Valerie Bertinelli

Early life

Bertinelli was born in Wilmington, Delaware, to Nancy (née Carvin) and Andrew Bertinelli, a General Motors executive. Her father is of Italian descent and her mother is of English descent. She has three brothers: David, Patrick and Drew. She had an elder brother, Mark, who died at 17 months from an accidental poisoning before Valerie was born. Because of the father's career, the family frequently moved. Over various periods, they lived in Claymont, Delaware; Clarkston, Michigan; Shreveport, Louisiana; Oklahoma City, and the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles, California, where Bertinelli studied acting at the Tami Lynn School of Artists. She attended Granada Hills High School. She was raised Roman Catholic.

One Day at a Time

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 years old. Bertinelli appeared in 208 out of the 209 episodes before the show left the airwaves on May 28, 1984.

Two 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.

Post-One Day at a Time

After One Day at a Time, Bertinelli continued to act. In addition to starring in several made for TV movies and miniseries, she starred in two sitcoms in the 1990s: as private eye Sydney, with Matthew Perry and Craig Bierko, and Café Americain from the creators of Frasier. 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 some struggles with being overweight, lost a total of 50 lb (23 kg) as of March 2009, and became a spokesperson for the Jenny Craig weight-loss program. She appeared in several Jenny Craig commercials. Although Bertinelli is compensated for her Jenny Craig appearances, she considers herself a health and weight-loss activist rather than a hired weight-loss spokesperson. 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. In 2009 she wrote a follow-up book Finding It: And Satisfying My Hunger for Life without Opening the Fridge.

On March 4, 2010, Bertinelli appeared as guest co-host on ABC's The View in the absence of Whoopi Goldberg. As of 2010 she stars in the TV Land series Hot in Cleveland (along with Betty White, Wendie Malick, and Jane Leeves), a situation comedy which debuted in June 2010. The show's second season aired in January 2011, and in February 2011 it was renewed for a third season. After a successful, six-season run, the final episode aired on June 3, 2015.

Bertinelli hosts her own show, Valerie's Home Cooking, on the Food Network. She also co-hosts the hit show Kids Baking Championship with Duff Goldman, 'punny' cake artist, on the same channel. The show follows young children as they bake pastries and other desserts and is currently in its third season.

On August 22, 2012, Bertinelli received the 2,476th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Personal life

Bertinelli married Eddie Van Halen on April 11, 1981. They have a son, Wolfgang (born March 16, 1991). They separated in 2001 and divorced on Dec. 20, 2007. In her book Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time Bertinelli indicated the main reasons for her divorce were her husband's cocaine addiction and his refusal to quit smoking despite being diagnosed with tongue cancer and losing one-third of his tongue in the process of treatment for it.

In May 2010, Bertinelli announced her engagement to financial planner Tom Vitale, whom she had begun a relationship with in 2004. They were married on January 1, 2011, in Malibu, California. She wore a dress made especially for her by the designer David Meister.

Bertinelli ran in the April 2010 Boston Marathon to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute there, completing it in a time of 5:14:37. In 2014 she appeared on Who Do You Think You Are? and found she was related to King Edward I of England.