Nancy Kerrigan: 5 Things to Know About the New DWTS Star
Nancy Kerrigan is trading her ice skates for dancing shoes when she begins her ballroom journey on Dancing with the Stars‘ 24th season with pro partner Artem Chigvintsev.
Read on to learn five interesting facts about the 47-year-old retired professional athlete, who will be slipping back into sequins and tights once again to perform in front of a national audience.
1. She’s a two-time Olympic medalist.
The married mother of three competed in two Winter Olympic Games and took home a medal both times.
She first competed in the event at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, where she won the bronze medal. Two years later, Kerrigan competed at the 1994 Winter Olympic games in Lillehammer, Norway, where she nabbed the silver medal.
2. ‘Why, why, why?’: She was attacked with a police baton at a competition.
In January 1994, Kerrigan was attacked at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit a month before the Winter Olympics. Following a practice session, the figure skater was the victim of clubbing when Shane Stant took a police baton to her right knee in the hopes of breaking it and sidelining her from the Olympic games. He was hired by skating rival Tonya Harding‘s ex-husband Jeff Gillooly and Harding’s bodyguard at the time.
Directly after the attack, Kerrigan was recorded saying, “Why, why, why?” and the incident became known as “The Whack Heard ‘Round the World.”
Harding avoided serving prison time for the attack after Gillooly took a plea bargain in exchange for implicating her, but she was placed on probation for three years, sentenced to 500 hours of community service and fined $160,000.
3. Her feud with Tonya Harding is soon to play out on the big screen.
The Harding-Kerrigan spat will be featured in the upcoming Harding biopic, I Tonya. Harding, now 45, is most known for her career-ending moment, when she was almost immediately implicated in the attack against Kerrigan. Australian actress Margot Robbie has signed on to portray Harding in the film, which is slated for release in 2018.
4. She’s a Hall-of-Famer.
In 2004, Kerrigan earned perhaps one of the highest honors as a former professional figure skater when she was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Though she no longer competes competitively on the ice, she has taken her talents behind the camera lens where she has served as a commentator. For the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Kerrigan worked as a special correspondent for Entertainment Tonight.
5. Kerrigan skated her way onto Blades of Glory.
Though only brief, Kerrigan made a cameo appearance in the 2007 ice-skating comedy Blades of Glory, starring Will Ferrell.
“Hey, Nancy Kerrigan,” Ferrell’s character, Chazz Michael Michaels, says to Kerrigan.
“Hey,” she says, briefly acknowledging him.
“You an official here?” he proceeds to ask rhetorically. “Because you have officially given me a boner.” Cue eye glare.
Got her in a spin! A smiling Nancy Kerrigan leaves her Dancing With The Stars rehearsal dressed in gym gear... amid reports of diva behavior on set
She made a name for herself dancing on the ice, and now Nancy Kerrigan is preparing to dance in front of the cameras as she gears up for the upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars.
The 47-year-old former professional figure skater appeared to be in high spirits as she left a dance studio in Los Angeles on Friday, despite recent reports of diva behavior.
Dressed in a bright lime green singlet top and black gym pants, Nancy was seen carrying a rolled up yoga mat and two water bottles as she made her way back to her car.
A dark green sweatshirt was tied around her waist, and she wore a blue baseball cap and pink and blue sneakers.
Her dance partner, Artem Chigvintsev, 34, was also spotted leaving the studio, looking decidedly more low-key in dark grey sneakers, a long sleeve dark grey T-shirt and long black Nike sweatpants.
'Nancy is really starting to make a lot of people angry because she is acting like she already knows what she is doing,' an insider told Radar Online.
'She is trying to choreograph her own routines and is just being incredibly bossy to the other contestants and to the production crew.'
According to the website, she is also being difficult when it comes time to schedule rehearsals.
'Aside from the choreography, Nancy seems just not willing to train as long as everyone else and she is constantly trying to make up excuses for herself,' added the source.
Apparently producers of the popular series even had to have a word with the former Olympic champion.
