Shirley Ballas
{{short description|British ballroom dancer}}
{{pp-pc}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Shirley Ballas
| image = Shirley Ballas 20241205.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Ballas at Waterstones, London in 2024
| birth_name = Shirley Annette Rich
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1960|09|06|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Wallasey, England
| other_names =
| occupation = {{hlist|Dancer|television personality}}
| known_for =
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Sammy Stopford
|1980|1984|end=divorced}} - {{marriage|Corky Ballas
|1985|2007|end=divorced}}
}}
| children = Mark Ballas
}}
Shirley Annette Ballas (née Rich, formerly Stopford; born 6 September 1960) is an English dancer and television personality. She specialises in the International Latin division, where she won several championship titles which earned her the nickname "the Queen of Latin".{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/strictlycomedancing/entries/b37c848f-3478-4b10-b563-b6b06f6c3f04|title=Welcome 'The Queen of Latin' Shirley Ballas, to our judging panel|publisher=BBC One|date=9 May 2017|accessdate=30 September 2017|archivedate=30 September 2017|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20170930202031/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/strictlycomedancing/entries/b37c848f-3478-4b10-b563-b6b06f6c3f04|url-status=live}} In 2017, Ballas was appointed head judge on the BBC One dancing competition show Strictly Come Dancing.
Life and dancing career
Ballas was born as Shirley Annette Rich on 6 September 1960 and was raised in Wallasey, Cheshire (now Merseyside), England, with brother David and mother Audrey. The children's father left the family when Shirley was 2 years old. She began dancing at age 7, and began performing competitively the following years.{{cite web|last1=Groome|first1=Imogen|title=Who is new Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas?|url=http://metro.co.uk/2017/05/09/who-is-new-strictly-come-dancing-judge-shirley-ballas-6625183/|website=Metro|accessdate=4 June 2017|date=9 May 2017}} In 2018, Ballas discovered, when appearing on Who Do You Think You Are?, that she was descended from an enslaved Muslim woman from Madagascar.{{cite web |last1=Thorne |first1=Nick |title="Clara was a bit of a party girl – lively and adventurous..." |url=https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2018/who-do-you-think-you-are/shirley-ballas-891/ |website=The Genealogist |access-date=13 October 2024}} Her paternal great-grandfather was from Cape Town, South Africa.
At the age of 15, Ballas moved to Shipley, West Yorkshire to live with the family of new partner, British Ballroom Champion, Nigel Tiffany, which she described as "a difficult time". Two years later, she moved with Tiffany to London, where their partnership ended after dance teacher Nina Hunt convinced her to audition to partner with dancer Sammy Stopford.{{cite web| url= http://www.shirley-ballas.com/about_shirley.html| title=Shirley's History: Setting the Record Straight|publisher= Shirley Ballas official site |archivedate= 13 April 2010 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20100413063631/http://shirley-ballas.com/about_shirley.html}} The two married when Ballas was 18, with the relationship ending five years later. As dance partners, their best result was winning Professional Latin at Blackpool Dance Festival in 1983.{{Cite web | url=https://dancesportinfo.net/Competition/British_Open_1983_3100/Professional_Latin_17440/Results |title = DancesportInfo.net}}
In 1985, she married American ballroom dancer Corky Ballas. Together their best results were winning Professional Latin at Blackpool Dance Festival in 1995{{Cite web | url=https://www.dancesportinfo.net/Competition/British_Open_1995_3085/Professional_Latin_17363/Results |title = DancesportInfo.net}} and 1996{{Cite web | url=https://www.dancesportinfo.net/Competition/British_Open_1996_3084/Professional_Latin_17362/Results |title = DancesportInfo.net}} The pair moved to Houston, Texas to compete in the US. Their only child, professional ballroom dancer Mark Ballas, was born in 1986. The couple divorced in 2007.{{Cite web |last=McCormack |first=Kirsty |date=3 August 2021 |title=Shirley Ballas' ex-husband Corky told her she wasn’t ‘entitled’ to his surname |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/shirley-ballas-ex-husband-told-24679226 |access-date=18 October 2023 |website=The Mirror |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=24 November 2022 |title=Strictly's Shirley Ballas reunites with ex-husband Corky for this special reason |url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/20221124157907/strictly-shirley-ballas-reunion-ex-husband-corky-ballas/ |access-date=18 October 2023 |website=HELLO! |language=en}}
