Instagram The Hough siblings
Siblings Julianne and Derek Hough are some of the most talented entertainers working today. Their Dancing With the Stars performances are incredible and they most recently performed for ABC’s Disney Holiday Singalong — Julianne sang “Let It Snow” and Derek and his girlfriend Hayley Erbert performed a dance routine to “Jingle Bells” and “Hey Santa.”
But did you know there are other Hough siblings? Yes! Here’s what you need to know about them and how close the Hough family is — Derek affectionately calls them “the blonde squad.”
1. There are Five Hough Siblings… And Four Step-Siblings
Derek and Julianne were both born in Orem, Utah, to parents Marriann and Bruce Hough. Derek is the fourth-youngest and Julianne is the youngest of the five Hough children. Their older siblings are all girls — Sharee, Marabeth, and Katherine.
The Hough children were all born between 1977 and 1988 — Sharee is 43, Marabeth is 41, Katherine is 38, Derek is 35 and Julianne is 32 as of the end of 2020.
All four of their grandparents were dancers and their parents met while both participating in the ballroom dancing team at Ricks College in Idaho (now known as Brigham Young University-Idaho). Derek and Julianne followed in their parents’ and grandparents’ footsteps by becoming professional dancers — Julianne was a Dancing With the Stars pro for five seasons, winning twice, while Derek was a pro for 16 seasons and won six times. But Derek and Julianne are the only Hough children who dance professionally. The older three siblings all work in other areas, though judging by this family dance party video from Thanksgiving 2015, the hot moves definitely run in the family.
The Houghs’ parents divorced in 1998 and both have remarried, but that just expanded the Hough family. According to an article in the Las Vegas Review Journal, Marriann married financial consultant Aaron Nelson in 1998 and they blended her five children with his four from a previous marriage and needed an enormous house where all 11 of them could live.
“All we wanted was to get a big enough house for nine children,” Marriann said in the article about putting the Houghs’ childhood home up for sale.
2. The Family Bond is Tight
Julianne posts Instagram photos all the time where she and Derek are doing things with their three siblings — hiking, working out, doing yoga at the beach, going to costume parties. They are also tight with their parents, despite the fact that Bruce and Marriann got divorced in 1998 when Julianne was 9 and Derek was 12.
In fact, the Hough children are also close to their stepmom, Debra Hough. She and Bruce got married in 2000 and have been together ever since. Debra is a breast cancer survivor whom Julianne honored via the Five for the Fight campaign in 2016.
In 2016, Julianne told PEOPLE that their stepmom’s battle with breast cancer was incredibly hard on everyone in the family.
“It was extremely shocking and put everybody that was around her in a vulnerable state,” said Julianne. “Seeing my father go through that, he’s the head of the house, he’s the strong one … to see him get that vulnerable, it’s very, very serious.”
They are also close to their stepdad, Marriann’s husband Aaron Nelson. There are photos all over Marriann’s Instagram of the Hough children spending time with her and Aaron.
3. Sharee Hough Selman Is a Busy Woman
The eldest Hough sibling is Sharee, who is a mom to six kids and a fitness instructor/personal trainer. She married Mark Selman in September 2018 after previously being married to Randall Wise, who is the father of her children. Selman also has two daughters, Kenzie and Lexe, from a previous relationship.
Selman posted a beautiful tribute to Sharee on her 42nd birthday in 2019, writing, “Happy birthday to this gorgeous elegant woman! Sharee is the kindest most beautiful soul on this planet,” writes Mark on Instagram. “I couldn’t imagine life without her. She is my best friend, lover, and adventure partner. Babe you make 42 look stunning!! Love you more than a few words can even come close to describing.”
4. Marabeth Poole Could Be Julianne’s Twin
People often wonder if Julianne and Derek are twins, but really the sibling they should be wondering that about is Marabeth, the second-oldest Hough sibling. She and Julianne could almost be identical twins. She was even mistaken for Julianne by Life & Style magazine once, which was documented in one of Derek’s Instagram photos.
Marabeth is a singer/songwriter, holistic health coach, and realtor who has been married to Michael Poole for 18 years. They have one son together, Aiden, 16, and live in the Nashville, Tennessee, area.
In 2019, the family got together to celebrate Marabeth’s 40th birthday, with mom Marriann writing on Instagram: “Happy 40th Marabeth to the most amazing real Unicorn…the best is yet to come … WAHOOO if I know anything about love it’s because I have loved these unique characters so deeply… they sprinkle a lot of joy everywhere they go… and I have been their biggest recipient.”
5. Katherine Hough Is an Entrepreneur
The middle Hough child is Katherine, who is the mother to three girls named Ariana, 10, Adilynn, 7, and Avery, 3. She has been an esthetician for 18 years and is married to photographer T.J. Drechsel, who is Avery’s father. Ariana and Adilynn are Katherine’s daughters from her previous marriage to Tony Phillips.
Katherine previously worked at her sister Marabeth’s Aveda salon and spa in Nashville, but now she and her family currently reside in North Carolina where Katherine owns a skincare treatment center called Skin by Katherine.
In a recent Instagram post of a photo of all five siblings, Katherine wrote, “I’m so incredibly grateful that I have the most supportive, loving, ambitious, courageous, strong, emotional, loud, outspoken, generous, thoughtful, talented, outgoing, driven, loyal, siblings a girl could ask for!! I definitely hit the lottery with this group of humans!! I love y’all so much and I couldn’t imagine my life without you. Everyone one of you has played an important role in my life and I’m so grateful and blessed for all the loving and continuous support I get from all of you!”
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Julianne and Derek Hough’s Siblings & Family: 5 Fast Facts to Know