Cheryl Burke OK With Her Weight

• Oct 10, 2008 06:47 AM ET
• by Tim Molloy

Cheryl Burke

OK, maybe Cheryl Burke has put on a couple pounds. She doesn't care, and neither should you, she says.

"I want kids or women out there to realize you don't have to be anorexic to be beautiful," the two-time Dancing with the Stars champ tells People. "There's a lot of pressure living this Hollywood life. People expect to see you at a certain weight and when you gain a few pounds then all of a sudden it's the talk of the week."

"People will always have an opinion about you, whether it's good or it's bad," the 24-year-old says.

"But most important is to have a secure feeling about yourself and know that you're beautiful regardless of what people think of you."

Burke says she's never been a stringbean, and that's fine.

"When I was younger, I wasn't stick-thin. I wasn't tall. I don't have long legs. I wasn't naturally skinny," she says. "As I grew older, I just became more comfortable in my own skin."

IsBurke a subject of too much scrutiny, or is it just the nature of the Hollywood beast?