Julianne Hough: Recent News

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Julianne Hough: Snapshot

Name: Julianne Hough
Date of Birth: July 20, 1988
Birth Place: Salt Lake City, Utah

Decked out in barely-there sequined costumes, Julianne Hough skated (and raced) her way to two Dancing with the Stars titles with partners Apolo Ohno and Helio Castroneves. But the bubbly blonde had more than disco-ball trophies on her horizon.

The youngest of five kids, Hough left her native Utah to study dance in London with her older brother Derek and future DWTS champ Mark Ballas. Upon returning to the states, Hough eventually made her mark on the ABC reality competition, winning back-to-back titles. In 2008, the ambitious beauty took on the world of country music, with her No. 1 self-titled debut album.

Previously engaged to dancer Zach Wilson and country singer Chuck Wicks, Hough moved on with Ryan Seacrest, as she embarked on silver screen stardom in Burlesque and the 2011 update of Footloose.

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Julianne Hough: Video

Star Talk

From the racetrack to the dance studio, Dancing with the Stars partners Julianne Hough and Helio Castroneves keep the laughs coming.

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Julianne Hough: Five Fun Facts

Julianne Hough loves her revealing Dancing with the Stars outfits. "I'm the first to admit it: I like being sexy! I always wear the shorter shorts and my dad's like, 'Cover up!'" she told PEOPLE. "Modesty, that's my biggest downfall."
While living in London, Julianne Hough staved off homesickness by listening to Shania Twain. "My British friends were like, 'You're a hick!'" she told PEOPLE.
When Julianne Hough came to Nashville to record her country album, songwriters wrote a slew of songs for her about dancing. "Each one that said dancing (in the title), I said 'Nope, sorry,'" Hough told the AP.
As a kid, Julianne Hough played the bongos and sang in her family's country band, White Lightning. "We were kind of known as the blond Osmonds," she told the AP. "We were known as 'White Lightning' because of our hair. It's kind of embarrassing now."
If it were up to her, Julianne Hough would choose The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian star Ben Barnes as her next Dancing with the Stars partner. "I just saw a picture of him in a magazine and wow, that would be awesome," she told the New York Daily News.

Julianne Hough: Biography

1988: Dancing Darling
Growing up near Salt Lake City, Hough is the youngest of Marriann and Bruce's five kids who, with their mom tour the state as White Lightning – a blonde version of the Osmonds. "She was just a ball of energy," her brother Derek tells PEOPLE.
late 1990s: London Calling
Hough's parents divorce when she's 10, and she and Derek move to London to train with the parents of future Dancing with the Stars pro Mark Ballas. He becomes Hough's dance partner and boyfriend. "She was my first love," Ballas says. While attending the renowned theater arts school Italia Conti, the trio forms a pop group called 2B1G (short for two boys, one girl). "We had the corniest songs," Hough later recalls to PEOPLE. "We had a song called 'L-O-V-E Y-O-U,' and we spelled it out with our hands." After five years in London (where she becomes a two-time Latin dance world champion), Hough returns to America.
2007: Skating to Dancing Fame
Less than a year after graduating from high school, Hough joins the fourth season of ABC's hit show, Dancing with the Stars. Paired with Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno, Hough beats former boybander Joey Fatone and boxer Laila Ali for the DWTS title and mirror-ball trophy in May.