Amber Riley

Amber Patrice Riley (born February 15, 1986) is an American actress, singer and author, best known for her portrayal of Mercedes Jones on the Fox comedy-drama series Glee (2009–15). She is also known for winning season 17 of Dancing with the Stars.

Early life

Riley was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Tiny (née Hightower) and Elwin Riley. She has two older sisters, Toyia and Ashley. Riley auditioned for American Idol when she was 17 years old, during the show's second season, but was turned down by the producers. She graduated from La Mirada High School in La Mirada, California in 2004.

Career

Acting and singing

In 2008, Riley was cast in the role of Mercedes Jones on the comedy-drama television series Glee, and appeared as a main cast member for its first four seasons. She was demoted to a recurring guest star status for the fifth season, but was reinstated as a series regular for the sixth and final season. Riley performed numerous solos throughout the series' run, including "Respect", "Bust Your Windows", "Hate on Me", "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", "Beautiful", "Bridge over Troubled Water", "I Look to You", "Ain't No Way", "Try a Little Tenderness", "Spotlight", "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and, three days after Whitney Houston's death, performed a tribute version of "I Will Always Love You". She also played Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the episode "The Rocky Horror Glee Show", singing the lead on the song "Sweet Transvestite" to generally positive reviews from critics. For her role as Mercedes Jones, Riley won a Screen Actors Guild Award and received nominations for an NAACP Image Award and a Teen Choice Award.

Derek Hough

Derek Hough (/ˈhʌf/; born May 17, 1985) is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer, choreographer, actor, singer, and songwriter. He is known for his work, since September 2007, on the ABC dance-competition series Dancing with the Stars, on which he has won a record six seasons. He has won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Choreography for several routines that he choreographed for the show.

Hough starred in various stage productions such as in the 2006 original production of Footloose: The Musical at the Novelo Theatre in London's West End, as well as the 2015 New York Spring Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. He also starred in Make Your Move, a 2013 Romeo and Juliet-inspired South Korean-American independent dance film. In 2014, he guest appeared on ABC's musical drama Nashville.

Early life

Hough grew up the fourth of five children in a Latter-day Saint (Mormon) family in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. He is the son of Marianne and Bruce Hough, and has four sisters, Sharee, Marabeth, Katherine, and Julianne. All of his grandparents were dancers, and his parents met while on a ballroom dancing team in college in Idaho. He is a second cousin of musicians Riker, Rydel, Rocky, and Ross Lynch from R5.