Julianne Hough was born into a dance family. Her parents, all four grandparents, and all four siblings (Derek, Katherine, Marabeth and Sharee) are trained dancers. She formally trained at Center Stage Performing Arts Studio in Orem, Utah, before moving to London at age 10 to attend the Italia Conti Academy. At 15, she became the youngest dancer and only American to become the Junior World Latin Champion and International Latin Youth Champion at the Blackpool Dance Festival. Upon moving to L.A. from Utah, she landed a dancing gig on the game show, “Show Me the Money.” At age 18, she joined the “Dancing with the Stars” tour as a company dancer before joining the cast of the hit ABC show for Seasons 4-7. She won her first two seasons in a row with Apolo Anton Ohno and Helio Castroneves, respectively, becoming the youngest dancer to win the show twice. She nabbed Outstanding Choreography nominations for her “Dancing with the Stars” work for the 2008 and 2009 Creative Arts Emmys. Her choreography skills also led to collaborating with Gwen Stefani on the singer’s “Wind It Up” video. Julianne has also released two dance-themed fitness videos, 2009’s “Dance with Julianne: Cardio Ballroom” and 2010’s “Dance with Julianne: Just Dance!”

Long before Julianne became a household name through her wins on “Dancing with the Stars” and her major film work, the then 12-year-old rising star was singing in a little known pop/dance group called 2B1G with brother Derek and longtime pal and “DWTS” pro Mark Ballas. She’s come a long way musically since then with the release of her debut country album, “Julianne Hough,” in 2008 on Universal Music Group Nashville, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard country album chart and No. 3 on The Billboard 200. Her first two singles, “That Song in My Head” and “My Hallelujah Song,” soared up the country charts and earned her two 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards for Top New Female Vocalist and Top New Artist and a Breakthrough Video of the Year nomination at the 2009 CMT Music Awards. Her second album, 2008’s “Sounds of the Season: The Julianne Hough Holiday Collection,” reached No. 2 on the Billboard country album chart. Hitting the road for the first time as a recording artist, Julianne toured with Brad Paisley and George Strait, playing over 100 shows in 2009. In 2010, she sang in the remake of “We Are the World” titled “We Are the World 25 for Haiti,” produced again by Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie, and featuring Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, will.i.am, Pink, Fergie, Kanye West, and others.

Though Julianne was discovered as a dancer, she ultimately became Young Hollywood’s fastest-rising triple threat. After appearing in the star-studded Golden Globe-nominated “Burlesque” in 2010, Julianne landed three headline-grabbing female leads in a row: 2011’s “Footloose” (as Ariel Moore), which has grossed over $60 million worldwide; Adam Shankman’s “Rock of Ages” (as Sherrie Christian), alongside Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand and Mary J. Blige in 2012; and 2013’s film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ romantic thriller “Safe Haven” (as Katie Feldman), co-starring with Josh Duhamel. Julianne has also completed production on Diablo Cody’s “Paradise” starring opposite Octavia Spencer, Holly Hunter and Russell Brand, which is due in September 2013. She will also star in Cody’s romantic dramedy, “Time and a Half.” She was named Female Rising Star of 2011 by ShoWest.

Julianne is active in a wide range of philanthropic endeavors, including Kind Campaign, which helps bring awareness and healing to girl-against-girl crime, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which raises money and awareness for breast cancer, and American Red Cross. Over the years, she has also supported a number of charities including Rock the Vote, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Clothes Off Our Back, Ryan Seacrest Foundation, City of Hope, The Art of Elysium, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, DoSomething.org, and others.

In the fall of 2015, Hough returned to “Dancing with the Stars” as the show’s fourth judge. Hough also stars in “Dirty Grandpa,” opposite Robert De Niro and Zac Efron, and Fox’s “Grease: Live.”

In 2016, she hosted The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration and The Disney Parks’ Magical Christmas Celebration. She joined the America’s Got Talent series in 2019.