Laura Nolan


Laura Nolan is an Irish ballroom dancer and choreographer. She is best known as a professional dancer on the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars, having danced on the show since 2020.

Early life

Nolan was born in Lucan in Dublin. She is trained in ballroom, latin, and ballet dancing.

Professional career

Nolan first began dancing competitively at the age of five. She competed in the All Ireland Championships in June 2006 with her first partner, Luca Mastropietro. The couple reached the quarterfinals of their first championship.
From 2009 to 2013, Nolan danced with English dancer, Stanislav Wakeham.
From 2015 to 2019, Nolan danced with Italian dancer, Alessandro Bosco. In 2018 they finished in first place in the World Open Adult Standard at the Bacau Dance Open tournament.
Nolan was a finalist in the Under 21 World Championship, placing amongst the top ten in the world. In 2018, she and Bosco ranked fifth in the World Open. Nolan has won numerous International Open championships and was a finalist in the German Open. Making her the first Irish dancer to compete in the World Championships.
In 2019, the couple announced their retirement from ballroom dancing.

Media career

In 2020, Nolan was crowned Miss Universe Leinster. She went on to take part in the Miss Universe Ireland competition where she reached the top three.
In 2021, Nolan appeared as a contestant in the celebrity version of the RTÉ programme, Hell Week.

''Dancing with the Stars''

In November 2019, it was confirmed that Nolan would be joining the cast of the Irish series of Dancing with the Stars as a professional dancer. She was paired with television presenter and Big Brother winner, Brian Dowling. They were eliminated in the seventh week of the competition.
In 2022, Nolan partnered former Love Island contestant, Matthew MacNabb. Despite receiving some of the lowest scores from the judges throughout their time on the show, Nolan and MacNabb reached the semi-final of the competition, finishing in fifth place.
In 2023, Nolan partnered comedian, Kevin McGahern. Nolan once again reached the semi-final of the competition with McGahern and finished in fifth place, following their dance-off against Suzanne Jackson and Michael Danilczuk.
In 2024, Nolan partnered Fair City actor, Shane Quigley Murphy. They were the third couple to be eliminated from the competition. Nolan also partnered former jockey Davy Russell in week two when Russell's usual partner, Kylee Vincent, was ill, meaning she performed two dances on that particular edition of the show.
In 2025, Nolan partnered Olympic artistic gymnast, Rhys McClenaghan and they won the competition on 16th March 2025.
In 2026, Nolan partnered The Traitors star, Paudie Moloney.
SeriesPartnerPlace
4Brian Dowling8th
5Matthew MacNabb5th
6Kevin McGahern5th
7Shane Quigley Murphy9th
8Rhys McClenaghan1st
9Paudie MoloneyTBA

Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance
DancePartnerHighestPartnerLowest
American SmoothRhys McClenaghan29Brian Dowling20
Cha-cha-chaRhys McClenaghan22Matthew MacNabb12
CharlestonRhys McClenaghan30Brian Dowling18
Contemporary BallroomRhys McClenaghan29Matthew MacNabb26
FoxtrotKevin McGahern24Matthew MacNabb17
JiveRhys McClenaghan25Matthew MacNabb11
Paso DobleRhys McClenaghan30Matthew MacNabb22
QuickstepRhys McClenaghan29Shane Quigley Murphy21
RumbaRhys McClenaghan23Shane Quigley Murphy19
SalsaKevin McGahern
Rhys McClenaghan		23Matthew MacNabb14
SambaMatthew MacNabb21
ShowdanceRhys McClenaghan30
TangoRhys McClenaghan24Brian Dowling15
Viennese WaltzKevin McGahern19Matthew MacNabb13
WaltzRyan Andrews125Shane Quigley Murphy20

1 This score was awarded during Switch-Up Week.

Personal life

In March 2022, Nolan confirmed that she was in a relationship with her Series 5 celebrity partner, Matthew MacNabb, following their elimination from the show. The couple got engaged on 9 November 2024.