Dancing With the Stars Scorecard Age: 36
Best Known For: Taking home the gold in the 1992 Olympics for figure skating
Lives In: Raleigh, North Carolina
Partner: Mark Ballas
Advantages: Yamaguchi knows how to quiet her mind before a big performance. "I apologize to my partner ahead of time," she says, "because I kind of shut off on show days and use a lot of visualization."
Disadvantages: The main thing that's worrying her is the dance shoes. "I'm terrible in heels," says Yamaguchi. "And I'm a lot clumsier on the floor than I am on the ice."
Kristi Yamaguchi Fast Facts:
- Began skating at age 6.
- Skated pairs with Rudy Galindo until 1991, the year she was first crowned World Professional Figure Skating Champion.
- Won a gold medal at the 1992 Albertville Olympic Games, where Yamaguchi also met her husband, NHL defenseman Bret Hedican.
- Was one of the original celebrities photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the "Got Milk?" milk-mustache campaign.
- Wrote the autobiography Always Dream (1997), and coauthored 1998's Figure Skating for Dummies.
- Won Season 6 of ABC's Dancing With the Stars with partner Mark Ballas.
- Has been inducted into the World Skating Hall of Fame and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.
- Kristi Yamaguchi Relationships:
- Bret Hedican - Husband
- Carole Yamaguchi - Mother
- Emma Yoshiko Hedican - Daughter
- Jim Yamaguchi - Father
- Keara Kyomi Hedican - Daughter
