Résumé Rundown: Nia Sioux

Growing up at the "bottom of the pyramid," Sioux is turning that disempowering label into a legacy

- By Danielle Wright

Sioux sports a Christopher John Rogers Black Pleated Striped Ribbed Wool Maxi Dress.

I grew up being told I wasn’t good enough,” says Nia Sioux.

Now, at 24, she’s a household name and has learned to transform her pain into power—but she still reflects on what once was. Notably cast as the underdog of the hit Lifetime series Dance Moms, she has emerged as not only a performer but a creator, singer, philanthropist and author who is reclaiming the narrative of her life. Her debut memoir, Bottom of the Pyramid, is both a reckoning and a love letter to the girl she used to be.

When Sioux first joined the reality show, at 9 years old, she was bright and ambitious—and she simply loved to dance. “Baby Nia was so confident,” she says of that time. “She had this whole world ahead of her.”

Unfortunately, on screen, that shine was stripped away. The show’s infamous six-person pyramid, put together by teacher and main character Abby Lee Miller, was controversial.