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Dancing With the Stars 6: Meet the Celebrity Dancers

by Lynn on February 19th, 2008

[Photos: © CTV Media]

Get ready for the sixth season of Dancing With the Stars. There’s a whole new crop of celebrities ready to take the dance floor by storm.

Meet the Dancers:

Adam Carolla:

[Photo: © CTV Media]

PROFESSION: Comedian and radio host
PARTNER: Julianne Hough
BACKGROUND: Television and Radio personality Adam Carolla is the host of the Los Angeles based and nationally syndicated morning radio program, The Adam Carolla Show. The actor/comedian has his first starring film role soon to be released in The Hammer (in theaters March 21st), which he co-wrote and co-produced. Carolla was also one of the creators and hosts of Comedy Central’s The Man Show (alongside Jimmy Kimmel) and the MTV and long-running syndicated radio program, Loveline, with Dr. Drew Pinsky.
(follow the jump for the rest!)

Cristián de la Fuente:

[Photos: © CTV Media]

PROFESSION: International film star
PARTNER: Cheryl Burke
BACKGROUND: Having started his acting career in his native Chile, the international film and television star’s Spanish language projects include: Univisión’s mini series, Como ama una mujer and Sony television’s Reyes y Rey which aired on Telemundo. He gained recognition in the States as a series regular on Family Law and CSI: Miami. Recent TV guest roles include: Ugly Betty and Psych. He stars in the upcoming USA Network series, In Plain Sight. Film work includes Driven and Basic. Cristián is a First Lieutenant in the Chilean Air Force Reserve and a member of Halcones, the High Aerobatics team. People Magazine named him one of their “50 Most Beautiful.” He was the first man ever to grace the cover of Cosmopolitan en Espanol.

Shannon Elizabeth:

[Photos: © CTV Media]

PROFESSION: Film and television star
PARTNER: Derek Hough
BACKGROUND: Actress/model Shannon Elizabeth starred in the box office hits, American Pie and Scary Movie. Some of her other credits include Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Love Actually, Cuts and That 70s Show. Shannon is also an accomplished poker player taking third out of sixty-four invited professionals at the 2007 National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

Steve Guttenberg:

[Photos: © CTV Media]

PROFESSION: Movie star
PARTNER: Anna Trebunskaya
BACKGROUND: Actor Steve Guttenberg has starred in blockbusters such as Police Academy, Three Men And A Baby, Short Circuit and Cocoon, as well as such acclaimed dramatic hits as Diner and The Boys From Brazil. Guttenberg has starred in a dozen films, each of which earned in excess of $100,000,000 at the American box office. His television credits include one of the highest-rated telefilms of all time, The Day After. Guttenberg runs The Guttenhouse Project, which houses selected children who are phased out of foster care programs.

Mario:

[Photos: © CTV Media]

PROFESSION: R&B star
PARTNER: Karina Smirnoff
BACKGROUND: Twenty-one year-old, multi-platinum selling R&B/Pop singer and actor Mario is known for such hit singles as “Just a Friend (2002)” and “Let Me Love You.” He was the recipient of Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Single of the Year in 2005 for “Let Me Love You,” and has been nominated for a Grammy, BET Award, Vibe Award, MOBO Award and Soul Train Music Award. His latest album, Go, is in stores now. Mario has also appeared in the feature films Step Up and Freedom Writers and his single Crying Out For Me is currently #5 on the Billboard R&B chart.

Marlee Matlin:

[Photos: © CTV Media]

PROFESSION: Academy Award winning actress
PARTNER: Fabian Sanchez
BACKGROUND: Marlee Matlin received worldwide critical acclaim for her film debut in Children of a Lesser God, for which she received the Academy Award for Best Actress. At 21, she became the youngest recipient of the Best Actress Oscar and only one of four actresses to receive the honor for her film debut. In addition to the Oscar, Marlee received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama. She has since appeared on a number of hit television programs including The West Wing, The L-Word, Nip/Tuck, and Desperate Housewives. In Spring 2008, she will star opposite Jeff Daniels in the telefilm, Sweet Nothing In My Ear.

Penn Jillette:

[Photos: © CTV Media]

PROFESSION: Magician
PARTNER: Kym Johnson
BACKGROUND: Penn Jillette is one-half of the famous illusionist team Penn & Teller. Penn & Teller have been performing together for thirty years and are currently headlining in their own theater at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. They’ve received eleven Emmy nominations for their television series, Penn & Teller: Bulls**t and created several TV projects together. The duo has also written three best-selling books. In 2005, Penn produced and co-created the critically acclaimed documentary, The Aristocrats.

