Derek Bruce Hough (/ˈhʌf/; born May 17, 1985[1]) is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer, choreographer, actor and singer.

[7] Hough grew up the fourth of five children in a Latter-day Saint family in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City.

[12][13] When Hough was 12, his divorcing parents sent him to London to live and study with dance coaches Corky and Shirley Ballas.

The Ballases helped tutor the two Hough children alongside their own son, Mark Ballas, schooling them at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.

They received training in song, theater, gymnastics, and many forms of dance, including jazz, ballet, and tap.

In 2013, Hough worked with world champion ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White[21] on a number for their upcoming 2014 Sochi winter Olympics short dance program that had to contain quickstep and foxtrot rhythms.

I'm choreographing a number for our world champion ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White to perform at the Olympics next year.

On July 9, 2016, the Houghs held a free fitness pop-up event called 'Move Interactive' in Los Angeles, which they announced would be the first of many to come.

The event started off in Sherman Oaks with a workout session at Pulse Fitness Studios led by celebrity personal trainer and owner, Mark Harari.

The participants then took part in a 2-mile run along Ventura Blvd, before finishing off with a dance fitness class at JustDance Los Angeles.

According to Hough, the motivation behind the event was to "bring health, love, community and human interaction into our everyday lives.

"[30] The following week, on July 14, the Houghs held a second free Move Interactive event in Fryman Canyon, LA, which included a hike and team building exercises.

[32] Hough made his first appearance on Dancing with the Stars in season four (week 6) as a guest instructor with Julianne and Apolo Anton Ohno.

[43] For season ten, Hough was partnered with Nicole Scherzinger, the lead singer from the singing group The Pussycat Dolls and former member of Eden's Crush.

For season eleven, Hough won for the third time with actress Jennifer Grey, known for her film roles on Dirty Dancing and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, on November 23, 2010.

[47] For season 13, he was partnered with actress and TV host Ricki Lake, known playing the original Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray.

[52] Menounos became the second celebrity in Dancing with the Stars history to be eliminated on a night where she came in first place with the judges (the first was Willa Ford in season three).

[69] The couple made it to the finals and won the competition on November 24, 2015, marking Hough's sixth win on the show.

Due to the travel restrictions between England and the United States during the coronavirus pandemic, Goodman was unable to return for season 29.

[77] In 2006, Hough starred as Ren in the original cast production of Footloose: The Musical at the Novelo Theatre in London's West End, as well as on the 2006 UK national tour.

[78] Hough's West End performance earned him a nomination as The Stuart Phillips London Newcomer of the Year in the Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Awards.

[80] On January 13, 2015, it was announced that Hough would appear in the New York Spring Spectacular, at Radio City Music Hall.

[91] On April 27, 2016, it was announced that Hough would play Corny Collins in the NBC live broadcast of Hairspray, which aired on December 7.

The process of the home renovation was broadcast as a four episode series on HGTV called Mark & Derek's Excellent Flip.

[105] In 2017, in an interview with Billboard, Hough revealed that he is going to be performing on the alternative metal band Breaking Benjamin's upcoming album Ember, scheduled for a release in 2018.

In November 2019, Hough had emergency surgery to remove his appendix due to appendicitis; he published a video of himself dancing with Hayley Erbert post-surgery.

On April 10, 2014, Hough and his sister, Julianne, were honored at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA's second annual Kaleidoscope Ball with the Kaleidoscope Award, an award that is given to people of the entertainment industry who bring light and laughter into the lives of children through their professional achievements and personal humanitarianism.