Denise Austin is an American fitness

Physical fitness

Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...

 instructor, author, columnist

Columnist

A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....

, and former member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports

President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports

The President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition , is an American government organization that aims to "promote, encourage and motivate Americans of all ages to become physically active and participate in sport"...

.
Austin was born Denise Katnich in San Pedro

San Pedro, Los Angeles, California

San Pedro is a port district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. She started gymnastics

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...

 at the age of 12, which led to an athletic scholarship

Athletic scholarship

An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...

 at the University of Arizona

University of Arizona

The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...

.
In 1983, Denise married sports attorney

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 Jeff Austin, brother of US Open champion Tracy Austin

Tracy Austin

Tracy Ann Austin Holt is a former World No. 1 female professional tennis player from the United States who won the women's singles title at the US Open in 1979 and 1981 and the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 1980, before a series of injuries cut her career short.-To 1980:Austin defeated...

. Denise and Jeff have two daughters, Kelly (b. 1990) and Katie (b. 1993). The Austin family resides in Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

.
Austin initially attended the University of Arizona on a gymnastics scholarship, reaching the rank of No.