Bonnie Lythgoe

Bonnie Lythgoe
Lythgoe in 2013
Born
Bonita Shawe

1949 (age 74–75)
England
Occupation(s)Dancer, producer, director
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1974; div. 2010)​
ChildrenSimon
Kris

Bonita Lythgoe (née Shawe; born 1949) is a British former dancer who, since the 1990s and 2000s, has been the producer and director of various theatre productions, including pantomimes.

In 1969, aged 19, Lythgoe auditioned for the BBC's Young Generation dance troupe, which included her future husband Nigel among its members. The couple started dating, but after Nigel became choreographer in 1971, he dismissed Bonnie from the troupe. They continued their personal relationship, subsequently married and became the parents of two sons, Simon and Kristopher.[1] The Lythgoes separated in 2007,[2] and divorced in 2010.[3]

Lythgoe's success as a choreographer of dance productions within the West End led to a career as a producer/director of various theatre productions, including pantomimes. She produced/directed and choreographed the Christmas 2006 version of Peter Pan, starring Henry Winkler, in Wimbledon and Cinderella, starring Patrick Duffy, in Woking.[4]

Lythgoe was a producer and judge on season one of the US reality television series So You Think You Can Dance. She was one of the judges on So You Think You Can Dance Australia prior to its cancellation in July 2010.

In 2016, Lythgoe was a contestant on the second season of the Australian version of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, lasting 3 weeks. Her charity of choice was Olivia Newton-John's Cancer and Wellness Centre.

  1. ^ Brief career sketch of Nigel Lythgoe[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Colin Vickery and Siobhan Duck (20 February 2008). "So You Think You Can Dance's Bonnie Lythgoe's marriage gloom". The Herald Sun. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  3. ^ Chrissy Iley (10 June 2011). "Interview: Nasty Nigel - 'Simon Cowell just wants to be loved'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  4. ^ review of Cinderella and Peter Pan in the 14 December 2006 edition of The Telegraph