Denise Saponara

Denise started acting at a very young age when she was cast as Dorothy in the fourth grade production of "The Wizard of Oz." She also studied dance for most of her life, beginning at the Illinois Academy of Ballet with Maureen Kilmer. She then went on to study at Moves, Dance Space, Jo's Footwork Studio, Lou Conte Dance Studio (home of Hubbard Street Dance Company), Joel Hall Dance Center, The Tap Studio, and M.A.D.D. Rhythms, While still pursuing her career in acting. Denise continued to act in various high school and college/community theater productions and then combined her dance skills when she began to choreograph several Chicago productions, including Annie Get Your Gun, Fame, South Pacific, Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, 1940's Radio Hour, Cabaret, Oklahoma, The Secret Garden and The Nutcracker. Her work as choreographer on Fiddler on the Roof received critical acclaim in On Cue magazine and she began getting small roles in television and film productions in Chicago. She then branched into modeling and became a professionally represented model. Denise owned a dance studio in the western suburbs of Chicago for several years, and her studio performed in the 2008 75th anniversary Chicago McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade with the Chicago Human Rhythm Project. They also returned to dance again in 2009. Denise's career shifted from the stage to the screen with the focus moving to film and television, and then eventually to modeling where she became well respected as a very talented plus size model working runway and print as well as popular daytime television programming. Denise is still an active force in modeling and acting today.