Carrie Ann Inaba

Born January 5, 1968, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Carrie Ann Inaba rose to fame as a judge on the hit reality competition show Dancing With the Stars.

A lifelong dancer, Inaba won a statewide dancing competition in Hawaii at 16 years old and relocated to Japan to become a “Teen Idol” after graduating high school. While in Japan, she released three singles as a musician before deciding to move to California to pursue her dream of becoming a dancer.

Inaba’s first few jobs including dancing on the hit show In Living Color to touring with Madonna and Ricky Martin. She choreographed several A-list events before nabbing a seat at the judges’ table on DWTS in 2005. Due to the success of the show, she launched a spin-off in 2008 called Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann.

Inaba split from So You Think You Can Dance contestant and assistant choreographer, Artem Chigvintsev, in November 2008 after a two year relationship. In March 2011, Jesse Sloan proposed to Inaba during an appearance on LIVE! With Regis and Kelly, but the couple has since parted ways.