brooke burke interview

Brooke Burke-Chavet is sitting in a bustling dressing room, stagehands running in and out, flashes of sequins and tulle sparkling in the periphery. Tonight is the semifinals of Dancing with the Stars, and amidst the chaos, the former reigning champion and current co-host is poised calmly in a soft vintaget-shirt, Monroe sweats and a trucker hat with “California is for lovers” splashed on the front. Brooke is in pre-Stars mode, before the lights come up and the cameras start rolling, “But in the next five hours,” she quips, “I will be transformed into a princess.”  

    When I think of ‘sexy’ in today’s world, my needle tends to land somewhere between Brigitte Bardot and Beyoncé—beautiful, strong and intelligent, with a fire...someone who can take on life’s challenges and discover unexpected new meaning. And that’s all in a day’s work for this sexy forty-one-year-old mother of four.  

    Between hosting a hit show, her two million followers on Facebook and Twitter, blogging for Modern Mom, her developing fitness line, and weekly class in Malibu, the Connecticut-born beauty is at the top of her game. Brooke appeared on season seven of Dancing With The Stars, waltzing her way to TV fame. She received three perfect scores before taking home the coveted mirror-ball trophy in the season finale. “In a funny way, the obnoxious mirror-ball trophy I got for winning was a huge accomplishment, because it represents a lot of things for me,” she says. “It really was about challenging myself, doing something that I’d never done before, learning how to train like an athlete, seeing it through, and then changing my point of view. I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard at anything, besides raising children.”

    When asked how she finds balance between her career and being a good mother, spouse and role model, she credits the times when she puts herself first. “I think it’s allowing yourself to be equally important. As a younger woman, that seems like a very selfish concept, but I think a lot of women put themselves last when they become mothers. I really feel that if we make ourselves equally important, and allow ourselves to be a priority in the bigger picture, we’re better women for it.”

    She carves out time with her friends and romantic date-nights with her husband. “I make sure that I take care of the woman inside of me as well.” Because when Brooke isn’t on the dance floor or the red carpet, she’s a jeans girl. She’s a boho-chic, well-worn vintage tee and great pair of shoes girl. And while her stylist on the show, Justin Ducoty, pulls jewels, diamonds and ball gown after ball gown for her, she prefers to spend her off-hours in Helmut Lang. It’s all part of her formula as an icon for the sexy, modern woman. It’s a testament to the idea that ‘being sexy’ goes beyond having a prime-time-worthy body or appearances in Maxim and Health Magazine. It’s about confidence, strength, and femininity defined by a unique sense of self. Feeling sexy at any age requires the commitment to your own happiness at its core. “I think it comes from a very deep place within,” Brooke reflects. “It takes a huge effort, actually, to allow yourself to be sexy, to dress sexy, to smell sexy, to feel sexy.” It’s an important message that she promotes in her fitness classes, as well as her work with the Modern Mom community. “It’s been really rewarding for me to help other women, watch their bodies change, and see them get their self-confidence back. It’s something I really enjoy and believe in. The best gift we can give to ourselves is health, exercise, and confidence.”    

    For Brooke, confidence was found not only in her career, but in her family, which continues to be her driving force. “My greatest achievement? Well for sure my four beautiful children. No matter what I ever do in life, nothing will be as great or as important as creating life, nurturing my kids, and raising them to be quality people.” She says her husband, Baywatch alum David Charvet, was her ‘rock’ during one of the most difficult episodes of her life, her scare with thyroid cancer last year. The diagnosis and treatment hit her family hard, but she found strength in their bond, and after surgery made a bold, full recovery. “I’m grateful every single day for my family. And at the top of the list, I’m grateful to have love in my life, to be able to give and receive love.”
      With her life firmly set in overdrive, Brooke maintains a grasp on what’s most important: health, family, and a love of self that’s only earned through time and enduring experience. As she moves forward, facing new challenges on and off the dance floor, she takes stock of where she’s come from in the last few years. “I feel more powerful in my forties, because I understand my wants and my needs, and I have a more grounded voice. I know what I want now, so it’s a totally different experience for a woman.” She explains, “Like the twenties, you’re kind of clueless; the thirties, you’re trying to figure it out; and the forties are sort of like, ‘this is me.’
It’s definitely a more fulfilling, more powerful, and, well, a sexier time.”

Cover Photo Credits:

Art Director: Stephen Kamifuji
Photographer: Geoffrey Ragatz / RagatzPhoto.com
Stylist: Amy Astar / AmyAstar.com
Makeup: Camille Clark / AimArtist.com
Hair: Randi Peterson / ArtistsbyTimothyPriano.com
Manicure: Anna Stimson / AnnaStimson.com
Assistant: Guido Morales, Jr.
Location: Special thanks to Ken Todd, Lisa Vanderpump,GZ and Nathalie Zapata Sur Restaurant, WeHo / surrestaurant.com