Derek Hough

With wins in the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, Mitt Romney has a leg up in the race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.

If he won the right to face our first African-American President, Barack Obama, Romney would become the first Mormon on a major party ticket.

While this is hardly an endorsement of Romney, good for him, and for voters embracing candidates of varying religions, backgrounds and ethnicity.

In honor of Mitt, here are a bunch of celebrity Mormons you might not know about! Who's your favorite? Read THG's Top 10 and vote in our poll:

10. Mitt Romney. He'll never be accused of being electrifying on the campaign trail, but he wins. And least so far. Plus, he's got the hair.

9. Jon Huntsman. Another family man and GOP presidential candidate who embraces his Mormon beliefs. Doing not quite as well in the polls.

8. Amy Adams of Enchanted fame was raised Mormon. Who knew!

7. Marie Osmond and her siblings grew up in a strict Mormon home.

6. Aaron Eckhart of The Dark Knight fame was raised Mormon. Eckhart even transferred to BYU and graduated from the Mormon University in '94.

5. (tie) Paul Walker. That's one fast, furious, handsome Mormon! And Jon Heder. Napoleon Dynamite quotes. Enough said on both accounts.

4. Katherine Heigl. While no longer a practicing Mormon, the former Grey's Anatomy star credits her LDS upbringing with shaping her character.

3. Lacey Schwimmer. DWTS pro and Mormon (as are our co-#1s).

2. David Archuleta. The American Idol runner-up recently announced he's stepping out of the limelight to embark on a two-year Mormon mission.

1. Julianne and Derek Hough. The Footloose star and DWTS pro siblings pretty much hit the genetic jackpot with looks, charm and physical abilities.

Who's your favorite celebrity Mormon?

Ricki Lake was very good Monday night on Dancing With the Stars.

The question is, will very good be enough against the two men she's competing against? Ricki and Derek Hough earned all 9s for their cha cha and all 9s for their freestyle, for a combined total of 54. "We're very, very happy," she said. "I'm thrilled!"

Fan favorite J.R. Martinez has 54 as well, though, and upstart Rob Kardashian garnered 57. So it'll take quite the popular vote victory to propel Ricki to the Mirror Ball. Will it happen? Check out her routines below and vote on who you think will win:

Ricki Lake on Dancing With the Stars (Finals - Cha Cha)

The recent Dancing With the Stars feud between Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Derek Hough appears to indicate an increasingly heated rivalry and then some.

"They hate each other," a DWTS insider says.

Chmerkovskiy slammed Len Goodman on last week's show, then criticized Hough after he sided with the judge. Maks also referred to DWTS as "my show."

"I had a laugh about that," Hough said, then referred to a list of past champions at the studio: "I was just looking at the plaque upstairs and ... well, never mind."

Derek (with Ricki Lake) and Maks (with Hope Solo) are in this fall's final five.

That reply by three-time winner Hough (Chmerkovskiy has yet to hoist the Mirror Ball in 12 seasons; Both are alive right now) is just the latest chapter.

"The professional dance community is really small. The dancers have known one another their entire lives," says a source close to the smash hit show.

"Now that the group is famous, it's added a new level of competitiveness."

There's also the Julianne Hough factor.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy sort of backed off his comments Monday about Dancing With the Stars being "his" show, but is still plenty pissed at the judges.

Chmerkovskiy laid into Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli after what he believed were scathing, personal critiques of his routine with Hope Solo.

Lacey Schwimmer and Chaz Bono, who were eliminated Tuesday night, felt similarly and supported Maksim, but Ricki Lake's partner Derek Hough took the judges' side.

That drew a stinging rebuke from Chmerkovskiy ...

"Derek Hough has been very supportive of his personal career on the show," Maksim said in an interview with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America.

"With all due respect, if I had Nicole Scherzinger followed by Jennifer Grey followed by Ricki Lake, I probably would not be upset with the judges either."

Maksim wishes he hadn't said in the heat of the moment that DWTS is "his" show and he is the reason for its success, acknowledging it's a team effort.

But he won't praise the judges, either.

Looks like the Lauren Conrad and Derek Hough dating rumors are true.

The hot young couple added fuel to the fire by partying together - very closely, as a matter of fact - in the back room at L.A.'s Trousdale Lounge.

