Victoria Beckham has been hardened by fame according to her former friend Cheryl Cole.

The 29-year-old singer- who opens up about her friendship with the former Spice Girl turned fashion designer during the 2006 World Cup in her new autobiography ‘Cheryl: My Story’ – said Victoria refuses to let the pressures of fame get to her and isn’t bothered by criticism of her super skinny figure.

When Cheryl asked the mum-of-four about how she deals with all the attention surrounding her famous family, she claims the 37-year-old told her: “How do I cope? I cope because I have to, because it’s the way my life is. I’m hardened to it. I know how I’m perceived is not how I am, and that’s what matters.”

Cheryl – who once dismissed Victoria’s clothing line as being for “old people” but has since embraced her critically acclaimed range – also reveals that she asked Victoria about her weight and the fashion icon told her it was nobody’s business except her own.

The ‘Fight For This Love’ singer said Victoria replied: “When they say, I’m too thin, I just think: ‘You know what? I’m happy to be thin. I’m into fashion and I like being able to wear whatever I like. It’s my business, and if other people don’t like it, that’s their business.’”

Cheryl also recalls how Victoria, who is known for her posh pout, used to hold “her handbag up over her mouth” whenever she laughed.

This isn’t the first time Cheryl has spoken about her brief friendship with Victoria.

She told Vogue magazine in 2009 that she was disappointed that Victoria didn’t reach out to her after Ashley’s drunken indiscretion with a hairdresser.

She said: “David’s mum is friends with Ashley’s mum, she (Victoria) was in my hotel room the whole time during the World Cup – we’ve had barbecues together — so I was quite shocked by that.”