Priscilla Presley:

[Photos: © CTV Media]

PROFESSION: Actress, producer and entrepreneur
PARTNER: Louis van Amstel
BACKGROUND: Actress, producer and entrepreneur Priscilla Presley starred in the Naked Gun films and the internationally popular television series Dallas, as well as guest-starred on TV’s Touched by an Angel, Spin City and Melrose Place. Founder of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Priscilla has also served as executive producer on the feature film Finding Graceland and the television version of her autobiography, Elvis and Me. Presley was married to music icon, Elvis Presley.

Monica Seles:

[Photos: © CTV Media]

PROFESSION: Grand Slam tennis champion
PARTNER: Jonathan Roberts
BACKGROUND: Tennis champ, Monica Seles, is the holder of nine grand slam singles titles and was the top-ranked player in the world. She turned pro in 1988 at the age of fourteen and won her first grand slam championship, the French Open, just two years later. After a two-year absence from the tour in 1993 and 1994, Seles rose above adversity and returned to capture her final grand slam crown in 1996 winning the Australian Open. She holds an outstanding career win loss singles record of 595-122 and was ranked the13th greatest player of all time by Tennis Magazine. Her accomplishments also extend beyond the tennis court as Goodwill Ambassador for the Laures Sports Foundation and the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Microalgae Spirulina Against Malnutrition (IIMSAM).

Jason Taylor:

[Photos: © CTV Media]

PROFESSION: NFL Man of the Year
PARTNER: Edyta Sliwinska
BACKGROUND: This year’s NFL Man of the Year Award Winner and last year’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Taylor has played defensive end for the Miami Dolphins for over a decade. The six-time All Pro formed the Jason Taylor Foundation in 2004 and continues to be heavily involved throughout the South Florida community. Taylor holds the NFL record for touchdowns by a defensive lineman (7) and is the Dolphins all-time leader in quarterback sacks (117) and consecutive games played (130). Jason is married to Katina, and the couple reside in Weston, Fla., with their two sons, Isaiah Paul and Mason Paul, and daughter, Zoe Grace.

Marissa Jaret Winokur:

[Photos: © CTV Media]

PROFESSION: Tony Award winning Broadway star
PARTNER: Tony Dovolani
BACKGROUND: Marissa Jaret Winokur is best known for creating the role of “Tracy Turnblad” in the hit Broadway musical Hairspray, a performance for which she won a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress. Winokur has since been seen in the Farrelly Brothers film Fever Pitch and the television series Stacked. She just finished filming the series lead in a new pilot called Fugly, for 20th Century Fox and CBS and is currently working as one of the leads in the Lifetime movie Betrayals.

Kristi Yamaguchi:

[Photos: © CTV Media]

PROFESSION: Olympic champion figure skater
PARTNER: Mark Ballas
BACKGROUND: An Olympic Gold medalist and World Champion, Kristi Yamaguchi is one of the most popular and successful figure skaters of our time. Since winning the 1992 Winter Olympics, Yamaguchi retired from competitive skating, performing in numerous television specials and traveling the globe on Stars on Ice tour. Along with her many awards and accomplishments, she is a member of the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame, World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and the US Olympic Hall of Fame. In 1996, she founded the Always Dream Foundation dedicated to fundraising and supporting children’s charities. Yamaguchi is married to Stanley Cup Champion and Carolina Hurricanes star, Bret Hedican. Together, they have two young daughters.

Dancing With the Stars 6 premieres on March 17 at 8 pm ET.

Reality TV TV, Television, dancing with the stars, dance, dancing, Marlee Matlin, Fabian Sanchez, Penn Jillette, Kym Johnson, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Tony Dovolani, Adam Carolla, Julianne Hough, Kristi Yamaguchi, Mark Ballas, Christián de la Fuente, Cheryl Burke, Monica Seles, Jonathan Roberts, Mario, Karina Smirnoff, Steve Guttenberg, Anna Trebunskaya, Jason Taylor, Edyta Sliwinska, Shannon Elizabeth, Derek Hough, Priscilla Presley, Louis van Amstel

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POSTED IN: Adam Carolla, Anna Trebunskaya, Cheryl Burke, Christián de la Fuente, Dance Reality Stars, Derek Hough, Driton ‘Tony’ Dovolani, Edyta Sliwinska, Fabian Sanchez, Jason Taylor, Jonathan Roberts, Julianne Hough, Karina Smirnoff, Kristi Yamaguchi, Kym Johnson, Louis van Amstel, Mario, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Mark Ballas, Marlee Matlin, Monica Seles, Penn Jillette, Priscilla Presley, Shannon Elizabeth, Steve Guttenberg