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Derek Hough
Dancer Profile
Birth Date 17 May 1985 (1985-05-17) (age 38)
Hometown Salt Lake City, Utah

Partner(s) Professional
5: Jennie Garth (4th)
6: Shannon Elizabeth (6th)
7: Brooke Burke (1st)
8: Lil' Kim (5th)
9: Joanna Krupa (4th)
10: Nicole Scherzinger (1st)
11: Jennifer Grey (1st)
13: Ricki Lake (3rd)
14: Maria Menounos (4th)
All-Stars: Shawn Johnson (2nd)
16: Kellie Pickler (1st)
17: Amber Riley (1st)
18: Amy Purdy (2nd)
19: Bethany Mota (4th)
20: Nastia Liukin (4th)
21: Bindi Irwin (1st)
23: Marilu Henner (6th)
Judge
Dancing with the Stars 29
Dancing with the Stars 30
Dancing with the Stars 31
Dancing with the Stars 32

Derek Hough is a professional dancer and a judge in Dancing with the Stars.

Biography[]

Retrieved from abc.com
Emmy Award-winning and New York Times best-selling author Derek Hough, the only six-time champion in franchise history of the hit ABC show Dancing with the Stars, started dancing in his hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah, at age eleven. Just one year later, he moved to London to live and train with the top dance coaches in the world and attend the prestigious Italia Conti performing arts school where he studied theater, music and dance.

A multi-talented entertainer, two-time Emmy Award winner and seven-time nominee for Best Choreography, Hough has appeared in film, television and stage projects as an actor. He made his feature-film debut for director Duane Adler and producer Robert Cort in the feature film Make Your Move, and recently was featured in the ABC series Nashville. His stage performances include Radio City Music Hall's Spring Spectacular, costarring alongside the Tony Award winning Laura Benanti and the critically acclaimed production of Footloose, which he starred as the male lead in London's West End.

Hough was one of the featured dancers in the original Dancing with the Stars tour and a choreographer for the BBC (UK) hit show, Dance X. In addition to choreographing the hit music video "Parachute" for British popstar Cheryl Cole, Hough performed live with her on her 2010 concert tour in England and France to rave reviews and standing ovations.

Hough can also add author to his growing list of credits. His memoir Taking the Lead; Lessons from a Life in Motion hit stands in August of 2014 and rapidly was named to the prestigious New York Times Best-Seller list during two non-consecutive time periods. In 2014, Hough and his sister Julianne teamed for a live stage dance concert MOVE Live on Tour, performing in fifty cities around the country. In 2015, they toured again, selling out scores of venues on their 47-city outing.

With celebrity partners in Dancing with the Stars that have included Brooke Burke, Shannon Elizabeth, Jennie Garth, Ricki Lake, Maria Menounos, Nicole Scherzinger, Jennifer Grey, Kellie Pickler, Amber Riley, Amy Purdy, and Bindi Irwin, Hough is best known for his innovation and daring choreography on the show. Hough is the winningest professional dancer with six Mirrorball Trophies. His work has brought him Emmy nominations and inquiries from the film and music world regarding his dance knowledge and ability.

Dancing with the Stars 5[]

In Season 5, Derek was partnered with Jennie Garth. They placed 4th.

Scores[]

Performances[]

Dancing with the Stars 6[]

In Season 6, Derek was partnered with Shannon Elizabeth. They placed 6th.

Scores[]

Performances[]

Dancing with the Stars 7[]

In Season 7, Derek was partnered with Brooke Burke. They placed 1st.

Scores[]

1 Due to Len Goodman's absence in Week Six the 10 was awarded by stand-in guest judge Michael Flatley.

Performances[]

Dancing with the Stars 8[]

In Season 8, Derek was partnered with Lil' Kim. They placed 5th.

Scores[]

Dancing with the Stars 9[]

In Season 9, Derek was partnered with Joanna Krupa. They placed 4th.

Scores[]

1 Due to Len Goodman's absence in Week Two the 7 was awarded by stand-in guest judge Baz Luhrmann.
2 Due to illness, Hough was unfortunately unable to perform that night. Krupa performed this dance and the Group Hustle with stand-in partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Dancing with the Stars 10[]

In Season 10, Derek was partnered with Nicole Scherzinger. They placed 1st.

Scores[]

1 This week's dance received two scores from the judges; one for its technical execution and one for the performance.

Performances[]

Dancing with the Stars 11[]

In Season 11, Derek was partnered with Jennifer Grey. They placed 1st.

Scores[]

1 This week's dance received two scores from the judges; one for its technical execution and one for the performance.
2Score from guest judge Drew Lachey.

Notes: Hough and Grey hold the most perfect scores in all sixteen seasons with six perfect 30s. They won Season 11 on 23 November 2010 and this season marked Hough's third win, making him the first pro to win three times.

Dancing with the Stars 13[]

In Season 13, Derek was partnered with Ricki Lake. They placed 3rd.

Scores[]

Dancing with the Stars 14[]

In Season 14, Derek was partnered with Maria Menounos. They placed 4th.

Scores[]

1 The dancer Hough and Menounos chose for the Trio Challenge was Henry Byalikov.

Dancing with the Stars 15[]

In Season 15, Derek was partnered with Shawn Johnson. They placed 2nd.

