Who is Карина Смiрнова? The entertainment and dancing world knows her as Karina Smirnoff a Ukrainian American professional ballroom dancer.She is a five-time U.S. National Champion, World Trophy Champion, and Asian Open Champion. Smirnoff has won the title at the UK Open, is a three-time champion at the US Open, two-time champion at the Asian Open, five-time champion at the Dutch Open, and five-time US National Professional Champion. She has been ranked second in the world, and took second at the British Open Blackpool Dance Festival.[1]
She is "the first woman to ever make the British Professional Final with three different partners".[2]
Biography
Smirnoff was born January 2, 1978) in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union on January 2, 1978. When she was five years old, she began taking ballet lessons, followed by gymnastics, aerobics, figure skating, ballroom dancing and piano.[3] She chose to pursue ballroom dancing. In 1992, Smirnoff emigrated to the United States,[4] and is reportedly a naturalized United States citizen. Education
Smirnoff attended Nerinx Hall in St. Louis, MO and Christopher Columbus High School in New York and the Bronx High School of Science before going to Fordham University, during which time she picked up her interest in dancing again. Smirnoff graduated from Fordham University with a double major in economics and information system programming.[1] During her academic studies, Smirnoff's goal was to go to law school and become an attorney. However she later came across a dance school in Brooklyn, New York, and after some time there dancing became her profession. Career
Smirnoff has made numerous candid appearances on reality shows such as Dancing with the Stars, and Chelsea Lately, featuring Chelsea Handler | |
| Roman Nabatov |
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| Paul Killick |
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| Slavik Kryklyvyy |
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| Louis van Amstel |
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Smirnoff was the project manager/director of a dancing event entitled "Day & Night", held on November 18, 2006 at the Hollywood & Highlands Grand Ballroom.[10]
She is featured in a nude pictorial in the May 2011 American issue of Playboy magazine. [11]
Dancing with the Stars
Smirnoff was a performer on the third season of the ABC series Dancing with the Stars with celebrity partner Mario López. They finished in second place, losing to the team of Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke. Smirnoff returned to the show on March 19, 2007 for Season 4, this time partnered with Billy Ray Cyrus,
country singer and Hannah Montana star.[12] The pair was the eighth to be eliminated from the competition on May 8, 2007. Her partner for Season 5 of the show was current five-division world champion boxer, Floyd Mayweather Jr. On October 16, 2007, Karina and Floyd were the fourth couple eliminated from competition and came in 9th place. She returned for Season 6, partnered with singer Mario and finished in 5th place. In Season 7, she was partnered with chef Rocco DiSpirito and they were the fourth pair to be eliminated with a finish of 9th place for the second time.For the eighth season, Smirnoff's partner was Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak. They were eliminated in the fourth round on March 31, 2009, along with Holly Madison and her partner Dmitry Chaplin.
For the ninth season, she was partnered with singer Aaron Carter. They were eliminated on November 10, 2009, placing fifth.
In the eleventh season, she was partnered with Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, from MTV's reality TV show Jersey Shore. They were eliminated in the fourth week.
In the twelfth season of Dancing with the Stars, she has been partnered with the original Karate Kid, Ralph Macchio. They were eliminated in the semi-finals.
Smirnoff spoofed her role on Dancing in Hannah Montana, playing a fortune teller who predicts to a disbelieving Cyrus about his appearance in a dancing competition.
Performances
With Mario Lopez (Season 3)
| Week | Dance(s)/Song | Carrie Ann's Score | Len's Score | Bruno's Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha/"Walkin' on the Sun" | 9 | 8 | 9 | Safe |
| 2 | Quickstep/"Do Your Thing" | 7 | 6 | 8 | Safe |
| 3 | Tango/"What You Waiting For" | 8 | 6 | 8 | Safe |
| 4 | Paso Doble/"Cancion Del Mariachi" | 10 | 9 | 10 | Safe |
| 5 | Rumba/"The Way You Look Tonight" | 9 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 6 | Mambo/"Ran Kan Kan" Disco/"Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" | 9 No | 9 Scores | 10 Given | No Elimination |
| 7 | Foxtrot/"I Wanna Be Loved By You" Jive/"Shake a Tail Feather" | 10 9 | 9 9 | 10 9 | Safe |
| 8 Quarter Finals | Waltz/"Dark Waltz" Samba/"Superstition" | 9 10 | 9 9 | 10 10 | Bottom Two |
| 9 Semi-Finals | Tango/"Whatever Lola Wants" Cha-Cha-Cha/"Bad" | 10 10 | 10 10 | 10 9 | Safe |
| 10 Finals | Samba/"Sir Duke" Paso Doble/"Cancion Del Mariachi" Freestyle/"It Take Two" | 10 10 10 | 9 10 10 | 10 10 10 | Runner-Up |
With Billy Ray Cyrus (Season 4)
| Week | Dance(s)/Song(s) | Carrie Ann Inaba | Len Goodman | Bruno Tonioli | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha/"I Want My Mullet Back" | 5 | 4 | 4 | Safe |
