#Middlebury
Q: I keep seeing Julianne Hough on commercials. Didn’t she used to be a pro on “Dancing With the Stars”? Will she ever return? – K.L.
A: Julianne Hough won two titles as a pro dancer on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” where she started at just 18 years old. She danced for four seasons and later became one of the judges. Hough soon graduated to feature films, first in movies like a remake of “Footloose,” where she could show off her talents on foot, and later in romance flicks like “Safe Haven” opposite Josh Duhamel.
In 2016, she played Sandy in the live television production of “Grease.” Not unlike many of her peers, her career slowed down during the pandemic. She told People magazine that she did a lot of soul searching during that time, which included an amicable divorce from retired hockey pro Brooks Laich. She’s focused on two of her businesses, Fresh Vine Wine and KINRGY, a dance-fitness program.
With no plans to return to “DWtS,” Hough is loving her latest role – Broadway star. However, it’s not a musical, as one would expect, but a satiric political comedy called “POTUS.” She told People magazine that her “POTUS” co-stars Vanessa Williams (“The Good Wife”) and Rachel Dratch (“Saturday Night Live”) have “really shown me what friendship is.”
Retta in “Good Girls” (NBC photo)
Q: I loved Retta, the actress, when she played Donna on “Parks and Recreation” and then later when she starred as Ruby on “Good Girls.” What’s next for her? – P.E.
A: Born Marietta Sirleaf, comedian-actress Retta started doing stand-up comedy in Raleigh, North Carolina, after graduating from Duke University. She then moved to Los Angeles to try her luck and was soon cast as Donna Meagle on the NBC comedy “Parks and Recreation.” That small background role grew into a series regular, where she spent seven seasons stealing scenes. After that she had another small role that graduated into a bigger one on Bravo’s scripted series “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce.”
Retta hit another home run with “Good Girls,” the NBC series about three suburban best friends who one day decide to rob a grocery store. The show ended after four seasons, but she recently signed a “talent holding deal” with NBCUniversal, meaning she will “collaborate exclusively” with NBCU Television to find projects where she can star on its various entertainment platforms.
Q: Why did Alton Brown leave the Food Network? Is he leaving TV altogether? – J.C.
A: Best known as the host of “Good Eats” on the Food Network for 14 seasons, Alton Brown decided to follow his other love, the “Iron Chef” franchise, to Netflix. He was a huge fan of the original “Iron Chef” series in Japan and then became part of its American version in several on-air capacities.
You can see Brown as one of the hosts of Netflix’s “Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend” beginning Wednesday, June 15.
Send me your questions at NewCelebrityExtra@gmail.com, or write me at KFWS, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.
© 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.
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