Shirley Ballas is an English ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance Judge. After quitting to participate in a dance competition, she began to work as a dance coach and judge for ballroom and Latin American competitions.
She earned the nickname "The Queen of Latin" because of her dance specializes in the International Latin division and for winning several championship titles in the Latin division. As a dancer, her most famous winning title was "Professional Latin at Blackpool Dance Festival" in 1983 along with her partner as well former husband Sammy Stopford.
On 9 May 2017, it was announced that Ballas would be joining the judging panel of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One, replacing Len Goodman as head judge. She made her first appearance on the panel four months later - at the launch show of series 15 on 9 September that year. Since then she has been appearing as a head judge in "Strictly Come Dancing".
Shirley Ballas was born on 6th September 1960 in Wallasey, England, in the UK. She was born to her father George Rich and mother Audrey. Her parents named her as Shirley Annette Rich after her birth.
She holds a British nationality and belongs to white ethnicity. Virgo is her zodiac sign.
Shirley was raised in her hometown Wallasey, England, by her mother after her father left the family when Shirley was 2 years old. She has a brother named David. She began dancing at age 7 and began performing competitively in the following years.
Shirley Ballas has married two times in her life. Her first husband was Sammy Stopford who is a professional ballroom dancer and teacher. Shirley and Sammy first met in London when they were chosen as dance partners for the audition.
At that time Shirley was a 17 years old teenage girl. Soon, their dance partnership soon turned into a romantic partner too and the duo got married in 1980, with the relationship ending five years later in 1984.
Shirley's second marriage was with another ballroom dancer Corky Ballas in 1985 with whom she has a son named Mark Ballas, born in 1986. After 22 years of the long marriage relationship, the couple was divorced in 2007.
Shirley Ballas has a height of 5 ft 3 inches tall and weighs around 52 Kg. She has a well-maintained Athletic body which is perfectly toned. Her slim and hourglass-shaped body measures 91-72-91 cm.
Despite being 60 years old, she stills looks gorgeous and fresh. As a professional dancer, she keeps her body fit and healthy by performing dance exercises regularly. She wears a 105C Size Bra. Her hair color and eye color are Dark Brown.
The professional ballroom dancer has managed to earn a hefty amount of money due to her long-serving in the dancing field. According to Idol Net Worth, the Strictly Come Dancing head judge has a staggering estimated net worth of $5million.
According to sources, Shirley Ballas as the highest-paid judges of Strictly Come Dancing is earning £250,000 per series. The rich British dancer owns a luxurious mansion in London home which is made with modern expensive furniture and a swimming pool. She also drives an expensive car like Mercedes, Audi.