Which Dancing With The Stars Pro Has The Most Wins?
"Dancing with the Stars" debuted in 2005 and quickly became a massive hit for ABC. Plenty of celebrities have come and gone over the seasons, and there have been changes behind the judges' table and in the hosting positions, too. The slate of professional dancers teaching celebrities shifts from season to season, as well, and they are all angling to win the mirrorball trophy in the finale. But, which "DWTS" pro has won the most trophies since the show's debut?
Season 1 of "DWTS" started out small, featuring only six couples. As Us Weekly noted, the pros included Alec Mazo, who won with "General Hospital" star Kelly Monaco, along with his wife, Edyta Sliwinska, and Ashly DelGrosso, Charlotte Jorgensen, Jonathan Roberts, and Louis Van Amstel. During subsequent "DWTS" seasons, many of those pros hit the dance floor with other partners. However, Alec was the only pro from that original group to take home a mirrorball trophy (per Good Morning America).
Season 2 brought in Cheryl Burke, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, and a few other new faces, some of whom stuck around for quite a while. Burke won the competition with 98 Degrees singer Drew Lachey, and she followed it up by winning Season 3 with former football star Emmett Smith. The next few seasons of "DWTS" introduced viewers to popular pros such as Karina Smirnoff, Kym Johnson, Julianne Hough, Mark Ballas, and Derek Hough — and those personalities became major contenders for each season's mirrorball trophy.
This DWTS pro has an impressive winning record
Which "Dancing with the Stars" professional dancer has won the most mirrorball trophies? Quite a few have won twice, and plenty have won once. The top spot on the winner's list, however, goes to Derek Hough (per Good Morning America). He has dominated by winning a whopping six times —and none of the other pros have managed to come anywhere close to that.
Hough grew up dancing alongside his younger sister, Julianne, and they lived and trained with the family of fellow "DWTS" pro Mark Ballas in England for some time (per Pure Derek Hough). Hough had some acting and choreography success there, but Pure Derek Hough noted that he returned to the United States in late 2006. He and his sister joined the "Dancing with the Stars" tour and producers wooed him to become a Season 4 "DWTS" pro. He declined, but both he and Ballas decided to go for it for Season 5.
Hough didn't win a mirrorball trophy right out of the gate, though. His first partner was "90210" star Jennie Garth, and they made it to the semi-finals (per Us Weekly). He partnered with Shannon Elizabeth for Season 6, and they finished in sixth place. Hough's next partner was model and television host Brooke Burke, and that brought his first "DWTS" win. He also won with Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, "Dirty Dancing" star Jennifer Grey, "American Idol" alum Kellie Pickler, "Glee" star Amber Riley, and "The Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin's daughter, Bindi Irwin.
Derek Hough's record will be tough to top
Derek Hough competed on 17 seasons of "Dancing with the Stars" throughout his six-win run, noted Us Weekly. He last hit the dance floor as a pro on Season 23, with "Taxi" star Marilu Henner. He starred in NBC's "Hairspray Live!" in 2016, per IMDb and joined Jennifer Lopez and Ne-Yo for multiple seasons of "World of Dance" (per ABC). Hough returned to "DWTS" for Season 29, but as CNN noted, it was as a judge, and he returned to the judge's panel for Season 30, too. Hough has even hinted he may not be done competing yet. He jokingly told Us Weekly, "When Tom Brady won a seventh Super Bowl, I was like, 'Oh no, do I need to go for seven here?'" Fans should not get too excited, though. "No, I think – who knows? I never say never, but for right now, I'm looking forward to going back as a judge."
Will any other "DWTS" pro ever overtake Hough's number of wins? It won't happen anytime soon, if ever. Cheryl Burke and Val Chmerkovskiy have two wins apiece and are competing in Season 30, so a third win could come soon. Other two-time winning pros include Kym Johnson Herjavec, Julianne Hough, and Mark Ballas, none of whom have competed lately. There's also Peta Murgatroyd, who likely will return for a future season. In the meantime, the battle continues on the dance floor and Derek's six-win record stands.