Jenna Michelle Johnson Chmerkovskiy (; born April 12, 1994) is an American professional

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called ''balls''. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially histori ...

dancer and choreographer. Born in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and raised in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, she was a contestant during the tenth season of the reality competition series ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

''. Johnson then joined ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'' as a member of the

troupe Troupe may refer to: General *Comedy troupe, a group of comedians *Dance troupe, a group of dancers **Fire troupe, a group of fire dancers *Troupe system, a method of playing role-playing games *Theatrical troupe, a group of theatrical performers ...

, and was promoted to pro in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. She won the ''Athletes'' season with Olympic figure skater

Adam Rippon Adam Richard Rippon (born November 11, 1989) is a retired American competitive Figure skating, figure skater and media personality. He is the Figure skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Team event, 2018 Olympic bronze medalist in the team eve ...

and season 33 with '' The Bachelor'' star Joey Graziadei. Johnson received a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

nomination for her work with her husband,

Valentin Chmerkovskiy Valentin Aleksandrovich "Val" Chmerkovskiy (born March 24, 1986) is a Ukrainian-American professional dancer, best known for his appearances on the U.S. version of '' Dancing with the Stars'', which he won three times. Chmerkovskiy is a two-time ...

, on the series.

Early life

Jenna Michelle Johnson was born on April 12, 1994, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, to Curt and Tamara "Tammy" Johnson. She was raised in

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

, with her two older sisters Stacy and Jill, who are also dancers and previous contestants on the reality competition series ''

'' (''SYTYCD''). Johnson was always interested in performing and was enrolled in dance classes at a very early age. She is trained in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

, and

. Johnson idolized her eldest sister Stacy, who was the director of Center State Performing Arts Studio in

Orem Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Me ...

. When she was old enough to join Center Stage's senior company, her sisters became "instrumental" to her progress. She graduated from

Timpview High School Timpview High School (THS) is a public secondary school located in Provo, Utah, United States. Timpview is a 5A school and is one of the three high schools in the Provo City School District. The current principal is Momi Tu'ua. Academics ...

in 2013.

Career

dancesport Dancesport is competitive ballroom dancing, as contrasted to social or exhibition dancing. In the case of Para dancesport, at least one of the dancers is in a wheelchair. Dancesport events are sanctioned and regulated by dancesport organizat ...

, Johnson is a five-time U.S. National Latin Champion, U.S. National Youth 10 Dance Champion, as well as a three-time National Contemporary Winner. She represented the United States at the World Latin Dance Champions in 2012.

''So You Think You Can Dance''

Johnson auditioned for ''SYTYCD'' in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, and was named a contestant for season 10. She was paired with contemporary contestant Tucker Knox and was eliminated on August 20, 2013, in the quarter-finals. During '' So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation'', Johnson served as ballroom dancer Jake Monreal's all-star mentor. They were eliminated on August 1, 2016, in week 3. Johnson then mentored Latin ballroom contestant Chris "Kiki" Nyemchek for season 14.

''Dancing With The Stars''

Johnson was a

member on ''

'' from season 18 to season 22. She became a professional dancer on season 23 and was partnered with actor

Jake T. Austin Jake Toranzo Austin Szymanski (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Jake T. Austin, is an American actor. Beginning his career as a child actor at the age of seven, Austin is best known for his role as Max Russo on the Disney Channel ...

. They were the first couple eliminated on September 20, 2016, finishing in 13th place; Johnson's lowest placement to date. Johnson danced with racing driver

James Hinchcliffe James Douglas Meredith Hinchcliffe (born December 5, 1986) is a Canadian race car driver currently competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship driving the No. 9 Lamborghini for Pfaff Motorsports. He is also a commentator for Fox Sports, FOX Sp ...

on Halloween Night and Showstoppers Night after his partner,

Sharna Burgess Sharna May Burgess (born 21 June 1985) is an Australian ballroom dancer who is best known for being a professional partner and troupe member on the ABC series ''Dancing with the Stars''. She is the winner of season 27 of American television sh ...

