Jennifer Grey named `Dancing With the Stars' champ

The 50-year-old actress, whose performances were almost always flawless during the season, beat out last-place finisher Palin Tuesday on the hit ABC show and actor Kyle Massey, who came in second.

Grey and professional partner Derek Hough earned a string of perfect scores on their way to the mirrorball trophy. The couple consistently topped the judges' leaderboard throughout the season, but Palin's cadre of voter support led to some surprising upsets, including Brandy's elimination after earning a perfect score last week.

Palin's improbable run to the finals had been championed by some conservative bloggers running get-out-the-vote campaigns. She came into the season finale in last place and said she was leaving her fate to the voters.

"Going out there and winning this would mean a lot. It would be like a big middle finger to all the people out there that hate my mom and hate me," Sarah Palin's daughter said during Tuesday's show, which featured a reunion of the season's cast members and performances from Christina Aguilera.