Who is Valerie Bertinelli? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Valerie Ann Bertinelli

Age: 63 Years

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Eddie Van Halen (m. 1981–2007) Tom Vitale

father: Andy Bertinelli

mother: Nancy Bertinelli

children: Wolfgang Van Halen

Actresses American Men

Height: 1.61 m

Ancestry: British American, Italian American

U.S. State: Delaware

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Childhood & Early Life

Valerie Bertinelli was born on 23 April 1960 in Wilmington, Delaware, USA, to parents Nancy and Andrew, a General Motors executive.

Raised Roman Catholic, she has two younger brothers. She also had an elder brother who died before she was born.

Because of her father’s job, she along with her family frequently moved and had to live in Delaware, Michigan, Clarkston, Claymont, Shreveport, California, Oklahoma City and Louisiana at different times.

In her early teens, Bertinelli lived in the Michigan Area where she attended Clarkston Middle School. When she was living in California, she became friends with the daughter of a famous TV producer. At the time she caught the acting bug and started studying acting at the Tami Lynn School of Artists.

She also attended Granada Hills High School.

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Career

Valerie Bertinelli’s acting career started in 1974 when she worked in an episode of the television series ‘Apple's Way.’

She got her big break in 1975 in the CBS hit TV series ‘One Day at a Time’ which was produced by Norman Lear. In the series she played the role of Barbara Jean Copper. Bertinelli was 15 years old at that time.

In 1981, she formed her own film company and produced the television movies ‘Shattered Vows’ in the year 1984 and ‘Silent Witness’ in the year 1985. She also acted in these movies.

Valerie Bertinelli was also a part of the miniseries ‘I'll Take Manhattan’ which was telecast in 1987. This series was based on a novel written by Judith Krantz. She appeared in two situation comedies as well—‘Sydney’ and ‘Cafe Americain.’ These series were canceled after short runs.

Meanwhile she also acted in three feature films: ‘C.H.O.M.P.S.,’ ‘Ordinary Heroes,’ and ‘Number One with a Bullet’ which came in the year 1979, 1986 and 1987 respectively.

In the year 2001, she joined the ‘Touched by an Angel’ cast for the show’s last two seasons.

Over her career Valerie Bertinelli gained a lot of weight and was slammed because of being too overweight. By March 2009, she had lost about 50 pounds after joining Jenny Craig’s weight loss program and became a spokesperson for the program and worked for many of its commercials.

In 2010, she was invited to co-host ABC TV’s ‘The View’. The same year, she starred in a super hit TV series ‘Hot in Cleveland’ alongside TV veterans Betty White, Wendie Malick and Jane Leeves. This situation comedy aired for six seasons before ending in June 2015.

In 2014, she appeared on the genealogy documentary series ‘Who Do You Think You Are’. As of now, she hosts a food show ‘Kids Baking Championship’ which airs on Food Network.

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She is also a popular author. In 2008, Valerie Bertinelli released her autobiography ‘Losing It: and Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time’. The next year, she wrote a follow-up book ‘Finding It: And Satisfying My Hunger for Life without Opening the Fridge’. In 2012, she came up with her book titled ‘One Dish at a Time’. This book was a collection of dishes related to her Italian heritage.

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Major Works

Valerie Bertinelli is best known for her award winning performance as Barbara Cooper Royer in the sitcom ‘One Day at a Time’ in which she portrayed the role of a wisecracking teenage girl. The role gained the actress much popularity and set the pace for her future career.

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Awards & Achievements

Valerie Bertinelli’s ‘One Day at a Time’ fetched her the ‘Golden Globe Award for the Best Supporting Actress’ in two consecutive years – 1981 and 1982.

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

She was ranked 29th in VH1’s list of ‘100 Greatest Kid Stars’.

In 2014, Bertinelli was welcomed in the Hair Fans Hall of Fame.

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Personal Life & Legacy

On April 11, 1981 Valerie Bertinelli married the guitarist Eddie Van Halen. The couple has a son (Wolfgang) who was born in 1991. They named their son after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who was Eddie Van Halen’s favorite composer.

Her marriage with Van ended in 2007. The reasons for their divorce have been highlighted by Bertinelli in her autobiography. She stated that it was her husband’s drug addiction and smoking habit that lead to their divorce.

In 2004, while still married to Van Halen, she had started dating financial planner Tom Vitale and the couple got married in 2011.

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In 2008, she confessed about her infidelity while promoting her autobiography. She also disclosed the same about her former husband Van Halen.

Bertinelli has also admitted to her struggles with addiction to cocaine and spoke about how she fought with the addiction. She once stated that she got to the point where whenever she heard the chirping of birds, she became quite irritated. She also said that it took her years to come out of the addiction and enjoy the sound of birds again.

Bertinelli gradually gained weight over the years and joined the Jenny Craig weight-loss program through which she shed more than 50 pounds. She then became a spokesperson for the program.

1982	Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television	One Day at a Time (1975)
1981	Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television	One Day at a Time (1975)

Valerie Bertinelli Biography