| 2 | Quickstep/"Ring of Fire" | 7 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 3 | Tango/"Rock the Casbah" | 7 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 4 | Paso Doble/"Black Betty" | 7 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 5 | Rumba/"What's Love Got to Do with It?" | 6 | 6 | 5 | Safe |
| 6 | Jive/"I Love to Boogie" Swing/"Rock This Town" | 7 No | 7 Scores | 7 Given | Safe |
| 7 | Waltz/"Play Me" Samba/"Living in America" | 5 7 | 6 7 | 6 7 | Bottom Two |
| 8 Quarter Finals | Foxtrot/"Stand by Your Man" Mambo/"My Way" | 7 6 | 6 7 | 5 7 | Eliminated |
With Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (Season 5)
| Week | Dance/Song | Carrie Ann Inaba | Len Goodman | Bruno Tonioli | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha/"The Way You Move" | 6 | 6 | 6 | Safe |
| 2 | Quickstep/"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" | 7 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 3 | Jive/"Mess Around" | 7 | 7 | 7 | Bottom Two |
| 4 | Paso Doble/"Captain From Castille" | 7 | 8 | 8 | Eliminated |
With Mario (Season 6)
| Week | Dance(s)/Song(s) | Carrie Ann | Len | Bruno | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha/"Request Line" | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 2 | Quickstep/"Valerie" | 9 | 8 | 9 | Safe |
| 3 | Tango/"El Tango de Roxanne" | 7 | 6 | 8 | Bottom Two |
| 4 | Paso Doble/"Higher Ground" | 8 | 7 | 9 | Safe |
| 5 | Samba/"A-Tisket, A-Tasket" | 9 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 6 | Rumba/"Let's Get it On" Country Western/"Cotton-Eyed Joe" | 9 No | 9 Scores | 10 Given | Bottom Two |
| 7 | Foxtrot/"I'm Your Man" Mambo/"Mambo a la Sandoval" | 8 9 | 8 9 | 8 9 | Safe |
| 8 Quarter Finals | Viennese Waltz/"If I Ain't Got You" Jive/"Little Billy Pretty One" | 9 9 | 9 8 | 9 9 | Eliminated |
With Rocco DiSpirito (Season 7)
| Week | Dance(s)/Song(s) | Carrie Ann Inaba's Score | Len Goodman's Score | Bruno Tonioli's Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foxtrot/"Stray Cat Strut" Mambo/"La Comay" | 5 7 | 4 7 | 5 7 | Safe |
| 2 | Rumba/"You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" | 5 | 6 | 5 | Safe |
| 3 | Viennese Waltz/"What's New Pussycat?" | 7 | 7 | 6 | Safe |
| 4 | Samba/"I Go to Rio" | 6 | 6 | 6 | Eliminated |
With Steve Wozniak (Season 8)
| Week | Dance/Song | Carrie Ann Inaba | Len Goodman | Bruno Tonioli | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha/"You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" Quickstep/"Oh, Boy!" | 5 6 | 4 5 | 4 6 | Bottom Two |
| 2 | Samba/"Jump In The Line (Shake, Senora)" | 4 | 3 | 3 | Safe |
| 3 | Argentine Tango/"Cite Tango" | 4 | 4 | 4 | Eliminated |
With Aaron Carter (Season 9)
| Week | Dance(s)/Song(s) | Carrie Ann | Len/Baz | Bruno | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha/"Beggin'" Viennese Waltz/"I'm Your Man" | 7 Awarded | 8 10 | 7 Points | Safe |
| 2 | Quickstep/"The Muppet Show Theme Song" | 9 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 3 | Rumba/"Spotlight" | 8 | 6 | 7 | Safe |
| 4 | Lambada/"Dr. Beat" | 6 | 6 | 6 | Bottom Two |
| 5 | Argentine Tango/"Epoca" | 8 | 8 | 8 | Bottom Two |
| 6 | Waltz/"Three Times a Lady" Mambo Marathon/"Ran Kan Kan" | 8 Awarded | 9 8 | 8 Points | Safe |
| 7 | Jive/"We're Not Gonna Take It" Paso Doble/"I Hate Myself for Loving You" | 9 8 | 10 8 | 10 8 | Bottom Two |
| 8 Quarter Finals | Foxtrot/"Lucky" 90's Samba/"Two Princes" | 7 9 | 8 9 | 8 9 | Eliminated |
With Mike Sorrentino (Season 11)
| Week | Dance(s)/Song(s) | Carrie Ann Inaba's Score | Len Goodman's Score | Bruno Tonioli's Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha/"Break Your Heart" | 5 | 5 | 5 | Safe |
| 2 | Quickstep/"Americano" | 6 | 6 | 6 | Bottom Two |
| 3 | Foxtrot/"Boom Boom Pow" | 7 | 6 | 7 | Safe |
| 4 | Argentine Tango"/Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" | 4/6 | 4/5 | 4/5 | Eliminated |
With Ralph Macchio (Season 12)
| Week | Dance(s)/Song(s) | Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foxtrot/"Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" | 8 | 8 | 8 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Jive/"Nobody But Me" | 7 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 3 | Rumba/"Stay Gold" | 7 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 4 | Waltz/"Romeo and Juliet" | 8 | 8 | 9 | Safe |
| 5 | Samba/"Sweet Home Alabama" | 8 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 6 | Paso Doble/"Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" | 8 | 8 | 8 | Bottom Two |
| 7 | Cha-Cha-Cha/"Born This Way" Quickstep/"Pencil Full Of Lead" | 8*/8 10*/9 | 7 8 | 7 9 | Safe |
| 8 Quarter Finals | Viennese Waltz/"Maybe I Maybe You" Cha-Cha-Cha/"Stuck in the Middle" -INSTANT DANCE | 8 7 | 8 7 | 9 7 | Bottom Two |
| 9 Semi-Finals | Argentine Tango/"Violentango" Salsa/"I Know You Want Me" | 8 8 | 9 7 | 8 8 | Eliminated |
Other endeavors
Smirnoff has appeared nude in a PETA advertising campaign -with the tagline "I'd rather dance naked than wear fur"[13][14]Smirnoff has appeared nude in the May 2011 issue of Playboy
Personal life
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| Mario Lopez |
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| Maksim Chmerkovskiy |
In October 2009, Smirnoff began dating MLB pitcher Brad
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