Shirley Ballas is a champion ballroom dancer, world-renowned dance
teacher and adjudicator, bestselling author, and the head judge of
BBC1’s flagship show “Strictly Come Dancing.”

Originally from Wallasey, Ballas has been dancing since age 7. She is
three-time British Open to the World Latin American champion, 10-time
United States Latin American champion, and multiple-time British
National champion. By 21, Ballas had won nearly every major title she
competed in worldwide. She is the only person to have ever won the
British Open to the World Latin American Championships in Blackpool
with two different partners and reached the finals an impressive 17
times. She still remains the youngest-ever female to reach the British
Open to the World Dance Championship finals. Ballas has been the
recipient of three Carl Alan Awards (the Oscars of the world of
dance), Teacher of the Year Award, The Variety Club Legends of
Industry Award, and has been inducted into both the United States and
Great Britain Dance Hall of Fame.

In addition to her role on “Strictly,” Ballas has been seen giving
masterclasses and commentating on the American series “Dancing with
the Stars,” is a frequent panelist on “Loose Women,” and was the
subject of BBC1’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” She presented two
series of the popular “This Morning” feature “Matchmaker
Mountain” for ITV and fronted the CBBC series “Our School Summer
Camp.” Ballas’ numerous other appearances include “The Jonathan
Ross Show,” “Britain’s Got More Talent,” “Through the
Keyhole,” “Crystal Maze,” “Catchphrase,” “Blankety
Blank,” “The One Show,” “Tipping Point: Lucky Stars,”
“Would I Lie to You?,” “The Graham Norton Show” and
“Celebrity Juice,” amongst many others. Further to this, Ballas
was asked to lend her voice to the “Puss in Boots” story for the
CBeebies channel in collaboration with Northern Ballet and presented a
“Friday Night Is Music Night special for BBC Radio 2.”

In 2019, Ballas was one of nine celebrities selected for BBC1’s
“Kilimanjaro: The Return”, where they climbed the 5,895-meter
mountain to raise funds for Comic Relief supported projects in the UK
and internationally. She is also an ambassador for the charities
Macmillan Cancer Support, CALM, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital,
Centrepoint and Suicide&Co.

Ballas’ sensational biography “Behind The Sequins” was released
in 2020 to critical acclaim, immediately becoming an Amazon
bestseller. Following the success of the book, she secured a two-book
deal with HarperCollins to publish “The Sequin Mysteries,” a duo
of cozy-crime novels that waltz through the glittering and highly
competitive world of ballroom dance. Both “Murder on the Dance
Floor” and “Dance to the Death” proved to be immediate hits and
once again topped the Amazon charts. Last year Ballas released “Best
Foot Forward” — a sparkling toolkit for living one’s best life,
with new stories from her life on and off the dance floor.

Whilst Ballas continues in her role as head judge on the biggest show
on British television, she has also proved herself to be one of the
country’s most versatile and much-loved personalities. She was a
celebrity contestant on Netflix’s “Bear Hunt,” co-hosted
BBC1’s “Morning Live,” presented on BBC Radio 2, appeared on
“Celebrity Sewing Bee,” competed on ITV’s “Cooking With The
Stars,” taken part in the documentary “Womanhood,” appeared in
BBC1’s “Unbreakable,” and surprised and delighted television
audiences when she was revealed as Rat in the hugely popular ITV
series “The Masked Singer.” She has also performed in her own
stage show “An Audience with Shirley Ballas” and continues to
delight audiences up and down the country appearing each year in
“Strictly Come Dancing Live!”

PERSONAL INFORMATION
HOMETOWN: Wallasey, England
BIRTHDATE: September 6
