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'Hairspray' Star Begged to Go 'Dancing'

By DERRIK J. LANG,
AP
Posted: 2008-03-23 12:41:33
Filed Under: TV News
LOS ANGELES (March 23) - Marissa Jaret Winokur didn't have to be swayed into being on "Dancing with the Stars."

"I keep hearing these stories how people turned it down a few times," Winokur said at the William S. Paley Television Festival on Friday. "I banged on their doors. 'Please let me do this show. Please! Please! Please!' It's lived up to all my expectations."

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The 35-year-old actress, who won a Tony Award in 2003 for playing Tracy Turnblad in Broadway's "Hairspray," strained to speak during the panel because she said she's beginning to lose her voice.

"I just talk too much," joked Winokur, who's partnered with professional dancer Tony Dovolani on the show.

Winokur and husband Judah Miller are expecting their first child. Winokur, who had cervical cancer seven years ago, said the baby is being carried by a surrogate mother and is due in four months.

Other participants in the Paley festival's "Dancing with the Star" panel were hosts Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris; judges Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli; professional dancers Cheryl Burke, Derek Hough and Julianne Hough; celebrities Cristian de la Fuente, Drew Lachey, Jane Seymour and Kristi Yamaguchi and executive producer Conrad Green.



Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-03-23 11:45:23
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Recent Comments

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69 comments

lucialeon 03:36:34 PM Mar 24 2008

I LOVE Marissa
love her energy, her enthusiasm, she is easily my favorite
Kristi of course is excellent, but Marissa is the human touch to the show. No size two, and a jiggle everywhere to go to the music!!
Love her!

bostonbred111 02:37:27 PM Mar 24 2008

Too much facial plastic surgery will make her nose fall off like Michael Jackson's.. no one can touch his nose it will fall off.... about 3 months ago his young son smacked him in the nose Michael had to go have his nose redone. It gets too thin ( bones) the whole nose is just cartilage not much to hold it up...just dont sit in the sun after you are 40 years old, dont use a lot of very hot water on your face and be like Prince Charles great aunt Barbara Cartwright the romance novelist she once said that after you are fifty years old, you have to choose between 2 choices either you can keep your face or keep your body... but not both ( without surgery.)

clsw1971 02:27:14 PM Mar 24 2008

presilla the godzilla

bostonbred111 02:24:19 PM Mar 24 2008

Priscilla should have left well enough alone. Too late now. She has chipmunk cheeks. LisaMarie is going to be a huge lady like her dad. Don't tell me shes fat because shes only 2 months pregnant look at her head how wide her face is... so what? If she is proud of her famous father then she should be proud to look like he did. Whats wrong with a little chubbiness?

larrylorikunkle 02:09:35 PM Mar 24 2008

I guess that will tell other celebs not to go under the knife. Look at Lyndsay Wagner she is still pretty and she shows her age well. Maybe the winkles bothered Pricillia...

daytonbloomers 02:07:18 PM Mar 24 2008

Priscilla looks like a vampire in this picture ... once considered easily the most beautiful woman ... I would not want to meet her based on the look above - she would scare me. However, I'm sure that she is a lovely lady inside - complete with human flaws - I hope that she shines in this competition. And as for the comments on how Elvis would react - who knows? He may have fallen to the temptation of plastic surgery too!

mrscricket046 01:59:14 PM Mar 24 2008

PRICSILLY PRESELY LOOKS LIKE SHE BELONGS IN A WAX MUSEUM IF SHE SMILES HER FACE WILL CRACK. SUCH A BEAUTIFUL GIRL LOOKS LIKE SHIT.NOW THEY THINK THEY LOOK YOUNG THEY SHOULD BUY A MIRROR WITH ALL THERE MONEY SO THEY CAN REALLY SEE WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE. THE KING MUST BE TURNING OVER IN HIS GRAVE WHEN HE SEEN THAT FACE OF HERS WHEN I SEEN IT I SAID OMG ANOTHER ONE TRYING TO LOOK YOUNG I THINK THIS IS WHY THEY ALL GO ON THIS SHOW SO WE ALL CAN SEE THERE FACE LIFTS.WHO CARES

stardustmemrees 01:57:29 PM Mar 24 2008

I really have to say that I admire Marissa's spirit in wanting to show the world that even though you might have Cervical Cancer (or any type of cancer, for that matter), that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.

I am 43yrs old and underwent a complete abdominal hysterectomy and was diagnosed with Stage 2b Cervical Cancer on January 17, 2008 and while I am currently undergoing radiation therapy, after reading this article about how Marissa has experienced the very same thing (some 7yrs ago), her spirit in wanting to 'Dance' gives me a great hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and shows me that (while I may not be anywhere as physically fit or able to), I don't have to let the sadness of my illness get me down and know that I CAN AND WILL BEAT THIS THING and that I CAN DO anything I set my mind to doing!!

HATS OFF TO YOU, MARISSA! I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK AND HOPE YOU WIN!!!

cuppajavah 01:56:45 PM Mar 24 2008

you people are sick

setonbest 01:54:59 PM Mar 24 2008

Priscilla Presley needs plastic surgery to correct bad facial surgery. Doen't she look in the mirror or don't her daughter or parents tell her?

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