What happened to Elaine Hendrix? Accident revisited as actress receives standing ovation over DWTS wicked performance

Actress Elaine Hendrix was met with a standing ovation for her performance during Dancing With the Stars Week 6, themed Wicked Night, which premiered on October 21.

According to People magazine, the competition featured 10 couples performing dances such as Argentine Tango, Contemporary, Foxtrot, Jazz, Rumba, and Quickstep to songs from the musical Wicked. Elaine performed a contemporary routine to Defying Gravity with partner Alan Bersten, which earned her a standing ovation and moved judge Carrie Ann Inaba to tears.

"I burst into tears because you were so truly in the moment. It was beauty, elegant. I am so proud of you," Ann said.

Judge Derek Hough added:

"You really are defying the odds. You move with such grace and wisdom, and man, you're going to cherish that moment forever."

In her introduction, Elaine explained that she has a titanium joint in her right foot due to injuries she sustained after a 1992 car accident, which she does not want to let affect her performance.

"I have a titanium joint in my right foot, so that renders half my foot unusable," Elaine said. "Every week, my body shifts into a new pain spot, but I just don’t wanna let it stop me. Defying gravity. My gosh, this will be the closest I will ever get to playing Alphaba. What an honor."

In the duo's introduction package, rehearsal footage shows Elaine visibly struggling with certain steps, seemingly due to limitations in her foot. Alan is also heard saying that her balance is not the same because of her foot.

She became emotional during rehearsals as she struggled with the routine, but continued to push herself.

"It's not fun," Elaine said. "I'm feeling the limitations of my body, and this song is all about pushing past all of your limitations. So, this is really hard. I know my determination is going to win. It's just getting there is quite a journey."

Elaine and Alan were awarded a score of 36 out of 40. After receiving the score, Elaine remarked:

"I am 54, I am injured and I just did that!"

"It's a roller coaster": Elaine Hendrix opens up about the challenges she faced following the 1992 accident

In a 2016 interview with Huffington Post, Elaine Hendrix revealed that she was riding a bike when she got hit by a car that "changed everything" for her.

She moved to Los Angeles to begin her professional career; however, the accident pushed the classically trained dancer, who was trained in modern and contemporary jazz, "more in the direction of acting."

She spoke about her struggles with injuries sustained from the 1992 accident in an interview with People magazine, published on September 28. Elaine said:

"It's a roller coaster because I have very real injuries, sustained from a very serious accident and other things that happened in life. So I have good days, and I have challenging days. The thing that we focus on is to do whatever I need to do to make sure show day is a good day."

Meanwhile, her dance partner, Alan, added:

"What's incredible about Elaine is, obviously, she's putting in a lot of hard work for dancing, but she's also doing a lot of recovery. And so, even when we're done with rehearsals, she's still going to physical therapy and making sure to ice. I'm grateful that she loves this so much because you can see she's putting everything into this."

Stay tuned for more updates.