Mark Ballas

Mark Alexander Ballas Jr. was born on May 24, 1986, in Houston, Texas, to professional ballroom dancers Corky Ballas and Shirley Ballas. His father is an American of Greek ancestry, and his mother is British, with predominantly English ancestry and distant Irish and Cape Coloured heritage. Ballas is their only child. His paternal grandfather, George Ballas, invented the Weed Eater lawn-trimming device.

Ballas received his early training at Rosemead Preparatory School in South London before earning a full-time place and a full scholarship at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London at age eleven. In 2005, he was named Performer of the Year by the institution. As a competitive dancer, he claimed titles at the British Open to the World, the US Open to the World, and the International Open to the World. Alongside former partner Julianne Hough, he won the Junior Latin American Dance Championship and the gold medal at the Junior Olympics.

His acting career began outside the United States, where he played the lead role of Tony in the musical Copacabana and served as lead dancer in the UK national tour of the Spanish musical Maria de Buenos Aires. He also understudied the role of Ritchie Valens in the UK national tour of Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story. He appeared as an extra in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as a member of Hufflepuff House, and made a guest appearance on the season premiere of the television series Samantha Who in October 2008.

Ballas's Broadway career spanned from 1996 to 2013 and included appearances in Jersey Boys, Kinky Boots, and Chicago. He was announced on September 6, 2016, as the final actor to portray Frankie Valli in the Broadway production of Jersey Boys before its 2017 closing. From September 11 to November 18, 2018, he played Charlie Price in Kinky Boots on Broadway. In July 2022, he appeared as Harry in the Hollywood Bowl production of the same show. In May 2018, it was announced that he would play the Teen Angel in the Toronto revival of Grease in a limited engagement running June 7 through 10 of that year.

Since 2007, Ballas has been a professional dancer on the ABC competition series Dancing with the Stars, where he has won the competition three times. His first win came in season six alongside Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. He won again in season eight with Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson on May 19, 2009. His third victory came in season thirty-one with social media personality and dancer Charli D'Amelio. Among his other notable placements, he finished as runner-up in season fourteen with classical singer Katherine Jenkins, and reached the finals in seasons eleven, twelve, eighteen, nineteen, twenty-two, and twenty-five. For his choreography in season twelve with partner Chelsea Kane — specifically routines set to "I Write Sins Not Tragedies," "Hedwig's Theme," and "My Love" — Ballas received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography.

Ballas is one half of the singer-songwriter duo Alexander Jean, which he formed with his wife, BC Jean. The two dated for three years before becoming engaged in November 2015 and were married on November 25, 2016, in Malibu, California. Their son was born on November 5, 2023.