8 Things You Didn’t Know About DWTS Pro Sharna Burgess

Sharna Burgess has become well known thanks to her time as a pro on the hit ABC series Dancing With the Stars. She has now competed in nine seasons, and has become a fan-favorite along the way thanks to her positive attitude, great mentor skills and always turning in consistently impressive dances. Burgess has come close to winning a few times and is definitely deserving of a Mirror Ball Trophy, but for now has still not taken home the coveted trophy. Since she is one of the longtime favorites on the show, we dug up 8 things not widely known about the gorgeous dancer. Check it out:

8. Favorite Partners

Over the years there has been a lot of drama concerning pros and their celebrity partners not getting along, and although Burgess hasn’t had any terrible experiences, she does have her favorites. In an interview with Glamour Burgess shared that she and season 18 partner Charlie White stayed good friends, but called season 20 partner Noah Galloway “like family.” She also became very close to season 21 partner Nick Carter and his wife Lauren, stating, “Nick and I are just the same. It’s that bond that’s so genuine and so real, and it’s not just for TV.” She did admit she had more trouble connecting with Keyshawn Johnson and Travis Smiley.

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7. Training

When she was only five years old Sharna began training in ballet, jazz and gymnastics and when she was eight she began studying ballroom dancing.

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6. Early Dancing

At only 15 Burgess was chosen to represent Australia for the World Championships in both Standard and Latin styles and also performed in the closing ceremonies for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

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5. Injury

After performing in the World Championships semi-finals, it was revealed that Burgess had a small tear in her knee ligament. Burgess insisted on finishing the competition which resulted in the need for knee ligament reconstruction surgery because she had ripped two ligaments in half and lost all the meniscus in one knee.

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4. Net Worth

Despite being a successful dancer for many, many years and being a consistent presence on DWTS, Burgess only has a net worth of $750 thousand. While that is nothing to scoff at, it definitely isn’t major in terms of Hollywood money standards. Of course, there is a good chance that her net worth has grown in the past few years since that estimation was released, but ABC is keen to keep the salaries of the pros under wraps.

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3. Best Friends

Sharna and fellow Dancing With the Stars pro Peta Murgatroyd have been best friends for more than 10 years. “Without a question, Peta is like my sister, and we see each other and text each other all the time. We were best friends before the show, so we spend a lot of our off-season together too. And Val and Maks are very good friends of mine. I know no matter what, they will always be in my corner and always supporting me, and that’s real family,” Burgess told Glamour.

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2. Australia

Sharna was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, to Ray and Lucy Burgess. She grew up in Australia before moving to London, England at the age of 18 where she won many titles and toured with the show, Simpy Ballroom. Following the tour she was given a spot on Burn the Floor, which she performed with for six years. She also appeared on Australian Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance.

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1. Other Work

Aside from working on Dancing With the Stars, Burgess’s impressive dance skills landed her a job as a choreographer for the film Street Dance 2- 3D. It was while working on the film she met her longtime dancer boyfriend Paul Kirkland, who she dated from 2010-2015.