Mary Murphy biography
Date of birth : 1958-03-09
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Washington, D.C., United States
Nationality : American
Category : Arts and Entertainment
Last modified : 2011-09-19
Credited as : ballroom dancer, champion, So You Think You Can Dance
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Mary Murphy is a former U.S. champion ballroom dancer and current TV personality. She was born in Lancaster, Ohio in an Irish family. She graduated from Northwest High School in Canal Fulton, Ohio.
After graduation she moved to Washington, DC and started working at a dance studio. The owner of the dance studio invited her to attend the United States Ballroom Championships in New York City. It was after watching that performance that she decided to pursue a career in ballroom dancing and began serious training in that genre.
Her search for a partner led her to move to San Diego, California. While attending the UK Open Championships in Blackpool, England she met Manfred Siglitz who became the dance partner she had been searching for. Throughout the early 1990's, Mary and Manfred won many championships worldwide. At the same time, Mary opened her own dance studio, Champion Ballroom Academy in San Diego.
Mary Murphy and Manfred Siglitz partnership did not last beyond a few years but this did not stop Mary. She went on to win many other competitions with various partners inlcuding Bill Milner and Jim Desmond.
Since her retirement from competitive dance, she has remained active with instructing in her studio, acting, choreographing and as a judge.
Murphy began her career as a competitive ballroom dancer. In 1995, she appeared as a dancing double for Julia Roberts in the film Something to Talk About. Murphy won the 1996 U.S. Open American Nine Dance competition and was a finalist in the U.S. National Ballroom and U.S. National Standard competitions. In 1998, she appeared in Dance With Me with Vanessa Williams. She joined So You Think You Can Dance in 2005, where she has served as a judge and choreographer.
Also, Mary is a partner in and organizer one of the largest U.S. dance competitions, The Holiday Dance Classic, held in Las Vegas each December. She frequently serves as a judge in some of ballroom's most reputable competitions, including the U.S. National Ballroom Championships, and can still be found on Champion Ballroom Academy's expansive floor passing on her infectious enthusiasm and unsurpassable love of dance to her students.
