Mary Murphy
Birth name: Mary Ann Murphy
Birth place: Lancaster, OH, USA
Birthday: March 9
Profession: choreographer
Most Recent Role: Judge on ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’
Mary was born and brought up in Lancaster, Ohio and is of Irish descent. Dancing was a passion for Mary, right from her childhood days. Till the time she grew up she was in Ohio and graduated from Northwest High School in Canal Fulton, Ohio. But right after her graduation she moved to Washington D.C. with the determination to begin her career. Soon she was appointed as an instructor and with in a week’s time of joining as an instructor she was invited to attend the United States Ballroom Championships in New York City. It was at this time that she decided to begin her career in ballroom dancing.
While she was still working as an instructor, she decided to look for a partner, who can become her partner in competitions. She then met Manfred Sigletz, during the U.K. Open Championships in England, and the two decided to join hands. Together they began competing in various competitions and soon the pair was a hit, all over.
Mary then went ahead by building a list of accomplishments with partners based in California, earning titles at the Southwest Regional Dance Tournament, the Saint Louis Star Ball, and the International Grand Ball. In 1996, Mary and her partner Jim Desmond made the final of the U.S. Open American Smooth and won the U.S. Open American Nine Dance.
Mary also opened a dancing academy of her own, under the name Champion Ballroom Academy in San Diego in 1990. Mary has also been a part of the movie ‘Something to Talk About’, where she acted as a dance double for Julia Roberts. She also appeared as ‘Dance With Me’, starring Vanessa L. Williams.
As for now Murphy runs a dance studio and organizes a Las Vegas dance competition, the Holiday Dance Classic. She joined ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ as a choreographer, but was soon appointed as a permanent judge along with Nigel Lythgoe. She has also made various guest appearances on the international versions of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’.