Valerie Bertinelli
Valerie Bertinelli | |
|---|---|
 Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli at the 1993 Emmy Awards | |
| Born | Valerie Anne Bertinelli |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Spouse | Eddie Van Halen (1981–2007) (divorced) |
Valerie Anne Bertinelli (born April 23, 1960) is an Italian-American actress, best known for her role as Bonnie Franklin's daughter, Barbara Cooper Royer, on the television series One Day at a Time.
Early years
Bertinelli was born in Wilmington, Delaware[1] to Italian-American parents Nancy (née Romano) and Andy Bertinelli (a General Motors executive). She had an older brother, Mark, who died at 17 months from an accidental poisoning before Valerie was born.[2] Along with her other three brothers, one older and two younger, the family lived in Claymont, Delaware, and Clarkston, Michigan where she once dated, then unknown, international canoeing sensation Tom Wallace. They later moved to Oklahoma City before moving to Van Nuys, California, where Bertinelli studied acting at the Tami Lynn School of Artists. She attended Granada Hills High School until 1978 but did not graduate. As of January 2008, she was pursuing the last few credits needed for her high school diploma.[1] She was raised Catholic.[3]
Career
Following her appearance in an episode of Apple's Way, Bertinelli was approached by producer Norman Lear to audition for the role of cooperative daughter Barbara Cooper in a new sitcom called One Day at a Time. The show debuted in late 1975. For the show's first season, Bertinelli was 15 and her character was written as a tomboy. The following year, in the show's first full season, Bertinelli's character was revised to be more appealing to a traditional male demographic.[citation needed] Bertinelli appeared in all but two episodes, remaining on the show until it was canceled in 1984. At one point, she and Franklin were involved in plans for a spin-off series, but it was never produced.
Three decades later, in 2005, during the One Day at a Time Reunion Special, Bertinelli was reunited with fellow cast members Bonnie Franklin, MacKenzie Phillips, and Pat Harrington, Jr. to watch memorable clips from the original show's nine seasons. They talked about actors who had left the show as well as Phillips' drug problem, which had wreaked havoc on the set and caused Phillips to be fired from the show.
After One Day at a Time, Bertinelli continued to act. In addition to starring in several made for TV movies and mini-series, she starred in two sitcoms in the 1990s, Sydney and Café Americain. In 2001, she joined the cast of Touched By An Angel, opposite Roma Downey and Della Reese, for the show's last two seasons.
Bertinelli, who had struggled with weight issues over the years, has lost a total of 50 lb (23 kg) as of March 2009, and had become a spokesperson for the Jenny Craig weight-loss program.[4] She appeared in several Jenny Craig commercials along with Kirstie Alley and other celebrity Jenny Craig participants.
Celebrities who promote such things as weight-loss programs are often perceived to be in professional decline. However, although Bertinelli is compensated for her Jenny Craig appearances, she has stated that she considers herself a health and weight-loss activist rather than a hired weight-loss spokesperson, and that she continues to receive proposals for more conventional acting work. In 2008 she released the autobiography, Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound At A Time, which culminates in a description of her Jenny Craig experience (the book's title contains a wordplay on One Day at a Time). In 2009, she wrote a follow-up book Finding It: And Satisfying My Hunger for Life without Opening the Fridge.
In an interview with fitness blog, That's Fit, Bertinelli said that she runs anywhere between 5 and 8 miles, sometimes with her personal trainer Christopher Ross Lane, a day to keep her trim physique. While handing over her Jenny Craig spokesperson title to actress Eastwick Sara Rue was difficult, Bertinelli continues to praise the program, saying that she often still turns to one of Jenny Craig's meals for breakfast or lunch. [5]
Bertinelli and Eddie Van Halen made a musical appearance on Michael Jackson's Thriller album, with Bertinelli singing background and Eddie playing guitar on "Beat It."
