Julianne Hough

Julianne Hough (born July 20, 1988) is an American professional ballroom dancer, television celebrity and country music singer, whom the television newsmagazine 20/20 describes as one of the "very best dancers on the planet." She has won several international titles, and is the youngest professional dancer ever to have competed on the televised competition Dancing with the Stars. She won the overall title in her first year on the show, as she coached her amateur dance partner, Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, to win the competition. She defended her championship on Dancing with the Stars in its very next season, this time paired with Indianapolis 500 champion Hélio Castroneves, matching the back-to-back wins of fellow professional dancer Cheryl Burke. Hough appeared on season 6 of Dancing With the Stars with actor/comedian Adam Carolla.

After being eliminated from the competition on April 8, 2008, Julianne Hough was signed to Mercury Nashville Records as a recording artist. She has released her debut single "That Song in My Head" to country radio, and her self-titled debut album was released May 20, 2008.

Julianne Hough began working almost immediately upon arriving in Los Angeles. She was featured in two television commercials and was a "dancing" extra in an episode of Cold Case. She was one of the "Million Dollar Dancers" in the short lived network television game show Show Me the Money starring William Shatner.

Julianne Hough appeared in the fourth season of Dancing with the Stars, a televised ballroom dance competition. In her first season, she won with her partner, Olympic gold medal-winning speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, making Hough the youngest professional dancer both to compete, and to win, on the program. She is also the third professional, after Alec Mazo and Cheryl Burke, to win a Dancing with the Stars championship in one's first season with the show. On November 27, 2007, Hough and her partner, two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Hélio Castroneves, became the winners of Season 5. She is the second professional dancer to win two consecutive seasons of Dancing with the Stars. Hough returned for season 6 with actor/radio host/comedian Adam Carolla. They were eliminated on Tuesday, April, 8, 2008.

Julianne Hough has also made guest appearances on other shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The View, Ellen, and Good Morning America. She participated in the taping of the 2007 Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade inside the Magic Kingdom at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.