Joanne Clifton facts for kids

Joanne Kirsty Clifton (born on 24 October 1983) is a talented British dancer, TV presenter, actress, and singer. She is famous for winning the World Ballroom Showdance Championship in 2014. She also won the European Professional Ballroom Championship and the World Dancesport Games.

Joanne was a professional dancer on the popular BBC TV show Strictly Come Dancing from 2014 to 2016. She won the show in 2016 with her dance partner, Ore Oduba. After leaving Strictly, Joanne has starred in many stage shows. These include the UK tours of Shrek the Musical and The Addams Family.

Dancing career

Joanne Clifton started dancing when she was just a child. She learned ballroom and Latin dancing in her home village of Waltham. Her parents, Keith and Judy Clifton, were also famous dancers and taught her.

As a child, Joanne competed in dance competitions both in the UK and around the world. She first danced with her brother, Kevin Clifton. Later, she decided to focus on ballroom dancing. She has been dancing in competitions since she was four years old. Joanne has won the British Champion title five times and the Italian Champion title three times. She was also the Professional Ballroom European Champion in 2012. In 2013, she became the Professional World Dancesport Games Champion.

In 2000, Joanne moved to Bologna, Italy. She trained at Team Diablo, one of the biggest dance schools in Europe. She became one of the top amateur dancers with her partner, Marco Cavallaro. In 2011, she started dancing professionally with Paolo Bosco. In 2013, they were invited to perform at a special event in the Kremlin. That same year, Joanne and Paolo won the World Dancesport Games in Taiwan. They also won the World Professional Ballroom Showdance Championships in Italy. Joanne stopped competing professionally in December 2013.

From April to May 2014, Joanne joined her brother Kevin as a dancer in the Burn the Floor Dance Company. They performed in shows across Australia and Japan.

Strictly Come Dancing

In 2014, Joanne Clifton became a professional dancer on the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing. This is a show where celebrities learn to dance with professional partners. Joanne's first partner was the DJ Scott Mills. They danced together until week six of the competition.

Joanne stayed on Strictly for the next series. She didn't have a celebrity partner for the main show that year. However, she did compete in the Children in Need special with actor Stephen McGann. She also won the Christmas Special with Harry Judd, who had won an earlier series.

Joanne returned to the main show in 2016 for the fourteenth series. She was paired with TV presenter Ore Oduba. They worked very hard and on 17 December, they were crowned the winners of Strictly Come Dancing! This was Joanne's first big win on the main show.

On 21 June 2017, Joanne announced she was leaving Strictly Come Dancing. She had been a professional dancer for three years. She wanted to focus on her career in musical theatre.

Stage career

In 2015, Joanne Clifton started her musical theatre career. She appeared in Face the Music at Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre. She was even nominated for an award for her role. In 2016, she played the famous Marilyn Monroe in Norma Jean The Musical.

In 2017, Joanne played the main character, Millie Dillmount, in the UK tour of Thoroughly Modern Millie. She also played Alex Owens in the UK Tour of Flashdance the Musical. From December 2017 to January 2018, Joanne played Dale Tremont in the musical Top Hat.

In 2019, she starred as Janet Weiss in the UK tour of The Rocky Horror Show. In 2021, she played Morticia Addams in the UK Tour of The Addams Family. In 2023, she toured with Shrek The Musical as Princess Fiona. Joanne also played Velma von Tussle in the UK tour of Hairspray.

Personal life

Joanne grew up in a small village called Waltham in North East Lincolnshire. She lived there with her older brother, Kevin Clifton, and her parents, Judy and Keith Clifton. She went to East Ravendale Primary School and Caistor Grammar School.

Since 2020, Joanne has been in a relationship with fellow stage actor, AJ Jenks.

See also

In Spanish: Joanne Clifton para niños