Emmy Award-winning and New York Times Best Selling author Derek Hough started dancing in his hometown of Salt Lake City, UT, at age 11.

As a four-time Emmy Award winner and thirteen-time nominee, Hough is the most nominated choreographer in Television Academy history. 

He made his feature film debut for director Duane Adler and producer Robert Cort in the feature film Make Your Move and had a recurring role on the ABC series Nashville.  His stage performances include Radio City Music Hall’s Spring Spectacular — co-starring alongside Tony Award-winning Laura Benanti — and the critically acclaimed production of Footloose in which he starred as the male lead in London’s West End. 

In December of 2016, Hough starred with Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande, Martin Short and Harvey Fierstein in NBC’s Hairspray Live!  In 2020, Hough joined the hit ABC series Dancing with the Stars as part of the judging. A multi-talented entertainer and the only six-time champion in franchise history, Hough had previously performed on the show as a pro dancer. In addition, Hough starred with Jennifer Lopez and Ne-Yo at the judges table for the NBC series World of Dance for four seasons. 

Hough can also add bestselling author to his list of credits. His memoir Taking the Lead; Lessons from a Life in Motion hit stands in August of 2014 and rapidly was named to the prestigious New York Times Best Seller list. In 2023, Hough launched his second solo tour, Derek Hough Symphony of Dance, which featured stops in 60 cities across the United States and Canada. His first tour, Derek Hough Live: The Tour was in 2019.

In 2014, Hough and his sister Julianne teamed for a live stage dance concert Move Live on Tour, performing in 50 cities around the country, and in 2015, they toured again, selling out scores of venues on their 47-city outing. In 2017, they again performed a sold-out tour of 48 cities around the United States with their show Move – Beyond – Live on Tour. 

In 2021 and 2022, Hough headlined his residency Derek Hough: No Limit in the entertainment capital of the world — Las Vegas, Nevada. The critically acclaimed dance-centric show at the Venetian Resort took fans on a journey through a true fusion of dance and music, as Hough explored styles ranging from ballroom and tap to salsa, hip-hop and everything in-between.