While they were with friends - she had Lo Bosworth with her, and he was hanging out with Dancing With the Stars co-star Mark Ballas - they mostly spent time with each other. Then they hit the floor, where they danced lovingly.

Derek Hough and Lauren Conrad are totally a couple.

"It was obvious there was a lot of chemistry between the two," an onlooker says. "She was very smitten." So smitten, in fact, that the normally reserved reality TV star and fashion designer shared some smooches with her man.

Says the onlooker: "Neither seemed embarrassed about kissing in public."

They seem like a good fit, don't you agree?

[Photos: WENN.com]

Last night's Dancing With the Stars results show saw the end of Chynna Phillips' journey on the ABC program. She could not, pardon the pun, hold on for one more day.

On a more uplifting note, former DWTS pro Julianne Hough returned to the show that launched her career, performing two numbers to promote her new film Footloose.

Julianne danced to “Holding Out for a Hero” with co-star Kenny Wormald, then jived with her brother, current DWTS pro Derek Hough on “Shake Your Tail Feather.”

There's certainly been a void since Julianne left the show, and we're not talking about her gorgeousness (not entirely anyway). Girl can move it! Watch her below:

Julianne Hough on Dancing With the Stars

There's a romance brewing between a Dancing With the Stars pro and former queen of the Hills. Derek Hough and Lauren Conrad are totally dating!

"They've been on a few dates together," a source says.

The two raised many an eyebrow at Jason Scoppa's weekly live show at the Sayers Club in Hollywood: "They were pretty cozy. Definitely playful and flirty."

"They were close to each other," the source explained of LC and DH. "He had his arm around her waist. They were dancing and also holding hands."

When they left, celebrity news photographers snapped away, but the two didn't stand too close together. A security guy also tried to block the shots.

Lauren Conrad most recently ended a long relationship with actor Kyle Howard in June, while Hough was linked to former X Factor judge Cheryl Cole.

He's paired with Ricki Lake on the new season of DWTS. What do you think of Derek Hough and Lauren Conrad as a couple? Leave a comment below!

[Photos: WENN.com]

A pair of hotties, one from each gender, are now back on the market.

Sources confirm that Cheryl Cole and Derek Hough, who started dating in early 2010 after the former split with her husband, have called it quits.

"Cheryl told Derek it was over," an insider says. "Breaking up with him was particularly cruel because he stood by her through her divorce last year and her nasty bout of malaria. He can't help feeling that she used him to get publicity in Hollywood. But Cheryl is incredibly ambitious – and gorgeous. I would not be surprised if she winds up with an A-lister, and soon."

And we know who that might be: Justin Bieber, this is your chance!

[Photo: WENN.com]

This one's straight out of the Lindsay Lohan Book of Bad Excuses.

On last night's Dancing With the Stars, Brandy rose to the top. That wasn't too big a surprise, but Jennifer Grey finishing fifth out of seven dancers was.

According to her partner, Derek Hough, blame it on the "guyliner."

Derek Hough blames the makeup department, not Jennifer Grey.

"This is what happened tonight," Derek said. "The dance was going well, I told [Jennifer] to get fierce, and she was all in it. And then at the end, this eyeliner got in my eye! Then I flew off and she was off balance and it was a mess."

"So basically, the moral of the story is don't wear eyeliner if you're a guy."

Hmm. You know, it doesn't seem to bother Adam Lambert ...

One minute. That's all it took for Derek Hough and Jennifer Grey to become favorites - with the judges and fans alike - on the premiere of Dancing With the Stars.

How does Derek like their chances? Does the perceived experience of Jennifer Grey actually help them? Can he set one of our interns up with his sister Julianne?

Just kidding, we didn't ask about that last item. But Derek was kind enough to talk all things Dancing with us this week. Here's our Q&A with the ballroom pro ...

Derek Hough with Jennifer Grey.

THG: Have you narrowed down a favorite nickname for you and Jennifer?

Derek Hough: I think we've finally settled on Baby Derek. We've gone back and forth a bit between Jenhougher and Baby Derek.

THG: How is rehearsal going? Do you two have a favorite style yet?

Derek: We've done one latin and one ballroom style so far. Jen has been completely amazing at both. Usually a celeb is stronger in one or the other but not her. We just have to work at keeping her stamina up during the faster paced dances.