, sustained a knee injury. Johnson was also the couple's trio partner during the semi-finals. After taking season 24 off, Johnson returned in season 25 as a troupe member. She was promoted to pro for a second time on the ''Athletes'' season and was paired with Olympic figure skater

. They won the competition on May 21, 2018, marking Johnson's first Mirrorball. She is one of the only pros to win in her second season, and the fourth pro to win after being eliminated first in her previous season. For season 27, Johnson was paired with television personality Joe Amabile. Despite continually receiving low scores and criticism from the judges, the pair was consistently saved by the viewers' votes. They ultimately reached the semifinals and were eliminated alongside '' Fuller House'' actor Juan Pablo Di Pace and

Cheryl Burke Cheryl Burke (born May 3, 1984) is an American dancer, model, and television host. She is best known for being a professional dancer on ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars''. She was the first female professional to win the show and the first prof ...

on November 12, 2018, finishing in sixth place. For season 28, Johnson was partnered with '' Queer Eye'' star

Karamo Brown Karamo Karega Brown (born November 2, 1980) is an American television host, reality television personality, author, actor, and activist. Brown began his career in 2004 on the MTV reality show '' The Real World: Philadelphia''. He currently stars ...

. They were eliminated during the seventh week of competition on October 28, 2019, finishing in eighth place. For season 29, Johnson was paired with ''

Catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

'' host Nev Schulman. They reached the finale and finished as the runner-ups on November 30, 2020, behind ''

The Bachelorette A bachelorette is an unmarried woman. Bachelorette may also refer to: Film, television, and related * ''The Bachelorette'', a reality television dating show part of ''The Bachelor'' franchise with numerous versions: ** ''The Bachelorette'' (Am ...

'' star

Kaitlyn Bristowe Kaitlyn Dawn Bristowe (born June 19, 1985) is a Canadian television personality best known for being a contestant on the nineteenth season of ABC's '' The Bachelor,'' and as the lead on the eleventh season of '' The Bachelorette''. She won th ...

and

Artem Chigvintsev Artem Vladimirovich Chigvintsev (; born 12 June 1982) is a Russian-born American professional dancer, specializing in Latin dancing. Chigvintsev was a cast member of ''Burn the Floor'' where he performed both on Broadway and more recently in ...

. For season 30, Johnson was paired with

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

personality

JoJo Siwa Joelle Joanie "JoJo" Siwa ( ; born May 19, 2003) is an American singer, dancer, actress, and media personality. From 2015 to 2016, she appeared as a dancer on two seasons of the reality television show '' Dance Moms'' alongside her mother, Jess ...

, marking the first same-sex couple in the show's history. They also reached the finale and finished as the runner-ups on November 22, 2021, behind

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

shooting guard Iman Shumpert and Daniella Karagach. Johnson returned for season 32 and was paired with supermodel

Tyson Beckford Tyson Beckford (born December 19, 1970) is a Jamaican Americans, Jamaican-American model and actor best known as a Ralph Lauren Polo model. He was also the host of both seasons of the Bravo (American TV network), Bravo program ''Make Me a Superm ...

. They were eliminated during the third week of competition on October 10, 2023, finishing in twelfth place. Johnson and her husband

earned a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for composing two

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

routines during the season. The first was a tribute performance set to "

Moon River "Moon River" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also won the 19 ...

" in honor of head judge

Len Goodman Leonard Gordon Goodman (25 April 1944 – 22 April 2023) was an English professional ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance competition adjudicator. He appeared as head judge on the UK television programme ''Strictly Come Dancing'' – in w ...

, who died five months before the season premiered. The second was set to "

La Vie En Rose ; ) is the signature song of popular French singer Édith Piaf, written in 1945, popularized in 1946, and released as a single in 1947. The song became very popular in the United States in 1950, when seven versions reached the ''Billboard'' cha ...

