NEW YORK — Julianne Hough is defined as much by her sunny disposition as she is her fancy footwork. The actress-dancer's megawatt smile and cheerful persona have made her Hollywood's girl next door.

But Hough credits her painful times in her teens, when she endured bullying, for giving her a positive perspective.

“The only way to fix bullying is to do something about it, and that's to be kind and to give joy to people and give love to people,” said the 27-year-old Hough. “I want to make sure that other girls know that there's so much out there, and that all you have to do is be you and be true to yourself, and it will eventually get better, I promise.”

If Hough's life is any example, it gets more than better. The former “Dancing With the Stars” entertainer starred in the top-rated “Grease Live!” TV adaption of the famous movie this year, and she is due to be married to pro hockey player Brooks Laich. She also has her own lifestyle blog, and the fitness-focused star recently became a rep for the fitness tracker Fitbit. An edited transcript of our conversation follows.

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Q: You're obviously in shape, but have you ever gone through times where you felt like you weren't?

A: Oh, yeah, absolutely. Probably 18 to 20, I was still pretty active in dancing, and then I stopped dancing because I wasn't on “Dancing With the Stars” anymore, and I was kind of turning into a woman at that point, too, so my whole body changed, and I was like, “Wait, I have to work out and I have to eat healthy and I need to go to sleep early” and all those things. So there definitely was a point in my life when that happened.

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Q: You have a lifestyle website. Is that a good outlet to communicate with your fans?

A: Honestly, having my blog has been one of the most fun things I've done and just has made me feel really connected to my fans and what they respond to, what I respond to, what we respond to as a collective group. It just makes us feel like we're really connected.

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Q: Often, people tune into live adaptions like “Grease Live!” and go on social media so they can post negative things, but largely that night everyone was so excited and so into it and saying such positive things. Were you able to soak that in?

A: I was prepared for some negative backlash or haters on Twitter or whatever, but, to be honest, everybody loved “Grease,” and I felt so much support, and not just of me but the entire production, the show itself, the other cast members. Everybody really embraced it and really loved the show. It was something very special to be a part of.