Julianne Hough: ‘Footloose’ Star Proves She is More Than Just a Pretty Ballerina [VIDEO]

Julianne Hough's star is shining more brightly these days.

Hough stars in the just-released remake of the 1980s box office smash, Footloose.

She plays Ariel, daughter of Reverend Shaw Moore, played by Dennis Quaid, who lives in a town where dancing is banned.

Hough is opposite Kenny Wormald who takes over Kevin Bacon's iconic role of Ren MacCormack.

The road to etching her name on the credits proved to be a rather bumpy one.

It was a long, long process, and I was attached when it was a musical. I was excited because it was a movie, she told Collider.com. And then, Craig Brewer got attached and rewrote it, and I read the script and was blown away. I was like, 'First, it's like the original. People aren't going to get mad. Second, this will actually show a range that I can do, on the acting side. It's not really about my dancing.' So, I basically had to fight for the role, for the second time. I had to prove to Craig that I was Ariel, and I did.

She has appeared in small parts in movies such as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and Burlesque. But none compare to her starring spot in Footloose.

Todd McCarthy of the Hollywood Reporter did not give the film glowing reviews, but he did like Hough.

The young cast members, all in their early-to-mid twenties, make things go down relatively easily. Hough reminds a bit of Jennifer Aniston with her hot bod and pleasant, slightly puffy face, he wrote.

Hough can be certain that she will have a lot of support, especially from boyfriend Ryan Seacrest, American Idol host, radio personality, and E! producer.

She told Self magazine, Today, I am really happy with who I am and feel like I'm in the right place. I'd met Ryan many times over the years, but we got together at the right time.

The Utah-born blonde definitely has one thing in common with her on-screen character: she is a dancer.

Hough, whose brother is Derek Hough from ABC's hit Dancing with the Stars, has been dancing since she was nine years old.

After her parents divorced when she was 10 years old, Julianna and Derek went to a performing arts school in London to hone their craft. There, she studied everything from ballet and jazz to theater and gymnastics.

This is Julianne Hough's breakout silver screen performance.

Previously, she was a country singer and a two-time winner of Dancing with the Stars. She even won an Emmy in 2007 for her choreography.

A lot of people don't know that when I first moved out to L.A., it was to act, and 'Dancing with the Stars' fell into place. I know everybody has discovered me as a dancer, but hopefully this will be the chance that I've been looking for, for people to see me as an actress, she said.