Scores[]

1 Score from guest judge Paula Abdul
2 During Week Seven, Mark Ballas danced with Shawn Johnson in place of Hough, due to Hough having an injury in his neck.
3 The dancer Hough and Johnson chose for the Trio Challenge was Mark Ballas.

Dancing with the Stars 16[]

In Season 16, Derek was partnered with Kellie Pickler. They placed 1st.

Scores[]

1 Hough and Pickler chose Henry Byalikov and Anna Trebunskaya to dance with them on the "Side-By-Side" Challenge.
2 The dancer Hough and Pickler chose for the Trio Challenge was Tristan MacManus.

Note: This season was Derek's fourth win, making him the only pro with four mirrorball trophies.

Performances[]

Dancing with the Stars 17[]

In Season 17, Derek was partnered with Amber Riley. They placed 1st.

Scores[]

1 In Week Four, judge Len Goodman was absent and guest judge Julianne Hough filled in for him.
2 In Week Eight, judge Len Goodman was absent and guest judge Cher filled in for him.
3 The dancer Hough and Riley chose for the Trio Challenge is Mark Ballas.
4 Score from guest judge Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Note: This season was Derek's fifth win, making him the only pro with five mirrorball trophies and the first to have two back-to-back wins.

Dancing with the Stars 18[]

In Season 18, Derek was partnered with Amy Purdy. They placed 2nd.

Scores[]

1 Score from guest judge Robin Roberts.
2 For this week only, as part of the "Partner Switch-Up", Purdy did not perform with Derek Hough and instead performed with Mark Ballas. Hough performed with NeNe Leakes.
3 Score from guest judge Julianne Hough.
4 Score from guest judge Donny Osmond.
5 Score from guest judge Redfoo.
6 Scores from guest judge Ricky Martin.
7 Score from guest judge Abby Lee Miller.
8 Score from guest judge Kenny Ortega.

Performances[]

Dancing with the Stars 19[]

In Season 19, Derek was partnered with Bethany Mota. They placed 4th.

Scores[]

1 Score given by guest judge Kevin Hart in place of Goodman.
2 The American public scored the dance in place of Goodman with the averaged score being counted alongside the three other judges.
3 This week only, for "Partner Switch-Up" week, Mota performed with Mark Ballas instead of Hough. Hough performed with Sadie Robertson.
4 Score given by guest judge Jessie J in place of Goodman.
5 Score given by guest judge Pitbull in place of Goodman.

Dancing with the Stars 20[]

In Season 20, Derek was partnered with Nastia Liukin. They placed 4th.

Scores[]

1 Nastia Liukin performed with Sasha Farber as Derek Hough was unable to perform due to an injury. Despite this, Hough choreographed and participated in the dance, but remained limited. For Week 9, however, Liukin performed her Quickstep with Farber and her Viennese Waltz with Hough.

Dancing with the Stars 21[]

In Season 21, Derek was partnered with Bindi Irwin. They placed 1st.

Scores[]

1 Score given by guest judge Alfonso Ribeiro.
2 This week only, for "Partner Switch-Up" week, Irwin performed with Valentin Chmerkovskiy instead of Hough. Hough performed with Alexa PenaVega.
3 Score given by guest judge Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
4 Score given by guest judge Olivia Newton-John.

Dancing with the Stars 23[]

In Season 23, Derek was partnered with Marilu Henner. They placed 6th.

Scores[]

1 Score given by guest judge Pitbull.
2 Score given by guest judge Idina Menzel.

Performances[]

Dancing With the Stars 29[]

In Season 29, Derek was the new judge who replaced Len Goodman. In Week 6, Derek performed a Paso Doble with Hayley Erbert. He also performed a solo in the finale.

Performances[]

Dancing With the Stars 30[]

In Season 30, Derek returned as a judge. In Week 6, Derek performed a Tango with Hayley Erbert and fellow dancers Charity Anderson, Audrey Case, Alexis Warr, Chase Bowden, Jay Jay Dixonby and Diego Pasillias.

Performances[]

Dancing With the Stars 31[]

Derek returned for his second season as a judge for Dancing with the Stars 31.

Dancing With the Stars 32[]

Derek takes over as head judge after the retirement and death of Len Goodman.

Trivia[]

  • Derek is the older brother of former pro and judge Julianne Hough, and he is the second cousin of Season 20 contestant Riker Lynch.
  • Derek holds the record of most DWTS wins, with six.
  • Derek has 3 Emmys for Outstanding Choreography on DWTS.
  • He dated former partner Shannon Elizabeth from 2008-2009.
  • He is in a relationship with fellow pro dancer Hayley Erbert.
    • They announced their engagement on 2 June 2022.
    • They married 26 August 2023 in a traditional ceremony at a forest in Monterey County, California.
    • Mark Ballas served as his best man.
  • Derek has a rescue dog named Romie, a rescue cat named Palo, an adopted dog named Luna and a cat named Lily.
  • Derek was part of the "Bust a Move" event for breast health that took place in Ottawa, Canada, where he led a fitness session. During the event, $1,048,258.60 was raised for breast cancer.
  • Derek is a judge in World of Dance alongside producer Jennifer Lopez and fellow judge Ne-Yo, until it was cancelled on 15 March 2021.
  • He had come in fourth place five times (two of these points of elimination he had been in first place, one of them he had been in second.)
  • He is the second pro to judge on Dancing the Stars, his sister Julianne Hough, was the first pro to do so.

Other Pics[]

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