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Cheryl Burke
Burke in 2008
Born	Stephanie Burke (1984-05-03)May 3, 1984 (age 41) San Francisco,California, U.S.
Occupations	Dancer model television host
Years active	1988–present
Spouse	Matthew Lawrence ​ ​ (m. 2019; div. 2022)​

Cheryl Stephanie Burke (bornStephanie Burke; May 3, 1984)^[1][2] is an American professional dancer, model, and television host. She is best known for her appearances on theABC competition seriesDancing with the Stars, which she performed on for twenty-six seasons. Burke is the first female pro to win the series, as well as the first pro to win two consecutive seasons.

Outside ofDancing with the Stars, Burke finished in second place on theNBC seriesI Can Do That (2015). She later replacedAbby Lee Miller as the main dance coach onDance Moms (2017).

Stephanie Burke was born on May 3, 1984, inSan Francisco, California,^[1][2] to Stephen Louis Burke (1950–2018) and Sherri Burke, a nurse and entrepreneur.^[3][4] Her father wasAshkenazi Jewish, while her mother isFilipina.^[5][6] When Burke was still an infant, her parents divorced and her father eventually moved toThailand. Her mother later remarried and established a healthcare company.^[7] Burke legally changed her name to Cheryl in middle school after she was bullied by a classmate who shared her birth name.^[1] She later attendedMenlo-Atherton High School.^[8]

Burke joinedDancing with the Stars in itssecond season and won her first mirror ball trophy with98 Degrees memberDrew Lachey. She won her second championship with retiredfootball starEmmitt Smith in thethird season. Burke returned on March 19, 2007, forseason four, partnered with actorIan Ziering. She and Ziering were eliminated in the semifinals on May 15, 2007.

Burke participated in a 38-cityDancing with the Stars tour from December 19, 2006, to February 11, 2007. She also joined the second summer tour, which visited 24 cities between June 20, 2007, inAustin, Texas, and July 24, 2007, inVancouver,British Columbia. Lachey was her celebrity partner for each tour. Burke competed onseason 5 withLas Vegas entertainerWayne Newton. They were the third couple eliminated from the competition, on October 9, 2007.^[9]

Burke participated with both Lachey and Newton in theDancing with the Stars winter tour that began on December 18, 2007, inSeattle, Washington. The tour ended inPhiladelphia on February 10, 2008.^[10] Burke competed onseason 6 with actorCristián de la Fuente. They trained at the Paramount Ballroom inPalm Beach, Florida.^[11] They made it to the finals and on May 20, 2008, placed third.

Burke returned to the show forseason 7 with partnerMaurice Greene. They were eliminated in week 8 on November 11, 2008, and finished in fifth place. She returned to the show'seighth season with actorGilles Marini. They finished as runners-up, losing toShawn Johnson andMark Ballas. Burke competed on theninth season with former U.S. House of Representatives Majority LeaderTom DeLay. On October 6, 2009, they withdrew from the competition because DeLay had stress fractures in both feet.^[12]

ForToy Story 3, Burke choreographed the paso doble withTony Dovolani and did a performance accompanied by theGipsy Kings live. She also made a fitness video based on Latin dances withMaksim Chmerkovskiy as co-instructors.

In season ten, she was partnered withChad Ochocinco. They were eliminated in the semi-finals and came in fourth place.Rick Fox was partnered with Burke in the show's eleventh season. They were eliminated in the seventh week of the competition and came in sixth place. For the twelfth season, she was partnered with wrestlerChris Jericho. They were eliminated in the sixth week of the competition. In the thirteenth season, Burke was partnered with reality starRob Kardashian. They came in second place, losing toJ. R. Martinez andKarina Smirnoff. In the fourteenth season, Cheryl Burke was partnered with actorWilliam Levy. The couple made it to the finals and finished in third place.

