Karina Smirnoff facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Karina Smirnoff
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| Карина Смирнофф | |
Smirnoff in 2008
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| Born |
Karina Smyrnova
January 2, 1978 |
| Alma mater | Fordham University |
| Occupation | Dancer |
| Partner(s) | Justinas Duknauskas |
| Children | 1 |
Karina Smirnoff (born Karina Smyrnova on January 2, 1978) is a famous professional ballroom dancer. She is best known for being a professional dancer on the TV show Dancing with the Stars. She won the 13th season of the show with her partner, actor and army veteran J. R. Martinez.
Karina has achieved many dance awards. She has won five U.S. National Championships, a World Trophy Championship, and an Asian Open Championship. She has also won titles at the UK Open and the US Open. She was the first woman to reach the British Professional Final with three different partners, and later with four different partners.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Karina Smirnoff was born in Kharkiv, which was then part of the Soviet Union and is now in Ukraine. She started competing in ballroom dancing when she was 11 years old. In 1993, Karina moved to the United States.
Karina's Schooling
Karina went to several schools in the U.S. She attended Nerinx Hall High School and Christopher Columbus High School. She later graduated from the Bronx High School of Science. Karina also studied at Fordham University in New York City. She earned two degrees, one in economics and another in information system programming.
Karina's Dance Career
Early in her career, Karina danced with Roman Nabatov as an amateur team for the USA. Later, she partnered with Paul Killick and then Louis Van Amstel as a professional dancer.
Her most successful partnership was with Slavik Kryklyvyy. They danced together from 2001 to 2005, representing the U.S.A. They won many top titles and high scores.
Karina also appeared in the 2004 movie Shall We Dance? She played a dance instructor in the film. She also released a fitness DVD called "Shape Up With Karina Smirnoff."
Her last professional partner in competitions was Dmitri Timokhin. They won first place at the 2006 Grand-Prix Dynamo in Moscow. Karina also guest-starred in an episode of Hannah Montana as Madame Escajeda. In 2016, she joined the cast of the reality TV show Famously Single.
Dancing with the Stars Journey
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Karina Smirnoff became a popular professional dancer on the ABC show Dancing with the Stars.
Early Seasons on DWTS
In Season 3, she danced with celebrity Mario López. They finished in second place. She returned for Season 4 with country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. They were the seventh couple to be eliminated.
In Season 5, Karina partnered with boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.. They finished in 9th place. She then danced with singer Mario in Season 6, finishing 5th. In Season 7, her partner was chef Rocco DiSpirito, and they also finished 9th.
Later Seasons and a Big Win
For Season 8, Karina's partner was Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak. They were eliminated in the fourth round. In Season 9, she danced with singer Aaron Carter, placing fifth.
In Season 11, she partnered with The Situation from Jersey Shore. They were eliminated in week four. In Season 12, she danced with movie star Ralph Macchio, reaching the semi-finals.
Karina finally won the competition in Season 13! She was partnered with actor J. R. Martinez. They beat Rob Kardashian and Ricki Lake to win the Mirrorball Trophy. This was Karina's first win and her first time in the finals since her very first season.
After Her Win
After her win, Karina continued to compete. In Season 14, she was with singer Gavin DeGraw. They were eliminated in week 5. For Season 15, she partnered with former winner Apolo Anton Ohno, finishing 5th.
In Season 16, she danced with NFL star Jacoby Jones. They reached the finals and finished in third place. For Season 17, she was with actor Corbin Bleu and finished in second place.
Her earliest exits from the show were in Season 18 with Sean Avery (11th place) and Season 19 with Randy Couture (11th place). She also competed in Season 21 with jockey Victor Espinoza (12th place) and Season 22 with quarterback Doug Flutie (9th place).
In October 2023, Karina returned to the show for a special tribute. She performed a group waltz to honor the late DWTS judge, Len Goodman.
