Derek Hough

Emmy Award winning and New York Times Best-Selling author Derek Hough started dancing in his hometown of Salt Lake City, UT, at age 11. 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 theatre, music, and dance.

As a three-time Emmy Award winner and twelve-time nominee, Hough is the most nominated male choreographer in Television Academy history. Hough has also 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 had a recurring role on the ABC series Nashville and in High School Musical The Musical for Disney+. His stage performances include Radio City Music Hall’s Spring Spectacular co-starring alongside the Tony Award winning Laura Benanti and the critically acclaimed production of Footloose in which he starred as the male lead in London’s West End. In December of 2016, Hough starred with Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande, Martin Short and Harvey Fierstein in NBC’s Hairspray Live!

In 2020, Hough joined the hit ABC series Dancing with the Stars as part of the judging panel alongside Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Toniolo. A multi-talented entertainer and the only six-time champion in franchise history, Hough had previously performed on the show as a pro-dancer. His mirror ball wins came with celebrity partners that included Brooke Burke, Jennie Garth, Ricki Lake, Nicole Scherzinger, Jennifer Grey, Kellie Pickler, Amber Riley, Amy Purdy and Bindi Irwin.