In season 15, Burke returned with former partner and season 3 Champion,Emmitt Smith for a chance to win another mirrorball trophy. They were eliminated in the semi-finals. For season 16, Burke was partnered with comedianD. L. Hughley, finishing in ninth place after being eliminated in the fifth week of competition. During week 8, she danced a Paso Doble withJacoby Jones andKarina Smirnoff in the trio challenge. For season 17, she was partnered with media personalityJack Osbourne. Osbourne's struggle with multiple sclerosis was a source of inspiration to Burke.^{[citation needed]} They made it to the finals and came in third place.

For season 18, she was paired with game show host and actorDrew Carey. They were eliminated on week 6 and ended in eighth place. For season 19, she was paired with soap starAntonio Sabàto Jr. The couple was eliminated on week 7 and finished in eighth place. After season 19, Burke chose to leaveDWTS for some time after her contract expired to pursue other projects.^{[citation needed]}

On August 30, 2016, it was announced that Burke would be returning to the show to compete onseason 23. She was partnered with Olympic swimmerRyan Lochte. After a season off, Burke again returned forseason 25, her 20th season as a pro. She was paired with formerNFL wide receiverTerrell Owens^[13] and finished in sixth place. After taking another season off, she returned once again forseason 27 where she was paired with actorJuan Pablo Di Pace.^[14] Despite having earned five perfect scores and holding the highest average of the season, they were eliminated in the semi-finals.

Burke returned again forseason 28 where she was partnered with formerNFL linebackerRay Lewis. However, on week 3, the couple withdrew from the competition due to Lewis suffering a torn tendon in his foot. Forseason 29, she was partnered withBackstreet Boys singerAJ McLean, coming in seventh place. Forseason 30, Burke was partnered withPeloton instructorCody Rigsby, they reached the finals and were placed third. She was partnered withGood Morning America meteorologistSam Champion forseason 31.^[15] On November 20, 2022, it was announced that Burke would retire as a pro dancer on the show after season 31 finale.^[16] On October 28, 2025, Burke returned as a guest judge on Halloween Night duringseason 34.

• Average: 27.7
• Placed: 1st

• Average: 26.8
• Placed: 1st

• Average: 24.8
• Placed: 4th

• Average: 17.3
• Placed: 10th

• Average: 25.2
• Placed: 3rd

• Average: 22.9
• Placed: 5th

• Score was awarded by stand in judgeMichael Flatley.

• Average: 28.1
• Placed: 2nd

• Average: 16.3
• Placed: 13th

• Score was awarded by stand in judgeBaz Luhrmann.

• Average: 22.2
• Placed: 4th

• Average: 22.3
• Placed: 6th

• Average: 22.3
• Placed: 7th

• Average: 25.1
• Placed: 2nd

• Average: 27.5
• Placed: 3rd

• Average: 26.7
• Placed: 4th

• Average: 16.6
• Place: 9th

• Average score: 26.1
• Placed: 3rd

• Average: 22.0
• Place: 8th

¹Score by guest judgeRobin Roberts.

²For this week only, as part of the "Partner Switch-Up" week, Drew Carey did not perform with Burke and instead performed withWitney Carson. Burke performed withJames Maslow.

³Score by guest judgeJulianne Hough.

⁴Score by guest judgeDonny Osmond.

⁵Score by guest judgeRedfoo.

• Average: 28.6
• Placed: 8th

¹Score given by guest judgeKevin Hart in place of Goodman.

²The American public scored the dance in place of Goodman with the averaged score being counted alongside the three other judges.

³This week only, for "Partner Switch-Up" week, Sabàto Jr. performed withAllison Holker instead of Burke while she performed withAlfonso Ribeiro.

⁴Score given by guest judgeJessie J in place of Goodman.

⁵Score given by guest judgePitbull in place of Goodman.

• Average: 28.9
• Placed: 7th

¹ Score given by guest judgePitbull.

• Average: 22.8
• Place: 6th

¹ Score given by guest judgeShania Twain.

