Julianne Hough

Hough was born in Orem, Utah, the youngest of five children in a Mormon family. Her parents are Bruce and Marianne Hough; her father was twice chairman of the Utah Republican Party and ran for Utah's 2nd congressional district in 2023. Her brother, Derek Hough, is also a professional dancer. She has three older sisters. All four of Hough's grandparents were dancers. She is also a second cousin of musicians Riker, Rydel, Rocky, and Ross Lynch from the band R5, their maternal grandmothers are sisters.

Hough's formal training began at the Center Stage Performing Arts Studio in Orem where she danced with Josh Murillo, among others, in Latin Ballroom. She began dancing competitively at nine. When she was 10, Julianne's parents, who were divorcing, sent Julianne and her brother Derek to London to live and study with their coaches, Corky and Shirley Ballas. The Ballases tutored the Houghs alongside their own son, Mark. At the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts Hough and her brother received training in song, theatre, gymnastics and many forms of dance, including jazz, ballet, and tap. When Hough was 12, the three children formed their own pop music trio 2B1G ("2 Boys, 1 Girl"). They performed at dance competitions in the UK and the U.S., and showcased in a UK television show. At 15, Hough became the youngest dancer, and the only American, to win both Junior World Latin Champion and International Latin Youth Champion at the Blackpool Dance Festival. After returning to the U.S., she attended the Las Vegas Academy and Alta High School.Hough was one of the Million Dollar Dancers in the 2006 ABC game show called Show Me the Money. She won season four of the U.S. edition of Dancing with the Stars with her partner, Olympic gold medal-winning speed skater Apolo Ohno, making Hough the youngest professional dancer to win on the program. On November 27, 2007, Hough and her partner, three-time Indianapolis 500 champion Hélio Castroneves, became the winners of season five. Hough returned for season six with radio host/comedian Adam Carolla, but they were eliminated in week four. In July 2008, Hough was nominated at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards in the category of "Outstanding Choreography" for her mambo "Para Los Rumberos" (performed with partner Hélio Castroneves) on Dancing with the Stars.

On August 25, 2008, the cast of season seven was announced, and Hough was partnered with Hannah Montana actor Cody Linley. She felt abdominal pains during their jitterbug performance on October 21, 2008, and she was immediately rushed to a hospital 40 minutes after the encore performance. She subsequently had surgery to have her appendix removed after being diagnosed with endometriosis, causing her to miss several performances, Edyta Śliwińska stood in for her. Hough returned to the show, although the pair was ultimately eliminated in the semi-finals. She appeared on the November 12 results show dancing the jive to "Great Balls of Fire" with her brother for the "Design-A-Dance" contest.

On November 20, 2008, Hough was on Ryan Seacrest's radio show, On Air with Ryan Seacrest. She announced that, in order to further her music career, she would not be returning to Dancing with the Stars for the foreseeable future. However, she did return for one final time in season eight, partnering with country singer Chuck Wicks. They were voted off in week eight of the competition and came in sixth place. They then began dating after the season was over. On October 11, 2011, Hough returned to Dancing with the Stars and danced with her Footloose co-star Kenny Wormald twice, and with her brother. She returned again on May 15, 2012, in a dance performance to promote her film Rock of Ages. On October 7, 2013, she was guest judge in place of Len Goodman, which was the first time a former pro dancer came back to judge. In September 2014, she returned as a permanent judge on the panel, a position she held until 2017. She returned to the show as a guest judge in 2021, filling in for her brother Derek.

On March 20, 2023, it was announced that Hough would join Dancing with the Stars as the new co-host, following Tyra Banks's departure, and that previous co-host Alfonso Ribeiro would assume Banks's old role as emcee.