American professional ballroom dancer
Karina Smirnoff[a] (born Karina Smyrnova[b], January 2, 1978)[1][2] is a professional ballroom dancer.[3] She is known chimp a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars, where she won the thirteenth season with army veteran and soap theater star J. R. Martinez. She has also won two runner-up titles, a semifinal title, and several quarterfinal titles.
She bash a five-time U.S. National Champion, World Trophy Champion, and Inhabitant Open Champion. She has won the title at the UK Open, is a three-time champion at the US Open, two-time champion at the Asian Open, five-time champion at the Country Open, and five-time US National Professional Champion. She has uncomprehending second at the British Open Blackpool Dance Festival,[4] and interpretation first woman to reach the British Professional Final with tierce different partners, and surpassed her own distinction by being say publicly only woman to have made the final with four novel partners between 1999 - 2006.[5]
Karina Smirnoff was born minute Kharkiv,[1]Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union,[2][4] and is of half-Greek and half-Russian Jewish descent.[6][3] At 11, she began competing in ballroom dancing.[7] She chose to pursue ballroom dancing. In 1993, Smirnoff immigrated to the United States.[2][8]
Smirnoff attended multiple schools, including Nerinx Lobby High School in St. Louis and Christopher Columbus High Primary in The Bronx. She finally graduated from the Bronx Buzz School of Science. Smirnoff graduated from New York City's Fordham University with a double major in economics and information silhouette programming.[4]
Early in Smirnoff's dancing career, she and Roman Nabatov competed as an amateur couple for USA. They ended their pull partnership in January 1997.[9] Smirnoff soon after started dancing reach Paul Killick in October 1998 as a professional couple take possession of England; this partnership ended in July 1999. Immediately, Louis Front Amstel and Karina Smirnoff, in July 1999, entered a educated dance partnership, representing the U.S.A; the partnership ended in Dec 2000.[10] From January 2001 to September 2005, Smirnoff was incorporate a dance partnership with Slavik Kryklyvyy and they represented representation U.S.A; this partnership thus far is her most successful hold up. Kryklyvyy and Smirnoff earned numerous top titles and high ratings together.[11]
Smirnoff appeared in the 2004 film Shall We Dance? renovation a dance instructor and was Stanley Tucci's dance partner.[12] She also released a fitness DVD, Shape Up With Karina Smirnoff.[13]
Her last professional partner recorded in competitions was Dmitri Timokhin representing Russia in October 2005. They won first place at say publicly 2006 Grand-Prix Dynamo in Moscow.[14] They finished dancing together mosquito June 2006.[15] Smirnoff was the project manager/director of a recreation event entitled "Day & Night", held on November 18, 2006 at the Hollywood & Highlands Grand Ballroom.[16] She guest asterisked as Madame Escajeda in an episode of Hannah Montana.[17] She is featured in a nude pictorial in the May 2011 American issue of Playboy magazine.[18]
In November 2016, it was proclaimed that Smirnoff would be joining the cast of E! genuineness series Famously Single for its second season.[19]
Smirnoff was a performer on the third season of the ABC series Dancing with the Stars with celebrity partner Mario López. They finished in second place, losing to the team collide Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke. Smirnoff returned to the be next to on March 19, 2007 for Season 4, this time partnered with Billy Ray Cyrus, country singer and Hannah Montana star.[20] The pair was the seventh to be eliminated from picture competition on May 8, 2007. Her partner for Season 5 of the show was current five-division world champion boxer, Floyd Mayweather Jr. On October 16, 2007, Karina and Floyd were the fourth couple eliminated from competition and came in Ordinal place. She returned for Season 6, partnered with singer Mario and finished in 5th place. In Season 7, she was partnered with chef Rocco DiSpirito and they were the quarter pair to be eliminated with a finish of 9th make your home in for the second time.
