Cat Cora’s professional and personal lives have been all about breaking boundaries and defying expectations.
I’ve got to ask, did you expect to win going in?
No, I didn’t really know what to expect going in.
We all came into this not really knowing [what to expect].
I knew “Dirty Dancing.”
It’s an iconic movie.
I first saw it when I was 20 years old.
It was so inspiring then, and it’s still inspiring today when I’ve watched it.
I’m going to go for it, and I’m going to be open to the whole experience.
That’s really my mindset coming into it.
Did I expect to win?
No, but I knew that I was going to do my absolute best, and I was preparing.
How did you two get the look that you wanted and the mood that you wanted for that?
Our chemistry kept building and getting better and better every day.
We were getting very close as friends as well.
I think that he made me feel so safe from the very beginning.
I felt like I was in great hands.
I was so lucky to get him as my partner from day one.
We had a great chemistry, and we built an amazing friendship that lasts today.
This whole cast was incredible.
have a very long TV career, so that’s saying a lot.
We’re still all friends.
We’re all on a text thread together.
We talk all the time.
We support each other and everybody’s endeavors.
We’re always rooting for each other.
Literally every single one of us, we all became family.
That was the best part of the whole show.
It was an incredible feeling to get that lift.
When it was really the most crucial time to nail the lift, we actually did it.
Corbin is such an incredible dancer.
He’s an incredible actor.
He brought out the absolute best of me.
We got a call from Fox, which was wonderful.
It’s a great feeling because really that’s very rare.
I’m like, “I love this movie.
Yes, I want to walk in their shoes.”
They’re big shoes to fill.
That’s what I did.
I came and brought it, brought everything I had to it …
There’s method acting.
I was really in method TV.
So I really went into the role and really got into character to play Baby.
It was really amazing to feel their energy there.
I didn’t have any formal dance training at all.
I had never taken a dance lesson in my life.
When I was younger, I’d go to the clubs and dance, and I loved it.
We had to bring it.
When we paired with our other celebrity, we were literally on our own.
They’re pro dancing, you know?
I never had the time, never had the opportunity.
That was something that I really looked forward to and wanted to do.
I think it was when we had to learn them in 24 hours, it was tough.
For me, I wouldn’t stop until I had it absolutely nailed.
I said when I come into this, I’m giving everything I have.
I’m not holding back.
I had the blessing from my family: Don’t hold back.
I said to myself, “You’re going to open your mind.
Be open to the process.
That’s what I did.
I work out every day.
This is a whole different beast when you’re going in and professionally dancing.
Yeah, it was tough.
I don’t think it was tougher than I thought.
I was so ready for this challenge and this competition, and I came to win.
You were also on “Iron Chef America.”
So do you think your experience on “Iron Chef America” prepared you for this in any way?
Doing 12 years of “Iron Chef America” on Food connection and being an Iron Chef, absolutely.
That really helps me tremendously when I needed to get into the zone.
All of those things worked in my favor.
Again, everybody that was competing, or most of us that were competing, are used to competitions.
Corbin has done dance competitions.
Antonio is a pro football player.
Brie Bella is a WWE champion.
So I think a lot of us were used to those kinds of pressures.
So I think that’s what was great is that everybody came to win.
The thing is, everybody came to win.
It was a competition, but we were all still rooting for each other.
Like I said, we all worked really hard.
Everybody was the consummate professional on set, but we also became really close and really great friends.
We were a family, and we still are.
Even though there was a competition, we were also rooting for each other in various ways.
Is there anyone in particular that you appreciated getting to know?
I think everybody in their own way was really a phenomenal person.
We all had a lot of deep conversations together.
Now, I know his wife as well, and they know our family.
We all have gotten to know each other and each other’s families as well.
It extended out to families as well, and I think we’ve all become close.
What is the most important thing that you learned from being on the show?
You’re never too old to be vulnerable.
That is a huge strength.
That’s really the message I wanted to put out there.
That’s really what I ate almost every day when I was on set.
Before that, I eat very healthy.
I did everything I could to be clean throughout the process as well.
I stayed really focused and really living a clean life, and that helped me tremendously to win.
it’s possible for you to follow Cat Cora’s adventures in and out of the kitchen on herInstagram.
