Carrie Ann Inaba | |
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Judge Profile | |
Birth Date | January 5, 1968 |
Hometown | Honolulu, Hawaii |
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Season(s) | Season 1, Season 2, Season 3 Season 4, Season 5, Season 6 Season 7, Season 8, Season 9 Season 10, Season 11, Season 12 Season 13, Season 14, All-stars Season 16, Season 17, Season 18 Season 19, Season 20, Season 21 Season 22, Season 23, Season 24 Season 25, Athletes, Season 27 Season 28, Season 29, Season 30 |
Carrie Ann Inaba is a judge on Dancing with the Stars alongside Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli.
Biography[]
Retrieved from abc.com
Carrie Ann Inaba is a veteran choreographer most recognized as a judge on ABC's Emmy Award-winning Dancing with the Stars, as well as for her work on such popular series as American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.
As a child, Inaba explored dance forms, played the piano and violin, and sang in the choir. She found early success as a musical artist overseas in Japan. One of her first jobs was on In Living Color (1990), where she became one of the first Asian Americans to perform contemporary dance on national television as one of the Fly Girls, a collection of multi-ethnic dancers who performed during breaks between comedy skits. The Fly Girls were at the forefront of bringing Hip Hop to mainstream television.
On the big screen, Inaba costarred as Fook Yu in New Line Cinemas' Austin Powers: Goldmember and earlier as Felicity Dancer in Austin Powers II: The Spy Who Shagged Me. She was also featured in American Virgin and Monster Mash, and as a dancer in Boys and Girls, Flintstones II, Showgirls, and Lord of Illusions.
On television she has enchanted with her choreography on ABC's Dance Wars: Bruno vs Carrie Ann, Miss America Pageant, American Idol, American Juniors, Dance Fever -- in which she also served as backstage host -- The TV Land Awards and The Kids Choice Awards. She was also host of Game Show Network's 1 VS. 100 and TV Guide's Red Carpet Live, pioneered TV Guide's Fashion Wrap with Carrie Ann, was guest host for Live! with Regis and Kelly and Live with Kelly, The View, guest starred as Hannah Montana's choreographer, Tina, and was host and presenter of the American Music Awards' Red Carpet Exclusive.
Inaba's passions are not confined to dance and entertainment: In 2012 she launched The Animal Project Foundation, collaborating with rescue and animal organizations to create programs that help end the killing of millions of animals. THE APF works towards making the world a better place for animals in need by providing emergency rescue funding, and sponsors The LA Spay Neuter Fest, an outdoor community event that provides free spay/ neuter and other medical services to underserved communities, as well as animal welfare education in a fun family and furry friendly atmosphere.
In addition Inaba has partnered with the Petsami Network to co-create and executive produce the cat adoption web series Crib Cats, and with Lisa Erspamer and The Forum Entertainment Group to develop programming that features and highlights the human-animal bond. In 2009 she appeared in a PETA campaign that taught the ABC's of animal birth control, and she is a celebrity ambassador for Best Friends Animal Shelter.
Inaba joined the Board of Directors of C.A.P.E, the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment, in 2011. In addition she is the national spokesperson for Drea's Dream, a national program that raises funds for dance therapy for pediatric cancer patients.
Trivia[]
- She dated Artem Chigvintsev from 2006-2008.
- She was in a relationship with Jesse Sloan from 2009-2012.
- She is currently in a relationship with actor Robb Derringer.
- They became engaged on December 10, 2016.
- In September 2017, they called off the engagement.
- She is legally blind, having a vision of 20/750.
- She wears glasses or contacts.
- She suffers from spinal stenosis.
- She also suffers from Sjogren's Syndrome.
- She is a huge animal lover and supports organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States and PETA.
- She launched her own foundation, the Carrie Ann Animal Foundation, in 2012.
- She apologized to Kelly Monaco fifteen years later for sounding harsher in her critique than she had intended.[1]
- On December 10, 2020, she revealed that she tested positive for COVID-19. She was resting at home while dealing with the symptoms.