"Dance Your Ass Off" Marissa Jaret Winokur spoke to Entertainment Tonight about her own continuEd Battle with weight loss.
"I am doing a Facebook dieting thing, I am doing a Twitter thing," she told ET. "Basically, I am reaching out to anyone who can help me lose weight. It is a slow process of needing some more love than I have. It is going slowly."
"Dance Your Ass Off" will air its first season finale on Monday, August 31th, which has been expanded to 75 minutes, followed by the just-announced reunion show on Monday, Sept. 7th, which will catch up with the contestants to see how they have changed, physically and emotionally, since they shook and rattled their rolls away. To read the full interview click here.
Oxygen kicked off its second night of original programming with the premiere of its first-ever dance/weight-loss competition series "Dance Your Ass Off" on Monday, June 29th. The 10 one-hour episode series launches with a super sized 90-minute premiere with limited commercials.
Bringing dance and diet together, the new series features talented, full-figured contestants who struggle with their weight and dance to unleash their inner thin. Tony Award-winning actress Marissa Jaret Winokur, well known for her role as plus-sized Tracy Turnblad in the hit Broadway musical "Hairspray," serves as host.
"Dance Your Ass Off" has assembled a world-class team of weight loss specialists, including Dr. Robert Huizenga (NBC's "Biggest Loser"), nutrition specialist Meg Werner Moreta, R.D. and Crunch trainer Lee Wall. This team will give the contestants a chance to reach their maximum weight loss potential and undergo the ultimate lifestyle transformation.
Winokur acts as a correspondent for "Hollywood 411" and "Reality Chat." Most recently, Winokur's fancy feet brought her to the semi-finals on the sixth season of "Dancing With the Stars." Winokur has been featured in a myriad of roles on both the big and small screens, including a co-starring role with Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon in "Fever Pitch." She also played roles in popular classic films such as "American Beauty," "Never Been Kissed" and "Scary Movie." Winokur's TV credits include a co-starring role on the comedy series "Stacked" with Pamela Anderson; recurring roles on "Dharma & Greg" and "Moesha;" and appearances on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Just Shoot Me" and "Felicity." She began her career on stage, appearing as Jan in the Broadway production of "Grease." Winokur's performance as Tracy has garnered her a TONY Award, Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress. In July 2008, Winokur and her husband, Judah Miller, welcomed baby boy Zev Isaac Miller.
"Dance Your Ass Off" is produced by 495 Productions with SallyAnn Salsano serving as executive producer and Joel Zimmer as co-executive producer, with concept by Lisa Ann Walter and Kate Rigg also serving as executive producers.
495 Productions is a dynamic reality television Production Company that was launched in by veteran producer Sally Ann Salsano. In the company's three years since launch, 495 Productions has emerged as one of the leading production companies that creates, develops and produces innovative and cutting-edge programming for all major cable and network broadcasters, including the company's overall deal with MTV. Named after Salsano's hometown expressway in Long Island, 495 Productions is the foremost Production Company for identifying the most interesting everyday people, putting them in unique situations and creating water-cooler programming unlike any other on television.
Oxygen Media is a multiplatform lifestyle brand that delivers relevant and entertaining content to young women, wherever they are. Oxygen is rewriting the rulebook for women's media, with a vast array of unconventional and original content including "Bad Girls Club," "Pretty Wicked" and "Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood." Popular features online include makeOvermatic, tweetOverse and hormoneOscope.
