Michael Flatley Biography
Michael Flatley is a prominent American one-time professional performer and choreographer of Irish dance. Flatley is credited with reinventing formal Irish dance by incorporating new rhythms, syncopation, and upper body movements, which were formerly absent from the dance. He produced and performed in Irish dance shows Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames, Celtic Tiger Live and Michael Flatley’s Christmas Dance Spectacular.
10 Quick Facts About Michael Flatley
Here is a list of 10 facts about Flatley
- Name: Michael Flatley
- Age: 66 Years Old
- Birthday: 16 July
- Zodiac Sign: Cancer
- Height: 5 feet 9 inches
- Nationality: Irish-American
- Occupation: Dancer, Choreographer, and Musician
- Marital Status: Married
- Salary: Under Review
- Net worth: $350 million
Michael Flatley Age
Flatley is 66 years old, he was born on July 16, 1958, in Chicago, Illinois, the United States. He celebrates his birthday on the 16 July of every year and his birth sign is Cancer.
Michael Flatley Height
Michael Flatley stands at a height of 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m).
Michael Flatley Weight
Michael weighs 143 lbs (65 kg).
Early Life and Education
Flatley was born on July 16, 1958, the second of five kids born to Irish parents Michael James Flatley and Elisabeth “Eilish” Flatley (née Ryan), both of whom had relocated to the United States in 1947. Michael was a plumber from County Sligo, while Eilish was a talented step dancer from County Carlow whose mother, Hannah Ryan, was a champion dancer. Michael and Eilish met at an Irish dance in Detroit and were wed in that city on August 25, 1956.
They finally had five children: Anne-Marie, Michael, Eliza, Thomasina, and Patrick. When Michael was two months old, the family moved from Detroit to Chicago’s South Side. In Chicago, Flatley started dance lessons at age eleven with Dennis G. Dennehy at the Dennehy School of Irish Dance. Flatley studied at Brother Rice High School, an all-boys Catholic private school on Chicago’s Southwest Side.
Rise to Fame and Breakthrough Moment
Flatley’s big break came in 1993, when he acted at the Spirit of Mayo, an Irish dance and music festival held in Dublin. After drawing the attention of Ireland’s president, Mary Robinson, and dance show producers, he was asked to form an interval show for the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest.
Major Achievements and Contributions
- Flatley is the uncontested champion of modern Irish step dancing.
- At 17, he evolved the first American to succeed the title of All-World Champion at the annual international competition in Dublin.
Personal Life
Michael Flatley Family, Parents
Flatley was born as the son of Michael Sr. (father) and Elizabeth Eilish Ryan (mother) in Chicago, Illinois, the United States.. His parents were both born in Ireland but entered the United States in 1947. His father was a plumber.
Michael Flatley Siblings
Michael spent his childhood alongside his three sisters, Ann-Marie, Eliza, and Thomasina, and a brother, Patrick.
Michael Flatley Wife
Michael is married to his lovely wife Niamh O’Brien. In June 2006, Flatley started dating Niamh O’Brien, a longtime dancer from several of his shows. The pair had their wedding on October 14, 2006, through a Roman Catholic ceremony in Fermoy, County Cork. Tand together they are blessed with one child; Michael St. James born in 2007.
Previously, Flatley met Beata Dziaba in London’s Royal Albert Hall. The couple wed in 1986 in a Danish registry office; they divorced in 1997 after his many affairs with other women. In the early 2000s, Flatley was engaged to Lisa Murphy; she passed in 2024, aged 51.
Michael Flatley Children
Flatley together with his wife Niamh O’Brien, are proud parents of a son, Michael St. James, born in 2007.
Michael Flatley Net Worth
Michael Flatley’s net worth is estimated at 350 million dollars. This includes his assets, money, and income. His primary source of income is his career as a Dancer, Choreographer, and Musician. Through his various sources of income, Michael has been able to accumulate good fortune but prefers to lead a modest lifestyle.
Facts: Everything You Need to Know About Michael Flatley
Here are some interesting facts you should know about Flatley.
Michael Flatley Bio.
- Full Names: Michael Ryan Flatley
- Popular As: Dancer
- Gender: Male
- Occupation/Profession: Dancer, Choreographer, Musician.
- Nationality: American
- Race/Ethnicity: Not Available
- Religion: Not Known
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
Birthday
- Age/How Old?: 66 Years Old
- Zodiac Sign: Cancer
- Date of Birth: July 16, 1958
- Place of Birth: Detroit, Michigan
- Birthday: 16th July
Body Measurements
- Height / How Tall?: 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m).
- Weight: 143 lbs (65 kg)
- Eye Color: Brown
- Hair Color: Blonde
- Shoe Size: Not Available
- Chest Size: Not Available
- Waist Size: Not Available
- Biceps Size: Not Available
Family and Relationship
- Father (Dad): Michael Sr. Flatley
- Mother: Elizabeth Eilish Ryan
- Siblings (Brothers and Sisters): Ann-Marrie, Eliza, Thomasina, and Patrick
- Marital Status: Married
- Wife/Spouse: Married to Niamh O’Brien
- Children: Sons (Michael St. James)
Net Worth and Salary
- Net Worth: $350 million
- Salary: Not Available
- Source of Income: Choreographer, Dancer, Musician
Riverdance
After attracting the attention of Ireland’s president, Mary Robinson, and dance show producers, Michael was invited to help create an intermission show for the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. Michael, alongside co-choreographer and fellow Chieftains performer Jean Butler and vocal ensemble Anúna, performed a seven-minute show for the interval act of the contest, which was held in Ireland. After receiving worldwide acclaim, he pushed to turn the show into a full-length production which became Riverdance.
The show was produced by Moya Doherty, with principal choreography by Michael and lead performances by Flatley and Butler. In September 1995, after the show sold out, Michael left Riverdance to pursue what would eventually become Lord of the Dance. Michael had been in a dispute with the producers over his salary and royalty fees. Michael was fired the night before the show was set to open in London and replaced with Colin Dunne.
Michael also did not work well with Butler, who later said that, although he was “extremely charming”, she wasn’t attracted to him, and he was put off by that. On the split, Flatley said, “I just wanted control over the work that I had created myself. That’s all. I don’t think that that’s too much to ask. I felt like I built it and they took it, and that’s the end of it… and it hurt.”
Lord of the Dances
Immediately after the Riverdance split, Michael decided to create his own show, Lord of the Dance, which was capable of playing in arenas as well as stadiums aside from traditional theaters. It premiered in June the year 1996 at the Point Theatre (now 3Arena) in Dublin then made its U.K. premiere at the London Coliseum. The music for the show was composed by Ronan Hardiman. In 1997, Michael earned £36 million, ranking him 25th among the world’s highest-earning entertainers.
In 1998, Michael created an expanded version of the show called Feet of Flames, which served as its one-off performance and his final performance in Lord of the Dance. It was performed outdoors in the Rotten Row area of Hyde Park, London on a gigantic four-tier hydraulic stage, with a live band, as well as over 100 dancers performing on all four levels of the stage during the finale. Ronan Hardiman’s music from the original Lord of the Dance was used again along with new compositions, also by Hardiman himself. The show featured 6 new numbers, one of which is Flatley’s solo.
Following the success of the 1998 Hyde Park show, Michael produced another version of Feet of Flames in the year 1999, which included half of the original show and half new material. Titled Feet of Flames: The Victory World Tour, the show was performed on a single-level stage and toured Europe in 2000 and the U.S. in 2001.
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