Cheryl Burke is an American dancer, model and television host who has a net worth of $3 million. Cheryl Burke became famous and earned her fortune as a professional dancer on “Dancing with the Stars.”
Early Life
Burke was born on May 3, 1984 in San Mateo County, California. Her parents are Stephen Burke and Sherri Bautista and she has a sister named Nicole as well as a step-sister named Mandy. Beginning at the age of 4, Burke trained in ballet. However, she lost interest as she grew older and instead began training in ballroom dancing at age 11. She focused primarily on learning the Latin styles of ballroom dance and was participating in international competitions within a few years. She attended Menlo-Atherton High School and graduated in 2002.
Career
After finishing high school, Burke focused intensely on dance and continued competing in international competitions. All her hard work came to fruition in 2005, when she was named the World Cup Professional Rising Star Latin Champion, the San Francisco Latin Champion, and the Ohio State Ball Rising Star Latin Champion.
The same year, she was noticed by a talent scout from ABC and cast on the network’s dance reality series called “Dancing with the Stars.” She debuted as a dancer on the show beginning in its second season. She was first partnered with celebrity, Drew Lachey. The pair performed very well together and ultimately won the competition. For the next season, season three, she was partnered with former NFL player, Emmitt Smith. Burke and Smith again wowed both the judges and audience with their routines and snagged the winning spot by the end of the season. Burke and her partners did not fare as well for the fourth and fifth seasons in which she was paired with Ian Ziering and Wayne Newton, respectively, though she remained in the top ten.
In between filming seasons of the show, Burke also participated in the “Dancing with the Stars” live tour, which visited 38 different cities in 2006 and 2007. She also went on tour again in the summer of 2007 and also joined the winter tour that ran from late 2007 and into 2008. For all the tours, she danced with their first partner, Drew Lachey.
For seasons six through nine, Burke was paired with partners Christian de la Fuente, Maurice Green, Gilles Marini, and Tom DeLay, respectively. Her season with DeLay was cut short after DeLay suffered fractures in both feet. The next season, season 10, she was partnered with Chad Ochocinco and the pair came in fourth place. She was then paired with Rick Fox followed by Chris Jericho and failed to make the top five. She almost won the competition again in season 13 when she was partnered with Rob Kardashian, though the two ultimately came in second place. She finished in third place the following season with partner William Levy.
During season 15, the All Star season, Burke reunited with former partner Emmitt Smith. They were eliminated in the semi-finals. She then worked with comedian D.L Hughley in season 16 and Jack Osbourne in season 17. Burker found working with Osbourne particularly inspired as he suffers from multiple sclerosis. The pair finished in third place. She competed with Drew Carey and then Antonio Sebato Jr. in seasons 18 and 19 and then announced that she would be leaving the show in order to pursue other projects.
Burke then returned to the show in season 23 to work with Olympic swimmer, Ryan Lochte. She took season 24 off and then returned again in season 25, during which she danced with Terrell Owens. Burke again decided to take the next season off but returned to partner with Juan Pablo Di Pace in season 27. The pair were favorites to win after they had earned five perfect scores but were shockingly eliminated during the semi-finals.
In season 28, Burke danced with Ray Lewis though their season was short-lived as Lewis sustained a torn tendon in his foot. She then worked with AJ McLean in season 29 followed by Peloton-instructor, Cody Rigsby, in season 30.
Outside of “Dancing with the Stars,” Burke has also appeared on other television productions. She had a guest role on “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.” She also participated in the reality show, “I Can Do That.” In 2017, she replaced Abby Lee Miller on the reality show, “Dance Moms.”
Burke has also been featured in commercials for various companies like Sargento Cheese, Depend Silhouette briefs, and Impress nails. For her partnerships with these companies, Burke was able to raise over $50,000 which was donated to the non-profit organization, Dress for Success.
Personal Life
Burke has discussed her personal life in her autobiography, “Dancing Lessons,” which was published in 2011. In the book, she describes how she was molested by a handyman when she was five years old. She testified against the man, identified as Gerry Depaula, when she was only six years old, and he was sentenced to 24 years in prison. He was released in 2008 and Burke went on record stating that she remained fearful of him.
Burke first met Matthew Lawrence in 2006 when his brother, Joey, was competing on “Dancing with the Stars.” Burke and Lawrence dating in 2007 and 2008. In May of 2018, Lawrence proposed to Burke on her 34th birthday. The couple were married in San Diego, California in May of 2019.
| Net Worth: | $3 Million |
| Date of Birth: | May 3, 1984 (37 years old) |
| Gender: | Female |
| Height: | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) |
| Profession: | Dancer, Actor |
| Nationality: | United States of America |