'It got so bad that they had to straight up tell her, this is Dancing with the Stars, not Skating with the Stars.'
Read on to learn five interesting facts about the 47-year-old retired professional athlete, who will be slipping back into sequins and tights once again to perform in front of a national audience.
1. She’s a two-time Olympic medalist.
The married mother of three competed in two Winter Olympic Games and took home a medal both times.
She first competed in the event at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, where she won the bronze medal. Two years later, Kerrigan competed at the 1994 Winter Olympic games in Lillehammer, Norway, where she nabbed the silver medal.
2. ‘Why, why, why?’: She was attacked with a police baton at a competition.
In January 1994, Kerrigan was attacked at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit a month before the Winter Olympics. Following a practice session, the figure skater was the victim of clubbing when Shane Stant took a police baton to her right knee in the hopes of breaking it and sidelining her from the Olympic games. He was hired by skating rival Tonya Harding‘s ex-husband Jeff Gillooly and Harding’s bodyguard at the time.
Directly after the attack, Kerrigan was recorded saying, “Why, why, why?” and the incident became known as “The Whack Heard ‘Round the World.”
Harding avoided serving prison time for the attack after Gillooly took a plea bargain in exchange for implicating her, but she was placed on probation for three years, sentenced to 500 hours of community service and fined $160,000.
3. Her feud with Tonya Harding is soon to play out on the big screen.
The Harding-Kerrigan spat will be featured in the upcoming Harding biopic, I Tonya. Harding, now 45, is most known for her career-ending moment, when she was almost immediately implicated in the attack against Kerrigan. Australian actress Margot Robbie has signed on to portray Harding in the film, which is slated for release in 2018.
4. She’s a Hall-of-Famer.
In 2004, Kerrigan earned perhaps one of the highest honors as a former professional figure skater when she was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Though she no longer competes competitively on the ice, she has taken her talents behind the camera lens where she has served as a commentator. For the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Kerrigan worked as a special correspondent for Entertainment Tonight.
5. Kerrigan skated her way onto Blades of Glory.
Though only brief, Kerrigan made a cameo appearance in the 2007 ice-skating comedy Blades of Glory, starring Will Ferrell.
“Hey, Nancy Kerrigan,” Ferrell’s character, Chazz Michael Michaels, says to Kerrigan.
“Hey,” she says, briefly acknowledging him.
“You an official here?” he proceeds to ask rhetorically. “Because you have officially given me a boner.” Cue eye glare.
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| ABC/CRAIG SJODIN |
Got her in a spin! A smiling Nancy Kerrigan leaves her Dancing With The Stars rehearsal dressed in gym gear... amid reports of diva behavior on set
She made a name for herself dancing on the ice, and now Nancy Kerrigan is preparing to dance in front of the cameras as she gears up for the upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars.
The 47-year-old former professional figure skater appeared to be in high spirits as she left a dance studio in Los Angeles on Friday, despite recent reports of diva behavior.
Dressed in a bright lime green singlet top and black gym pants, Nancy was seen carrying a rolled up yoga mat and two water bottles as she made her way back to her car.
A dark green sweatshirt was tied around her waist, and she wore a blue baseball cap and pink and blue sneakers.
Her dance partner, Artem Chigvintsev, 34, was also spotted leaving the studio, looking decidedly more low-key in dark grey sneakers, a long sleeve dark grey T-shirt and long black Nike sweatpants.
'Nancy is really starting to make a lot of people angry because she is acting like she already knows what she is doing,' an insider told Radar Online.
'She is trying to choreograph her own routines and is just being incredibly bossy to the other contestants and to the production crew.'
According to the website, she is also being difficult when it comes time to schedule rehearsals.
'Aside from the choreography, Nancy seems just not willing to train as long as everyone else and she is constantly trying to make up excuses for herself,' added the source.
Apparently producers of the popular series even had to have a word with the former Olympic champion.
'It got so bad that they had to straight up tell her, this is Dancing with the Stars, not Skating with the Stars.'
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