Valerie Bertinelli: Young
Valerie Anne
Bertinelli (born April 23, 1960) is an American actress, best known for her
roles as Barbara Cooper Royer on the television series One Day at a Time
(1975–1984), Gloria on the television series Touched by an Angel (2001–2003)
and Melanie Moretti on the sitcom Hot in Cleveland (2010–present).
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 207 out of the 209
episodes before the show left the airwaves on May 28, 1984. At one point, she
and Bonnie Franklin, who played her mother Ann Romano, 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 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.
Bertinelli married
Eddie Van Halen on April 11, 1981. They have a son Wolfgang (born March 16,
1991) together. On December 5, 2005, she filed for divorce, which was finalized
two years later on December 20, 2007.[8] She said in her book "Losing It: And
Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time" that two main reasons led to her
divorce from Eddie.[2] First, that her husband became addicted to cocaine.
Second, was Eddie's continued smoking, despite losing one-third of his tongue
and undergoing treatment for tongue cancer. Bertinelli has been in a
relationship with financial planner Tom Vitale since 2004. On May 20, 2010,
they announced their engagement, and they were married on January 1, 2011, in
Malibu, California.[9] She wore a dress made especially for her by the designer
David Meister.[10]
On April 19, 2010,
Bertinelli ran in the Boston Marathon to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute in Boston. She completed the marathon with a time of 5:14:37. -Wikipedia
