Carrie Ann Inaba biography
Date of birth : 1968-01-05
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Honolulu, Hawaii
Nationality : American
Category : Arts and Entertainment
Last modified : 2011-04-01
Credited as : Dancer and choregrapher, actress, DWTS judge
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She started her career as a singer in Japan, but became best known for her dancing, first introducing herself to American audiences as one of the original Fly Girls on the sketch comedy series In Living Color. She has appeared as one of three judges on the ABC television series Dancing with the Stars (DWTS), a show that pairs celebrities with professional dancers as they train and then compete in front of a studio audience.
Hawaiian-born Carrie Ann Inaba's diverse ethnic background inspired her to pursue a number of divergent paths, each with impressive success. Of Chinese, Japanese, and Irish descent, Inaba attended UCLA and earned a degree in World Arts and Cultures before using her fluent Japanese to live in Tokyo between 1986 and 1988. During that time, she had a successful career as a pop star, releasing three hit singles over the course of her two years in the country. Returning to the States, Inaba focused on her dancing skills, becoming a Fly Girl on the edgy sketch comedy show In Living Color from 1990 to 1992. She also joined many famous and prestigious dancing troupes, appearing as a backup dancer for Madonna's The Girlie Show tour, and Ricky Martin's Living la Vida Loca tour. Inaba also appeared as a dancer in movies such as Austin Powers in Goldmember and Showgirls.
Inaba is the founder and President of EnterMediArts, Inc., a video production company. She directs, writes, and edits films. Her work includes E! Behind The Scenes Miss America Special, 7th Festival of the Pacific Arts, A Portrait of IVI and Beyond the Dancing Image, along with the short feature film, Black Water.
Inaba was one of the judges on the ABC Family revival version of Dance Fever in 2003. She has been a judge on all four seasons of Dancing with the Stars. She was a guest co-host on The View in July 2006 and appeared again on The View, co-hosting the day after Rosie O'Donnell announced her upcoming departure from the show.
She is currently dating Artem Chigvintsev, a former competitor on So You Think You Can Dance. They recently moved into her new home in the L.A. suburbs.
