Heather Mills, the Estranged Wife of Paul McCartney, Will Be a Contestant on Dancing with the Stars

Wednesday, February 21, 2007 -- ABC announced today that Heather Mills, the estranged wife of Paul McCartney, will be a contestant on the new season of "Dancing With The Stars" that begins on March 19.

Heather Mills had married Paul McCartney in June, 2002. She was his second wife. His first wife, Linda, had died of breast cancer. Less than four years after Heather and Paul got married, they announced they were splitting up.

The British press had a field day with the couple's troubles, which The Times (UK) called "one of the most high-profile marriage breakdowns in history." The tabloids gleefully printed stories claiming that Mills was a former prostitute and porn model, that she had tried to blackmail Paul into giving her a big divorce settlement, and that Paul had stabbed her in the arm with a broken wine glass, shoved her violently when she was pregnant, and pushed her over a coffee table when he was drunk.

Before her storybook marriage ceremony to Sir Paul in an Irish castle, Heather had a difficult life. Her mother left the family when Heather was 9 years old, her father was abusive and eventually went to prison, and Heather ran away and became homeless when she was a teenager. She later became successful in business and modelling, and became an activist working against landmines and for animal rights.

Heather's leg was amputated below the knee after she was hit by a police motorcycle in London in 1993 while she was crossing the street. She will be the first person to compete on "Dancing With the Stars" with an artificial leg.

The season will open with a two-hour premier on March 19. Other contestants include Vincent Pastore, who played Big Pussy on "The Sopranos"; country star Billy Ray Cyrus; Laila Ali, a world champion female boxer who is the daughter of Muhammad Ali; Leeza Gibbons, former host of "Entertainment Tonight"; and various other athletes, actors, and a beauty queen. Ian Ziering, a star of "Beverly Hills 90210," had the good luck to be paired with Cheryl Burke, the pro who won first place in both of the seasons that she has been on the show.

Hosts Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris and judges Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, and Carrie Ann Inaba will all return to the show, which has become a big hit.

Sources

Mills, Laila Ali to test dancing skills, by David Bauder, Feb. 21, 2007, Associated Press

Dancing With the Stars website, http://abc.go.com/primetime/dancing/

Heather Mills McCartney, Wikipedia

My advice to Sir Paul? Pay up now - and get a gagging order, by Marilyn Stowe, Oct. 18, 2006, The Times (UK)

Dancing with Heather Mills, by Sarah Hall, Feb. 21, 2007, E! Online

Gloves off in Macca-Mills war, by Richard White and Gordon Smart, Oct. 19, 2006, The Sun (UK)