On May 17th, 1985, Derek Bruce Hough entered this world in Utah. The Hough family now includes Marianne and Bruce’s son, Hough. His R5 second cousins include Riker, Rydel, Rocky, and Ross Lynch.
When he was 12, his parents sent him to London to study under dance legends Corky and Shirley Ballas. Hough’s sister, Julianne, arrived in London a few months later.
Origins and Early Years
Derek Hough is the fourth of five children born to his Latter-day Saint parents in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1985. His mom and dad, Marianne and Bruce, are both teachers, and his four older sisters are Sharee, Marabeth, Katherine, and Julianne. Hough comes from a long line of dancers. Hough moved to London to train under dance instructors Shirley and Corky Ballas when he was 12 years old, during the tumultuous time of his parents’ divorce.
Spending the better part of a decade in the city, he attended London’s Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts to hone his skills in the areas of vocal performance, physical theatre, and general gymnastics. Hough founded the pop music trio 2B1G with his sister Julianne and the Ballas’ son Mark, and the group performed at dance contests in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Hough took home the gold at the 2002 WDSF World Latin Championship. He won the Blackpool U-21 Latin title with Aneta Piotrowska the following year at the Blackpool Dance Festival.
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Dancing with the Stars
Hough first competed on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2007, during the show’s fourth season. Week six saw him join his sister Julianne and Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno as guest instructors. Hough joined the other professional dance instructors the following season and was coupled with actress Jennie Garth.
He and Garth ended up placing fourth. Hough and actress Shannon Elizabeth finished sixth on the sixth season of “Dancing with the Stars.” Hough’s success increased the following season when he was coupled with model and TV host Brooke Burke.
Despite Hough’s fear when he smacked his head on the floor and passed unconscious for a few seconds, he and Burke still went on to win the season. In the two seasons that followed, Hough placed fifth and fourth with partners rapper Lil’ Kim and model Joanna Krupa.
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Career
Hough travelled to Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Ireland, and the Czech Republic to take part in a number of competitions between 1998 and 2004. He won the WDSF World Youth Latin Championship in 2002. He made a brief appearance in the 2001 film “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”
In 2006, he became the star of a stage production of “Footloose: The Musical.” The following year, he made an appearance as a guest instructor on the fourth season of the hit reality dance show “Dancing with the Stars.” The next year, he officially became a member of the team as a trained educator.
After starring in his debut film, “Make Your Move,” he took a break from appearing on reality TV. In 2013, he revealed that he would be working with Meryl Davis and Charlie White, ice dancers, on a performance for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
He also oversaw the making of the music video for “Get My Name” by Mark Ballas that same year. That same year, he released his debut book, titled “Taking the Lead: Lessons from a Life in Motion.”
In 2015, he was a part of the “New York Spring Spectacular” at “Radio City Music Hall.” In the same year, he also had a starring role in the four-part renovation series Mark & Derek’s Excellent Flip.
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Derek Hough Engaged
Derek Hough announced his engagement to his long-term girlfriend Hayley Erbert on Instagram on June 2, 2022. The couple had been dating for seven years at the time.
Read this article to find out everything there is to know about Hayley Erbert. Derek Hough’s Family (Wife, Engagement, Height, Sister, Wealth, and Instagram).
There is now a ring on it thanks to Derek Hough’s proposal! The 37-year-old Emmy winner collaborated with Chau Lui, co-owner of Paris Jewellers, to create the “amazing and unusual” handmade diamond engagement ring with which he proposed to Hayley Erbert.
Derek “cared passionately” about crafting an amazing ring for Lui to give to Hayley, the couple’s future bride, Lui tells PEOPLE.
According to Derek, “it was crucial that the diamond be extremely rare and have immense sparkle, fire, and brilliance, just like their love.”
A flawless oval diamond, which Lui calls “breathtaking,” was selected by the jeweller and dancer, and it is mounted in platinum with a pavé band and a hidden halo “that glows from all sides.”
She explains that the ring is ideal for Hayley since it reflects her own refined style and the passage of time. “Derek deeply valued the opportunity to own a truly exceptional and rare diamond. He meant for it to impress Hayley every time she looked at it.”
“Derek’s affection for Hayley always showed through,” Lui continues. Lui also shared on Instagram that the song “Someone To Stay” by Vancouver Sleep Clinic, a fan favourite of the couple, was a source of inspiration for the ring’s design. Hough put it on a playlist he made for the event, along with songs by Richard Walters (“Unconditional”) and Ben Platt (“Imagine”).
Hough announced on Thursday that he and Erbert, 27, were engaged after seven years of dating, and he shared a snapshot of the couple embracing during his wonderful proposal. He captioned the image, “It’s simply the beginning… the beginning of forever.”