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22 September 2023, 14:41 | Updated: 4 October 2023, 11:56
Strictly Come Dancing is back once again for another thrilling series in 2023!
Karen Hauer is one of the many returning Strictly professional dancers, and here is a handy guide to the talented star:
Simon Rimmer and Karen Clifton Waltz to ‘You'll Never Walk Alone' - Strictly Come Dancing 2017
Karen Hauer (formerly Clifton) is a Venezuelan professional Latin dance specialist and World Mambo Champion.
In 2009, she auditioned for season 6 of the US reality show So You Think You Can Dance. She originally auditioned with her husband at the time, Matthew Hauer, but Matthew was eliminated during Vegas week, and Karen moved on to the top 20.
Karen joined Strictly as a professional dancer in 2013, and has appeared every year since. Her best result so far was finishing 4th with Mark Wright in series 12.
Karen was born in Valencia, Venezuela on April 20, 1982.
She celebrated her 41st birthday in 2023.
Her hometown is Queens in New York City.
Karen was previously married to fellow dancer Matthew Hauer, but they divorced a few years into the marriage.
Karen married her Strictly co-star Kevin in July 2015, after meeting in New York while working together. He proposed to her on her birthday while they starred in a touring production of Burn The Floor in 2014.
Karen then decided to take on her husband's surname professionally.
Sadly, Kevin and Karen Clifton confirmed they were splitting in March 2018. Despite their upcoming divorce, the pair have remained close friends and even starred in a 44-date tour together. They will also continue to appear alongside each other in this year's Strictly series.
In the summer of 2022, Karen married her partner Jordan Wyn-Jones, a fitness professional from Australia.
- Amy Dowden
- Dianne Buswell
- Giovanni Pernice
- Gorka Marquez
- Graziano di Prima
- Johannes Radebe
- Karen Hauer
- Katya Jones
- Luba Mushtuk
- Nadiya Bychkova
- Neil Jones
- Nancy Xu
- Kai Widdrington
- Nikita Kuzman
- Jowita Przystal
- Cameron Lombard
- Carlos Gu
- Vito Coppola
- Lauren Oakley