’t want to put me in your movie? I’ll make my own.” Also, how boring, winning at everything. I enjoy the journey of figuring it out. You’re not seeing something, but I see something — so how do I make this happen?

Literally, I just had a conversation with my husband because he just got eliminated from Dancing With the Stars. I couldn’t be more proud of him, but I wanted him to know: If anything, this should light a fire in you.

On her future in reality TV:

I think [it would have to be] something else that is just kind of innate in who I am. I love sharing my life. I love creating community and camaraderie, relating with one another, and learning from each other. That door is not completely closed, but... I want to act. I want to be in film and TV, and these Broadway opportunities are continually prepping me for that.