", which Chmerkovskiy performed with his partner Xochitl Gomez during the semifinals. For season 33, Johnson was partnered with ''The Bachelor'' star Joey Graziadei. They won the competition on November 26, 2024.

Season 23

With celebrity partner

with

(Weeks 8 and 9, injury replacement) Because of an injury to

, Johnson returned to the show as the substitute partner for the INDYCAR driver in Weeks 8 and 9, replacing Burgess. The scores listed reflect her weeks as his substitute. ''Burgess returned in Week 10. Idina Menzel was a guest judge in Week 9, taking Goodman's place''

Season 26

With celebrity partner

¹ Score given by guest judge Rashad Jennings. ² Score given by guest judge David Ross.

Season 27

With celebrity partner Joe Amabile

Season 28

With celebrity partner

. Due to a death in the family of Jenna's childhood best friend

Lindsay Arnold Lindsay Arnold Cusick (; born January 11, 1994) is an American professional dancer, choreographer, and businesswoman. Specialized in Latin and ballroom dance styles, she was the seventh female contestant to be eliminated during the ninth season ...

, Jenna stepped in to dance with former White House Press Secretary

Sean Spicer Sean Michael Spicer (born September 23, 1971) is an American former political aide who served as the 30th White House Press Secretary and as White House Communications Director under President Donald Trump in 2017. Spicer was communications dire ...

for weeks 8 and 9. ¹ Score given by guest judge Leah Remini. ² Stepping in for Lindsay Arnold to dance with Sean Spicer. ³ Score given by guest judge

Joey Fatone Joseph Anthony Fatone Jr. (born January 28, 1977) is an American singer, dancer, actor, and television host. He is best known as a member of the boy band NSYNC, in which he sang baritone. The band has sold over 70 million records, becoming one ...

Season 29

With celebrity partner Nev Schulman

Season 30

With celebrity partner

Season 32

With celebrity partner

¹ Score given by guest judge

Michael Strahan Michael Anthony Strahan ( ; born November 21, 1971) is an American television host, journalist, and former professional American football, football player. He played his entire 15-year professional career as a defensive end for the New York Gian ...

Season 33

With celebrity partner Joey Graziadei ¹ Score given by guest judge

Rosie Perez Rosa Maria Perez (born September 6, 1964) is an American actress. Her breakthrough came at age 24 with her portrayal of Tina in the film '' Do the Right Thing'' (1989), followed by '' White Men Can't Jump'' (1992). Perez's performance in '' Fear ...

² Score given by guest judge

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; ; born August 25, 1949) also known by his stage persona "The Demon", is an Israeli-born American musician. He was the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, which he co-founded wit ...

³ Score given by guest judge Mark Ballas

Personal life

Johnson first met fellow ''Dancing with the Stars'' pro

during its eighteenth season. They started dating in 2015, but their relationship was not made public until February 2016. Johnson and Chmerkovskiy separated sometime during the twenty-third season of ''Dancing with the Stars'', and reconciled their romance in June 2017. They announced their engagement on June 14, 2018, during a trip to

Venice, Italy Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are linked by 438 bridge ...

. On April 13, 2019, Johnson married Chmerkovskiy in

Rancho Palos Verdes, California Rancho Palos Verdes is a coastal city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated on September 7, 1973, the city has a population of 42,287 as reported in the 2020 United States census. The city sits atop the bluffs of ...

. Among her bridesmaids were her former dance partner

and her childhood best friend

. Johnson openly struggled with fertility and suffered a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can fetal viability, survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks ...

in 2021, which placed her in a deep depression for about eight months. On July 15, 2022, Chmerkovskiy and Johnson announced that they were expecting a rainbow baby. Their son, Rome Valentin Chmerkovskiy, was born on January 10, 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jenna 1994 births 21st-century American dancers 21st-century American women American ballroom dancers American choreographers American female dancers American women choreographers Artists from Provo, Utah Dancing with the Stars (American TV series) winners Dancers from California Dancers from Utah Living people So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series) contestants