A possible comeback? Julianne Hough is enjoying her time as a judge on America’s Got Talent, but she revealed whether she’d ever return to her roots on Dancing With the Stars.
“Look, never say never, because you never know what one day will be from the next,” Hough, 31, told Us Weekly and other reporters at America’s Got Talent Live Show red carpet on Tuesday, August 20. “But, I owe my career to that show! I was 18 and they brought me back in two different ways. I was a dancer, I was a judge and I’m so happy for everything that’s going on there.”
Hough rose to stardom after joining the long-running ABC show as a professional dancer for season 4 in 2007, where she partnered with Olympian Apolo Ohno. During her time on the series, she became a two-time champion and became a judge by 2014.
The Emmy winner exited DWTS in September 2017. She later took to the judge’s panel of AGT for season 14 in May. At Tuesday’s event, Hough noted that being on AGT “feels really natural to me.”
“I love ballroom dancing, but I love to sing and I love to act and I love to perform. I do different styles of dance,” she explained Tuesday night. “So this feels more encompassing of my passion and fulfillment to be able to be on this show, watching other people’s dreams come true.”
Hough added that “nothing makes me happier than when somebody says that they’re just happy and fulfilled, it makes me so happy.”
Beyond Hough’s reality TV career, she has explored other avenues of the entertainment industry. She appeared in 2011’s Footloose remake and scored the lead as Sandy in Fox’s live television adaptation of Grease in 2016. She even dipped her toes into the music arena, releasing her self-titled debut country album in 2008.
Hough also found love with husband Brooks Laich, whom she wed in July 2017. She recently received support from the former NHL player after she opened up to Women’s Health about how she told him she did not identify as straight.
“So proud of my wife @juleshough for the woman she is, and her courage to share her journey of trials and triumphs!” Laich, 36, wrote on Instagram at the time. “You can learn more about it below, and join the movement she is creating surround personal transformation and growth! Love you so much babe!”
America’s Got Talent airs on NBC Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Season 28 of Dancing with the Stars premieres on ABC Monday, September 16, at 8 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Taylor Ferber