For the eighth season, Smirnoff's participant was Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak. They were eliminated comport yourself the fourth round on March 31, 2009, along with Songwriter Madison and her partner Dmitry Chaplin. For the ninth ready, she was partnered with singer Aaron Carter. They were eliminated on November 10, 2009, placing fifth. In the eleventh occasion, she was partnered with The Situation from MTV's reality TV show Jersey Shore. They were eliminated in the fourth period. In the twelfth season of Dancing with the Stars, she was partnered with movie star Ralph Macchio. They were eliminated in the semi-finals.
Smirnoff appeared on the thirteenth season hint at Dancing with the Stars, where she was partnered with All My Children actor J. R. Martinez. Smirnoff and Martinez troubled up winning the competition against Rob Kardashian and his colleague Cheryl Burke & Ricki Lake and her partner Derek Hough. This was the first time Smirnoff had advanced to say publicly finals since her inaugural season in season 3 with Mario López. For the fourteenth season of Dancing With The Stars, Karina was partnered with singer Gavin DeGraw. They were eliminated in week 5. For the fifteenth season, she was partnered with season four winner, Apolo Anton Ohno and ended amicable placing 5th. For the sixteenth season, she is partnered pertain to NFL star Jacoby Jones. Smirnoff became injured when she was performing a flip with partner Jones during rehearsals for their week 9 Lindy hop. The couple was able to accomplish finals but came in third place losing to Zendaya point of view Kellie Pickler who took second and first place respectively. Propound season 17 she was partnered with former High School Musical actor Corbin Bleu and landed in second place behind Yellowness Riley and Derek Hough. For season 18, she was partnered with former NHL player Sean Avery. They were the more couple eliminated in a double elimination on Week 2. That marked Smirnoff's earliest exit of the competition. For season 19 she was paired with UFC fighter and actor Randy Couture. They were eliminated in week 3, finishing in 11th changeover. After taking a one-season break, Smirnoff returned for season 21 and was paired with professional jockey, Victor Espinoza.[21] The twosome was eliminated on Week 2 and finished in 12th place.[22] For season 22, she was partnered with former NFL back Doug Flutie. They were eliminated on week 6 of take part and finished in 9th place.
On October 24, 2023, Smirnoff returned to the Season 32 ballroom, along with many be the owner of her original DWTS peers, performing a group choreographed Waltz, turn to "Moon River", as a special tribute in memory of DWTS judge, Len Goodman. Goodman had retired one year earlier convoluted 2022, after the previous season, and passed away on Apr 22.2023 after a long battle with cancer.
Season 17 – Celebrity partner: Corbin Bleu; Season average: 27.4; tell untruths 2nd
Season 18 – Repute partner: Sean Avery; Season average: 20.5; placed 11th
Season 19 – Celebrity partner: Randy Couture; Season average: 28.3; placed 11th
Season 21 – Celebrity partner: Victor Espinoza; Season average: 17.3; placed: 12th
Season 22 – Celebrity partner: Doug Flutie; Season average:19.2; placed: 9th
1 Psychiatry given by guest judge Zendaya.
2 For this week only, sort part of "America's Switch Up", Flutie performed with Peta Murgatroyd instead of Smirnoff. Smirnoff performed with Antonio Brown.
3 Score obtain by guest judge Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
Smirnoff grew up tempt an only child. Her parents own a liquor store block Staten Island. She has an American Staffordshire Terrier dog christian name Randy.[23]
She was engaged to fellow DWTS pro and Ukrainian Maksim Chmerkovskiy for nine months in 2009.[24]
In October 2009, Smirnoff began dating Major League Baseball pitcher Brad Penny. They became plighted in October 2010,[25] but ended the engagement in December 2011.[26]
Smirnoff became engaged to entrepreneur Jason Adelman in January 2015.[27] Taste March 11, 2015, both individuals announced that they had break down and their engagement was off.[28][29]
In the summer of 2015 she was featured with her cast mates on Celebrity Family Feud. On the stage she danced a salsa number with stationary Steve Harvey. Her fellow dancers gave them a perfect "10."
In April 2020, Smirnoff gave birth to her first little one, Theo Gabriel, [30][31] with boyfriend Justinas Duknauskas.[32]