DWTS Performances and Results
| Season | Partner | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Mario Lopez | 2nd |
| 4 | Billy Ray Cyrus | 5th |
| 5 | Floyd Mayweather Jr. | 9th |
| 6 | Mario | 5th |
| 7 | Rocco DiSpirito | 9th |
| 8 | Steve Wozniak | 10th |
| 9 | Aaron Carter | 5th |
| 11 | Mike Sorrentino | 9th |
| 12 | Ralph Macchio | 4th |
| 13 | J. R. Martinez | 1st |
| 14 | Gavin DeGraw | 9th |
| 15 | Apolo Anton Ohno | 5th |
| 16 | Jacoby Jones | 3rd |
| 17 | Corbin Bleu | 2nd |
| 18 | Sean Avery | 11th |
| 19 | Randy Couture | |
| 21 | Victor Espinoza | 12th |
| 22 | Doug Flutie | 9th |
Season 3 with Mario Lopez
| Week | Dance/Song | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha/"Walkin' on the Sun" | 26 | Safe |
| 2 | Quickstep/"Do Your Thing" | 21 | Safe |
| 3 | Tango/"What You Waiting For?" | 22 | Safe |
| 4 | Paso Doble/"Cancion Del Mariachi" | 29 | Safe |
| 5 | Rumba/"The Way You Look Tonight" | 27 | Safe |
| 6 | Mambo/"Ran Kan Kan" | 28 | No elimination |
| 7 | Foxtrot/"I Wanna Be Loved by You" | 28 | Safe |
| Jive/"Shake a Tail Feather" | 27 | ||
| 8 Quarter Finals |
Waltz/"Dark Waltz" | 28 | Bottom two |
| Samba/"Superstition" | 29 | ||
| 9 Semi-Finals |
Tango/"Whatever Lola Wants" | 30 | Safe |
| Cha-Cha-Cha/"Bad" | 29 | ||
| 10 Finals |
Samba/"Sir Duke" | 29 | Runner-up |
| Paso Doble/"Cancion Del Mariachi" | 30 | ||
| Freestyle/"It Take Two" | 30 |
Season 13 with J.R. Martinez
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | |||
| 1 | Viennese Waltz / "Breakaway" | 8 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 2 | Jive / "Jump, Jive An' Wail!" | 7 | 7 | 8 | Safe |
| 3 | Rumba / "If You're Reading This" | 9 | 8 | 9 | Safe |
| 4 | Foxtrot / "Theme from The Pink Panther" | 8 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 5 | Samba / "Conga" | 9 | 9 | 10 | Safe |
| 6 | Quickstep / "Hot Honey Rag" | 10 | 9 | 10 | Safe |
| 7 | Tango / "Theme from Ghostbusters" | 9 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| Team Tango / "Disturbia" | 8 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 8 | Waltz / "What the World Needs Now" | 10 | 10 | 10 | Safe |
| Instant Jive / "Tutti Frutti" | 10 | 10 | 10 | ||
| 9 | Paso Doble / "Theme from The Legend of Zorro" | 8 | 7 | 8 | Last to be called safe |
| Argentine Tango / "Bust Your Windows" | 9 | 9 | 9 | ||
| Cha-cha-cha Relay / "I Like How It Feels" | Awarded | 6 | Points | ||
| 10 | Cha-cha-cha / "Let's Get Loud" | 8 | 7 | 9 | WINNERS |
| Freestyle / "Whine Up" | 10 | 10 | 10 | ||
| Jive / "Jump, Jive An' Wail!" | Awarded | 28 | Points | ||
| Instant Samba / "Shake Your Bon-Bon" | 10 | 10 | 10 | ||
Personal Life
Karina Smirnoff grew up as an only child. Her parents own a liquor store.
She was engaged to fellow Dancing with the Stars professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy in 2009. They were engaged for nine months.
In October 2009, Karina started dating baseball player Brad Penny. They got engaged in October 2010 but ended their engagement in December 2011.
Karina was also engaged to businessman Jason Adelman in January 2015, but they split up in March 2015.
In 2015, she appeared on Celebrity Family Feud with her castmates. She even danced a salsa with the host, Steve Harvey!
In April 2020, Karina Smirnoff welcomed her first child, a son named Theo Gabriel. His father is Justinas Duknauskas.
Images for kids
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Smirnoff in 2008
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Karina Smirnoff and Slavik Kryklyvyy
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Smirnoff in 2014
See also
In Spanish: Karina Smirnoff para niños
