Who Is Willow Shields, Mark Ballas’ Partner Of ‘Dancing With The Stars’ 2015 Spring Season?

The Dancing With the Stars 2015 spring season debuts on March 16, and many viewers will surely be buzzing about Willow Shields. Partnered with Mark Ballas, Shields is a young celebrity who is definitely a different type of casting choice compared to the DWTS norm. What do viewers need to know about Willow?

At just 14-years-old, Willow Shields is the youngest celebrity to ever join Dancing With the Stars. Long-time DWTS pro Mark Ballas tends to be paired with the younger contestants, such as in previous seasons where he was partnered with Sadie Robertson, Shawn Johnson, and Bristol Palin. However, Willow is a tad younger than each of those ladies.

Hunger Games movie fans will definitely be familiar with Shields already. Willow plays Primrose Everdeen, younger sister of Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen, in the film series. As the actress’ IMDb page notes, Willow was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and she has a twin sister named Autumn and an older brother named River.

While the Hunger Games series is Shields’ first big gig, she has been in the industry since 2008. She has indicated that the role of Prim is her dream character and role, though she does look forward to trying other roles once the series wraps.

The teen, who is homeschooled, says she looks up to Meryl Streep and Angelina Jolie as well as Jennifer Lawrence, and she hopes to become a great actress herself. While she may be able to keep her cool on the big screen, it seems that dance rehearsals may be a little more challenging for the 14-year-old.

Shields is blogging for Access Hollywood this season and she shared a bit of insight heading into the premiere. Willow says that Mark makes the DWTS experience fun for her, though he does have a look he gives her when she messes up. She also admits that she breaks into giggles whenever Mark dips her, which makes him laugh as well.

Willow shares that she’s more excited than nervous as the premiere looms, but she teases that her parents are a bit of a wreck. They will surely be sitting in the audience watching every performance, even if they are anxious for her. It’s clear she has the full support of her parents heading into this wild experience.

There will surely be quite a bit made of Willow Shields’ age given that she’s just 14 and the pressure will be on. Mark Ballas did a great job with Sadie Robertson last season, and fans will be anxious to see if he can do well again this season. They definitely have stiff competition, though, with pairs like Rumer Willis and Val Chmerkovskiy along with Nastia Liukin and Derek Hough.

DWTS spoilers have indicated that Willow and Mark will start off the season with a cha cha and fans need to call 1-855-234-5612 to vote for them. Tune in to Dancing With the Stars airing Monday nights on ABC to see just how far Willow Shields and Mark Ballas can make it this season.

[Photo by ABC/Craig Sjodin]