27 Facts About Darcey Bussell

1. Darcey Bussell is widely acclaimed as one of the great British ballerinas.

2. Darcey Bussell is pursuing parallel careers in television, books and modelling, and supports numerous British and international charities and dance institutions.

3. Darcey Bussell was born in London to Australian businessman John Crittle and his English wife, Andrea Williams.

4. Darcey Bussell studied "all forms of stagecraft" at the Arts Educational School, before joining the Royal Ballet Lower School, based at White Lodge, Richmond Park, aged 13.

5. Darcey Bussell's made several guest appearances with the New York City Ballet, starting in June 1993, with a performance of the pas de deux from Agon.

6. Darcey Bussell guested with the Balletto Della Scala, Kirov Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Hamburg Ballet and the Australian Ballet.

7. Darcey Bussell's danced the premiere of Sylvia by Leo Delibes choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 4 November 2004.

8. Darcey Bussell's retired from ballet on 8 June 2007 with a performance of MacMillan's Song of the Earth.

9. In 2012 Darcey Bussell participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, leading a troupe of 200 ballerinas and 4 male dancers from the Royal Ballet.

10. In 2016 Darcey Bussell launched a charity called DDMIX aimed at bringing dance into state schools.

11. Darcey Bussell's was famously photographed with a diamond in her mouth in a promotion for De Beers.

12. Darcey Bussell modelled the first ever jewellery collection for the World Gold Council.

13. An autobiographical picture book of her ballet career, titled Darcey Bussell, was released in 2012.

14. In 2004 Darcey Bussell was the subject of a documentary titled Britain's Ballerina.

15. Darcey Bussell teamed up with Katherine Jenkins to stage a song and dance production titled Viva la Diva, to pay tribute to the stars who inspired them who include Madonna and Judy Garland.

16. Darcey Bussell joined the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing judging panel as a fifth judge in the final stages of the 2009 series.

17. On 12 August 2012 Darcey Bussell performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics, descending from the roof of the Olympic stadium as the 'Spirit of the Flame' and leading a troupe of 200 ballerinas.

18. In December 2014 she presented a BBC One documentary on Audrey Hepburn, titled Darcey Bussell: Looking for Audrey.

19. In May 2015, Darcey Bussell was co-presenter and dance expert for the Grand Final of the inaugural BBC Young Dancer competition, which was aired live on BBC Two.

20. In December 2016, she presented a BBC One documentary on Margot Fonteyn, titled Darcey Bussell: Looking for Margot.

21. In December 2017, she presented a BBC One documentary on Fred Astaire, titled Darcey Bussell: Looking for Fred.

22. Darcey Bussell was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1995 New Year Honours for services to ballet, Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2006 Birthday Honours, and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to dance.

23. Darcey Bussell's staged a dance performance with students from the Royal Ballet School.

24. Darcey Bussell's is a recipient of the Carl Alan Award for contributions to dance.

25. On 18 July 2009 Darcey Bussell received an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford.

26. In 2017 Darcey Bussell received an honorary doctorate from the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow, Scotland.

27. In June 2018 Darcey Bussell received an honorary Fellowship from Arts University Bournemouth alongside costume designer Jenny Beavan OBE, graphic designer Margaret Calvert OBE and director and screenwriter Edgar Wright.