• Average: 27.5
• Place: 5th

• Average: 15.0
• Place: 11th

• Average: 22.9
• Place: 7th

• Average: 32.1
• Place: 3rd

• Average: 24.0
• Place: 13th

Burke had a guest role on theDisney Channel seriesThe Suite Life of Zack & Cody, in the episode "Loosely Ballroom" along with fellowDWTS professionalsLouis van Amstel,Ashly DelGrosso, andLacey Schwimmer. She portrayed Shannon, a nurse attending to the ensemble cast during a dance contest at the series setting, The Tipton Hotel. In the final round of the competition, Burke's character volunteers to replace an ill competitor (Carey). She and her partner, Esteban, go on to win the competition.

She finished in second place on the first season ofI Can Do That, losing toNicole Scherzinger on the final three-person-super-group performance, having led the competition since week 2. She replacedAbby Lee Miller onDance Moms in 2017.^[17] She took over the ALDC Elite competition team while on the show. The team was then named "The Irreplaceable's", in which Miller would call them "replaceable".

Burke appeared onHell's Kitchen as a VIP guest diner in the ninth episode ofSeason 17.

In January 2025, Burke appeared onseason 28 ofWorst Cooks in America, a celebrity edition in which she competed onJeff Mauro's "Heroes" team. She was the first contestant eliminated, in the second episode; she received $2,500 for the mental health charity Better You. Most recently, she had signed a deal withABC.^[18]

• 2005 World Cup Professional Rising Star Latin Champion
• 2005 San Francisco Latin Champion
• 2005 Ohio Star Ball Rising Star Latin Champion
• UK Championships
• 4th in the U.S. in the "Under 21s."
• Two-timeDancing with the Stars champion –Season 2 withDrew Lachey,Season 3 withEmmitt Smith
• Primetime Emmy 2006, Outstanding Choreography
• On October 20, 2007, Cheryl won the Role Model Award at the 7th Annual Filipino/American Library Gala.
• On the 2008Asian Excellence Awards, she won the Viewer's Choice award for Favorite TV Personality.

Burke has done numerous promotions outside ofDancing with the Stars which include Depend Silhouette briefs, Impress Nails andSargento Cheese. Her partnership with these companies has raised a lot of money including $50,000 that Depend donated to Dress for Success.^[19] She opened her first dance studio in April 2008 and created her own line ofactivewear the following year.^[20]

In 2011, Burke released her autobiography,Dancing Lessons. The book addresses topics Cheryl experienced in her youth, such as childhood abuse and body shaming.^[21] She describes how at age 5 she was molested by a handyman who worked for her family; he repeatedly fondled her. Her sister was also abused by the same man, later identified as Gerry Depaula.^[22] At the time she believed it was wrong behavior but wanted to gain his affection.^[23] Burke testified against Depaula at age 6, leading to him being sentenced to 24 years in prison. He was released in 2008.^[22][24][25]

In 2017,People andUs Weekly reported Burke was dating actorMatthew Lawrence.^[26][27] The two first met in 2006, when Lawrence's brother,Joey, was a contestant onDWTS. Burke and Lawrence previously dated from 2007 to 2008.^[27] Lawrence proposed to Burke on May 3, 2018, which was her 34th birthday.^[28] On May 23, 2019, she married Lawrence inSan Diego, California.^[29] On February 23, 2022, it was reported that Burke filed for divorce.^[30] The divorce was finalized on September 19, 2022.^[31]

Burke suffers fromtendinitis.^[32] She says thatTranscendental Meditation and therapy have helped her through a lot, including her recent divorce from Matthew Lawrence.^[33]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCheryl Burke.

• Official website for Cheryl Burke (archived)
• Dancing with the Stars biography (archived)
• My Ox Is Broken Interview (2006)
• Cheryl Burke atIMDb
• Cheryl Burke interview
• Cheryl Burke at theWorld DanceSport Federation

• 1984 births
• Living people
• American ballroom dancers
• People from Atherton, California
• Dancing with the Stars (American TV series) winners
• American female dancers
• Dancers from California
• American choreographers
• American women choreographers
• 21st-century American women

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