Natalie Lowe (born 15 August 1980) is an Australian ballroom dancer. She is a four-time Australian ballroom dance champion. Lowe competed on, and won, Australia's ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

'' with celebrity partner

Anthony Koutoufides Anthony Koutoufides (born 18 January 1973), also known by his nickname of Kouta, is a retired Australian rules footballer with the Carlton Football Club. Considered by many as one of the most powerful and athletic players of all-time, he played ...

''.'' She later joined the BBC's ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

''. She competed on ''Strictly'' for seven series, leaving after the 2016 series concluded.

Early life

Lowe grew up in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Lowe's family lived next door to a

ballroom dance Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television. ...

studio. At age 5, Lowe began taking dance lessons after watching her older brother and sister dance. Lowe went on to become a four-time Australian ballroom dance Champion.

Career

Australia's ''Dancing with the Stars''

She joined

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

's ''

'' in 2004, partnering athlete

Matt Shirvington Matt Shirvington (born 25 October 1978) is an Australian athlete and television presenter who held the Australian 100m national sprint title from 1998 to 2002. Shirvington is the third fastest Australian sprinter of all time. He qualified for ...

. She then partnered Ian Roberts, and won the 2006 series with AFL footballer

. Lowe then partnered ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

'' actor Tim Campbell, and, in 2008, partnered boxer Danny Green.

''Strictly Come Dancing''

Highest and lowest scoring performances per dance In 2009, Lowe competed as a new professional dancer on the seventh series of the original British version of ''

'', partnering

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

Ricky Whittle Richard George Whittle (born 31 December 1979) is a British actor. Whittle first came to prominence as a model for Reebok in the early 2000s. He is known in the United Kingdom for his role as Calvin Valentine in the soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. I ...

. Lowe joined the show with fellow newcomers

Aliona Vilani Aliona Valeriya Kavanagh (''née'' Vilani on 1 May 1984; russian: Алёна Валерия Вилани), also known by her stage name Aliona Vilani, is a Russian-Kazakh TV personality and was a professional dancer in the BBC series of ''Stric ...

and

Katya Virshilas Katya Virshilas (born 10 September 1983) is a Lithuanian-Canadian dancer and actress. Early life Virshilas was born in Lithuania, to a Jewish family. She subsequently moved to Israel at age 6, and to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, at thi ...

. After their first dance together in front of the judges, Lowe and Whittle were described by head judge

Len Goodman Leonard Gordon Goodman (born 25 April 1944) is an English professional ballroom dancer, dance judge, and coach. He has appeared as head judge on the television dance programmes ''Strictly Come Dancing'', a programme where various celebrities c ...

as maybe the most formidable couple ''Strictly Come Dancing'' had ever seen. Even so, Lowe and Whittle finished second. Lowe competed in the 2010 series partnering

Scott Maslen Scott Alexander Maslen (born 25 June 1971) is an English actor and model, best known for his portrayal as DS Phil Hunter in ITV's ''The Bill'' and Jack Branning on the BBC's flagship soap ''EastEnders'' since 2007. He also took part in the 2010 ...

. Lowe and Maslen were eliminated in the semi-final of the competition along with

Gavin Henson Gavin Lloyd Henson (born 1 February 1982) is a Welsh former professional rugby union player, who played as a fly-half, fullback and inside centre. Between 2000 and 2019 he played for Llanelli, Swansea RFC, the Ospreys, Saracens, Toulon, Car ...

and

. On 15 June 2011, the BBC announced that Lowe would again be one of the professional dancers in the 2011 series of ''Strictly Come Dancing''. She was partnered by

Audley Harrison Audley Hugh Harrison, (born 26 October 1971) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2013. As an amateur he represented Great Britain at the 2000 Olympics, winning a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division and be ...

(champion boxer) and they were the sixth couple to leave. In the 2012 tenth series her partner was former England cricket captain

Michael Vaughan Michael Paul Vaughan (born 29 October 1974) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who played all forms of the game. He served as England captain for the test team from 2003 to 2008, the one-day international team from 2003 ...

; they placed 7th. In 2013, it was revealed that Lowe would return for the eleventh series; however she suffered a foot injury during training and was replaced by

. Lowe returned for the twelfth series, as partner to television presenter

Tim Wonnacott Timothy Wonnacott (born 12 March 1951) is an English chartered auctioneer, chartered surveyor, antiques expert, narrator, and a television presenter. He was previously a director of Sotheby's, one of the world's oldest auction houses. He is ...