Personal life
Before marriage, Bertinelli dated Steven Spielberg. Also dated Scott Colomby [6]
Bertinelli married Eddie Van Halen on April 11, 1981. They have a son Wolfgang "Wolfie" William Van Halen (b. March 16, 1991) together. On December 5, 2005, she filed for divorce, which was finalized more than two years later on December 20, 2007.[7]
Bertinelli has been in a relationship with financial planner Tom Vitale since 2004.[8]
Bertinelli remains close to her former One Day at a Time co-star, Glenn Scarpelli.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Apple's Way | Peggy | 1 episode - "The Flag" |
| 1975-1984 | One Day at a Time | Barbara Cooper Royer | 207 episodes |
| 1978 | The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People | Mamie Dickens | 1 episode - "The Secret of Charles Dickens" |
| The Hardy Boys | Wendy Chase/Gwynn | 1 episode - "Campus Terror" | |
| 1979 | Young Love, First Love | Robin Gibson | TV |
| C.H.O.M.P.S. | Casey Norton | ||
| 1980 | The Promise of Love | Kathy Wakeman | TV |
| 1981 | The Princess and the Cabbie | Joanna James | TV |
| 1982 | I was a Mail Order Bride | Kate Tosconi | TV |
| 1984 | The Seduction of Gina | Gina Breslin | TV |
| Shattered Vows | Mary Gilligan | TV | |
| 1985 | Silent Witness | Anna Dunne | TV |
| 1986 | Ordinary Heroes | Maria | |
| Faerie Tale Theatre: Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp | Princess Sabrina | TV | |
| Rockabye | Susannah Bartok | TV | |
| 1987 | Number One with a Bullet | Teresa Barzak | |
| I'll Take Manhattan | Maxime 'Maxi' Amberville (Cipriani) | ||
| 1988 | Pancho Barnes | Pancho Barnes | TV |
| 1989 | Taken Away | Stephanie Monroe | TV |
| 1990 | Sydney | Sydney Kells | 13 episodes |
| 1991 | In a Child's Name | Angela Cimarelli | TV |
| 1992 | What She Doesn't Know | Molly Kilcoin | aka Shades of Gray |
| 1993 | Murder of Innocence | Laurie Wade | TV |
| Café Americain | Holly Aldrige/Holly Aldrich | 16 episodes,1993-1994 | |
| 1995 | The Haunting of Helen Walker | Helen Walker | TV |
| 1996 | A Case for Life | Kelly Porter | TV |
| Two Mothers for Zachary | Jody Ann Shaffell | TV | |
| 1997 | Night Sins | SBI Agent Megan O'Malley | TV |
| Touched by an Angel | Gloria | 59 episodes, 3 seasons | |
| 2000 | Personally Yours | Susannah Stanton | aka Wilderness Love |
| 2003 | Crazy Love | Wife | TV |
| Finding John Christmas | Kathleen McAllister | TV | |
| 2004 | Saved! | unknown | |
| 2006 | The Rachael Ray Show | Herself | |
| 2007 | Claire | Claire Bannion | TV |
| 2008 | True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet | Aunt Trudy | |
| Boston Legal | Carol Hober | 1 episode-"Mad Cows" | |
| The Doctors | Syndicated | special guest, February 6, 2009 episode | |
| 2009 | Unbeatable Banzuke | Australia | competitor dressed up as Sapphire with her friend Kirstie Alley dressed up as Ruby, and their advisor Shandi Finnessey dressed up as Topaz in Melbourne, Australia as Trollz, June 25, 2009 episode |
| 2010 | More Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet | Aunt Trudy | In talk |
Commercials
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| J.C. Penney | Herself | at age 11 | |
| 2009- | Jenny Craig |
Production companies
References
- ^ a b c Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
- ^ Bertinelli, Valerie, Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time (2008). Free Press.
- ^ Lifetime TV
- ^ "Valerie Bertinelli Back in Bikini for 49th Birthday!". People.com. 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ^ Dorsey-Straff, Nicole (December 2009). "Valerie Bertinelli Dishes about Weight Loss, Cravings and Fitness Goals". That's Fit. Retrieved December 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check|authorlink=value (help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|authorlink= - ^ "Valerie Bertinelli: My Early Romance with Steven Spielberg". People.com. 2008-02-22. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
- ^ CNN, retrieved 2007-12-22
- ^ Margy Rochlin (2007-08-10). "Valerie Bertinelli Gives Us the Skinny on Her New Life". TV Guide.
- ^ YahooMovies, retrieved 2007-08-10
External links
- Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
- Valerie Bertinelli at AllMovie