Michael Lipari & Ashleigh Dejon in "America's Got Talent"
Michael Lipari & Ashleigh Dejon are quite the duo. They met just four years ago, while Michael was training on the beach in Santa Monica. A very flirtatious Ashleigh approached him. Hoping for a date, the couple got a lot more than they bargained for. They hit it off instantly, as they both shared similar performance styles. Michael and Ashleigh were both born in California, and came full circle back to California after moving several times around the country.
Ashleigh moved from California to Pennsylvania, when her mother moved back to her roots to care for her dying father. While in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, Ashleigh landed her first role in a major motion picture, playing the daughter of James Gandolfini, and the niece of John Cusack as a 12-year-old child. As a hometown girl, Ashleigh was a cheerleader for her local school, which paid off when her family moved to Hollywood, Florida, and Ashleigh tried out for Miami Heat's Extreme Team and made the cut. Ashleigh's experience in performing major tricks and stunts for the NBA really made her aware of her love for performance arts. With great perseverance, Ashleigh has taught herself most of the tricks and stunts you see today. It hasn't always come easy for Ashleigh, though. She had to stop her training altogether for over a year, and thought she would never perform again when she was injured while training. On top of that, her house burned down to the ground last Christmas Day with all of her belongings in it, including her dog. Ashleigh stayed positive and moved back to Los Angeles, knowing that someday her dreams would come to fruition. Now, thanks to "America's Got Talent," they have.
From a young age, Michael loved putting on performances for family and friends. He would perform in mini-circus routines and dream of running away with the circus. Michael, too, was self-taught, with dreams of a future in the performing arts always just beyond his grip, until he landed a job at Disneyland. From there, his next job was performing on a cruise ship, which took him all around the globe. His worldly travels were great while they lasted, but when Michael hit land again, his car was his home for a while. He found out that working towards his dream wasn't always so easy. Michael has done odd jobs from delivering cookies to working the graveyard shift in the early hours of the morning. Michael never gave up, and his experiences along with his perseverance led him to a spot on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." His chance to show America his talents is a dream come true. The circus has nothing on "America's Got Talent"! Michael has always known he would never quit doing what he loves to do, but never did he imagine that he would have the opportunity to perform with Ashleigh on the biggest stage in the country!