. In March 2015 Lowe won comic relief special, '''The People's Strictly''', with veteran, Cassidy Little. She also participated in the thirteenth series main series of the show and was partnered with celebrity chef

Ainsley Harriott Ainsley Denzil Dubriel Harriott (born 28 February 1957) is an English chef and television presenter. He is known for his BBC cooking game shows ''Can't Cook, Won't Cook'' and ''Ready Steady Cook''. Early life Harriott was born in Paddingto ...

. Harriott and Lowe were eliminated in the fifth week of competition. Lowe then competed again with Little in the 2015

Christmas Special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared in in literature and Christmas music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth of material, with both adaptation ...

. In

Series 14 The Series 14 – NYSE Compliance Official exam is a qualification examination administered to compliance officials at New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) registered broker-dealers. The 110-question test is intended to ensure that individuals designa ...

she was partnered with Olympic long jump champion

Greg Rutherford Gregory James Rutherford MBE (born 17 November 1986) is a retired British track and field athlete who specialised in the long jump. He represented Great Britain at the Olympics, World and European Championships, and England at the Commonwealth ...

. On May 4, 2017, Lowe announced her departure from the show after seven series.

''Strictly Come Dancing'' performances

Series 7 – with celebrity dance partner
Ricky Whittle Richard George Whittle (born 31 December 1979) is a British actor. Whittle first came to prominence as a model for Reebok in the early 2000s. He is known in the United Kingdom for his role as Calvin Valentine in the soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. I ...

Series 8 – with celebrity dance partner
Scott Maslen Scott Alexander Maslen (born 25 June 1971) is an English actor and model, best known for his portrayal as DS Phil Hunter in ITV's ''The Bill'' and Jack Branning on the BBC's flagship soap ''EastEnders'' since 2007. He also took part in the 2010 ...

Series 9 – with celebrity dance partner
Audley Harrison Audley Hugh Harrison, (born 26 October 1971) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2013. As an amateur he represented Great Britain at the 2000 Olympics, winning a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division and be ...

Series 10 – with celebrity dance partner
Michael Vaughan Michael Paul Vaughan (born 29 October 1974) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who played all forms of the game. He served as England captain for the test team from 2003 to 2008, the one-day international team from 2003 ...

Series 12 – with celebrity dance partner
Tim Wonnacott Timothy Wonnacott (born 12 March 1951) is an English chartered auctioneer, chartered surveyor, antiques expert, narrator, and a television presenter. He was previously a director of Sotheby's, one of the world's oldest auction houses. He is ...

Series 13 – with celebrity dance partner
Ainsley Harriott Ainsley Denzil Dubriel Harriott (born 28 February 1957) is an English chef and television presenter. He is known for his BBC cooking game shows ''Can't Cook, Won't Cook'' and ''Ready Steady Cook''. Early life Harriott was born in Paddingto ...

Series 14 - with celebrity dance partner
Greg Rutherford Gregory James Rutherford MBE (born 17 November 1986) is a retired British track and field athlete who specialised in the long jump. He represented Great Britain at the Olympics, World and European Championships, and England at the Commonwealth ...

Other projects

Beginning in 2005, Lowe joined the cast of the ballroom dance stage show ''

Burn the Floor Burn the Floor is a live dance show which has performed around the world, including on Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in New York City and the West End of London, West End in London. Since 1997, Burn the Floor has performed in over 130 countries w ...

''. Lowe toured with the show for five years. In March 2013, Lowe launched FitSteps, a dance inspired fitness program, with fellow Strictly professional dancer

Ian Waite Ian Waite (born 29 January 1971) is a British professional dancer specialising in Latin American dance, a teacher and choreographer. Biography Waite was born in Reading, Berkshire. He started dancing at the age of 10. Mary Richardson, a former ...

and former Strictly celebrity Mark Foster.

Personal life

In October 2015, Lowe announced her engagement to company director James Knibbs. Lowe first met Knibbs when they sat opposite each other on a train ride to London. Lowe married Knibbs in July 2018. Lowe gave birth to a baby boy, Jack, in December 2019.

References

External links

Personal website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Natalie 1980 births Living people People from Sydney Australian female dancers Australian ballroom dancers Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series) winners 21st-century Australian dancers Australian expatriates in England