Julianne Hough

Dancer

• Born: July 20, 1988
• Place of Birth: Salt Lake City, Utah

Contribution: Julianne Hough an Emmy Award–winning choreographer, dancer, singer, and actor best known for winning the television dance competition Dancing with the Stars twice in a row and for starring in the movies Footloose (2011), a remake of the original 1984 film, and Safe Haven (2013).

Background

Julianne Alexandra Hough was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 20, 1988, to Marriann Heaton (now Marriann Nelson) and Bruce Hough. She was raised in a Mormon family in Sandy, Utah, with her brother, Derek, and her three sisters, Sharee, Marabeth, and Katherine. Hough, her siblings, and their mother toured throughout Utah as White Lightning, a singing and dancing country band that was referred to as the “blond Osmonds.”

Hough’s formal training as a dancer began in Orem, Utah. After her parents divorced in 1998, Hough and her brother moved to London to focus on their dance careers under the tutelage of well-known dance coaches Corky and Shirley Ballas. Their son, Mark Ballas, later became Hough’s dance partner in international competitions. Hough attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London for five years while competing, winning the Blackpool Dance Festival’s International Latin Youth Champion and Junior World Latin Champion prizes.

Despite her accomplishments, Hough’s time abroad was not a happy period. In interviews, she has said that she was mentally and physically abused while in London. When she was fifteen, she moved back to the United States, first to Las Vegas, where her mother and stepfather lived, and then back to Utah, where her father lived. She graduated from Alta High School in 2006.

Career

Hough moved to Los Angeles in September 2006. She auditioned for and won a place as one of the Million Dollar Dancers on the short-lived game show Show Me the Money. Hough joined the cast of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) in 2007 for its fourth season and won the competition with her partner, former speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno. She returned to the show for season five and won again, this time with partner Hélio Castroneves, a race-car driver. Hough’s performance with Castroneves earned her a nomination for an Emmy Award for best choreography.

Hough returned to Dancing with the Stars in season six, but she and her partner, comedian Adam Carolla, were eliminated. She returned again in season seven but missed several performances during the season when she required surgery to treat her endometriosis, a condition of the uterus that also necessitated the removal of her appendix. Within weeks of her return, she and her brother created and performed an energetic jive number, for which they would earn a 2009 Emmy nomination for best choreography. Nevertheless, Hough and actor Cody Linley, her partner for the season, were eliminated in the semifinals. Hough returned for season eight in 2009, partnered with country singer Chuck Wicks. She had earlier stated that she did not intend to return, wishing instead to focus on her country-music career. Hough and Wicks were eliminated after eight rounds of voting, coming in sixth place.

Hough eventually did return to DWTS, as a guest dancer in seasons seventeen (2013), eighteen (2014), and twenty-five (2017), and as a judge in seasons nineteen through twenty-four (2014–17). During the season twenty finale, she and her brother, Derek Hough, a five-time DWTS champion, danced live on the show to Sia's "Elastic Heart," also performed live by the artist. The siblings, along with Tessandra Chavez won a 2015 Primetime Emmy Award for best choreography for their performance.

Hough released a country-music single, “Will You Dance with Me,” in May 2007, and it met with some success, reaching the Billboard Top 100. The following May, Hough released a self-titled country album. It sold sixty-seven thousand copies in its first week, topping the country-music charts and reaching number three on the pop charts. Also in 2008, Hough joined singer Brad Paisley on tour and released an EP of holiday music, which hit number two on the country-music charts. In 2009, Hough won the 2008 Academy of Country Music Awards for best new artist and best new female vocalist.

Hough had always had an interest in acting, first appearing as an extra in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 2001. She later appeared as a dancer named Georgia in Burlesque (2010) and had her first starring role as Ariel Moore in the 2011 remake of the 1984 movie Footloose, opposite Kenny Wormald. In 2012, Hough starred in the film Rock of Ages as Sherrie Christian, a small-town stripper, opposite Tom Cruise, Russell Brad, Alec Baldwin, Bryan Cranston, and Catherine Zeta-Jones . She also starred opposite Josh Duhamel in the romantic drama Safe Haven (2013), based on the 2010 novel by Nicholas Sparks.

In January 2016, Hough played the lead of Sandy Young in FOX Television's hit musical Grease Live! The show was nominated for ten Emmy Awards and won four. Hough shared in the Emmy for outstanding special class program. The ensemble's performance of "You're the One That I Want" also won the MTV Movie & TV Award for best musical moment.

In addition to her television and film work, Hough has collaborated with her brother Derek on creating, choreographing, producing, and performing on several musical/dance tours with the Move Company Dancers. These include the MOVE Live on Tour across North America in 2014; another tour in the summer of the following year; and the MOVE Beyond Live on Tour in 2017. In 2018, Hough starred as Betty Weirder in the film Bigger. She then went on to play Hadley in the 2021 podcast series Hit Job.

Impact

Hough has seen success as a dancer, singer, and actor. She has won numerous dancing competitions and two Academy of Country Music Awards. In 2012, her performance in the film Rock of Ages earned her two Teen Choice Award nominations, one for best breakout and one for best chemistry, with costar Diego Boneta.

Personal Life

Hough was engaged to dancer Zach Wilson in 2007. After their engagement ended, she went on to date country singer Chuck Wicks, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, and filmmaker Ari Sandel. She married professional hockey player Brooks Laich in 2017.

Bibliography

Alamenciak, Tim. “Safe Haven Stars a Natural Fit Off-Screen.” Toronto Star. Toronto Star, 14 Feb. 2013. Web. 6 Sept. 2013.

Hill, Logan. “The Golden Girl.” Cosmopolitan Feb. 2013: 152–55. Print.

Hough, Julianne. Interview by Dimitri Ehrlich. Interview June–July 2012: 76–118. Print.

"Julianne Hough." Internet Movie Database, 20 Sept. 2024, www.imdb.com/name/nm2584600/. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.

Kaufman, Amy. “Julianne Hough Is Dancing to a Wider Hollywood Tune.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2013. Web. 6 Sept. 2013.

Strauss, Gary. “Dancing Star Julianne Hough to Have Surgery.” USA Today. Gannett, 28 Oct. 2008. Web. 6 Sept. 2013.

True, Chris. “Julianne Hough—Biography.” Billboard. Billboard, n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2013.

Wang, Julia, ed. “Julianne Hough Biography.” People. Time, n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2013.