Carrie Ann Inaba (born January 5, 1968) is an American dancer, choreographer, television dance competition judge, actress, game show host, and singer. She is best known for her work on ABC TV's Dancing with the Stars. She started her career as a singer in Japan, but became best known for her dancing, first introducing herself to American audiences as one of the original Fly Girls on the sketch comedy series In Living Color.
Inaba was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, graduating from Punahou School in 1986. She is of Irish, Chinese, and Japanese descent. Her first dance instruction was at three years old in a "creative movement" class, where children danced on their own with scarves. As a child, she would dance in her backyard that overlooked the Pacific Ocean.
She attended Sophia University and University of California, Irvine before graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A. degree in world arts and cultures.