Ballas stopped competing in dance competitions in 1996, becoming a dance coach and judge for ballroom and Latin American competitions.{{cite web|title=Strictly Come Dancing's new head judge - who is Shirley Ballas? {{!}} Press and Journal|url=https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/lifestyle/tv/1240257/strictly-come-dancings-new-head-judge-shirley-ballas/|website=Press and Journal|accessdate=9 May 2017}}
In December 2023 Ballas was the guest for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, where her choices included
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, "Moon River" by Frank Sinatra, "Highs and Lows" by Alexander Jean.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001t9j1|title=BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Shirley Ballas, dance judge|website=BBC}}
Television career
= ''Dancing with the Stars'' =
Ballas has appeared on Dancing with the Stars, giving master classes and commentating on the show.{{Cite news|title=Who is the new Strictly Come Dancing judge?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39856114|newspaper=BBC News|accessdate=9 May 2017|date=9 May 2017}}
= ''Strictly Come Dancing'' =
On 9 May 2017, it was announced that Ballas would be joining the judging panel of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One, replacing Len Goodman as head judge. She made her first appearance on the panel four months later - at the launch show of series 15 on 9 September that year.{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/ShirleyBallas/status/861876162192166912|title=Shirley Ballas on Twitter: "I am so excited and over the moon to announce that I will be joining the judging panel on @BBCstrictly!|last=Ballas|first=Shirley|date=9 May 2017|publisher=Twitter|accessdate=9 May 2017}}
= ''The Masked Singer UK'' =
In January 2024, Ballas participated in the fifth series of The Masked Singer UK as the character "Rat". She was eliminated and unmasked in the third episode.{{cite web |last1=Chinn |first1=Natalie |title=Masked Singer’s Rat revealed to be Strictly judge Shirley Ballas |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/culture/shirley-ballas-masked-singer-rat-revealed-b2478249.html |website=The Independent |access-date=18 January 2024}}
Advocacy
Ballas' brother David took his own life, aged 44, in 2003. Ballas was "absolutely devastated" and now works with mental health charity the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM). In August 2023, Ballas completed the zipwire challenge at Zip World at Penrhyn Quarry in Gwynedd, and planned a 700 ft wing walk and 15,000 ft skydive, to raise money for the charity.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-66441847|title=Strictly's Shirley Ballas's charity zipwire for suicide prevention|date=8 August 2023|via=www.bbc.co.uk}}
Personal life
In November 2024 it was reported that Ballas had parted from her fiancé Danny Taylor, after six years together. Ballas revealed that she had "changed her mind" about marriage after previously going through two divorces.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/728368/shirley-ballas-splits-from-fiance-danny-taylor/|title=Shirley Ballas splits from fiancé Danny Taylor after six years - report|date=6 November 2024|website=HELLO!}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.ok.co.uk/celebrity-news/i-only-need-rely-myself-34052965|title=Strictly’s Shirley Ballas explains why she called off wedding to ex-fiancé|first=Sarah|last=Tulloch|date=6 November 2024|website=OK! Magazine}}
In February 2025, at Liverpool Crown Court, a 37-year-old man pleaded guilty to a charge of stalking Ballas and causing her "serious harm or distress", between August 2017 and November 2023. It was reported that the man's actions had a "substantial adverse effect" on Ballas's day-to-day life.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cewk5gk5enzo |title=Shirley Ballas: Man admits stalking Strictly Come Dancing judge |date=25 February 2025 |website=BBC News |access-date=25 February 2025}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"| Notes |
|---|
| 2017–present
| Head judge | Series 15–present |
| 2018
| Guest panelist | |
| 2018
| Participant | |
| 2019
| Narrator | |
| 2020
| The Great British Sewing Bee | Participant | |
| 2020
| Celebrity expert | |
| 2021
| Participant | Winner |
| 2021
| Participant | |
| 2024
| Participant | Unmasked as Rat. |
| 2024
|Dancer |1 episode ("The Devil's Chord") |
| 2025
|Herself (contestant) |
Books
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=3620436}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballas, Shirley}}
Category:English female dancers
Category:British ballroom dancers
Category:English expatriates in the United States