Valerie Bertinelli |
Wiki |
Valerie Anne Bertinelli (born April 23, 1960) is an American actress, best known for her role as Bonnie Franklin's daughter, Barbara Cooper Royer, on the television series One Day at a Time.
Bertinelli was born in Wilmington, Delaware 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. 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. She was raised Catholic.
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. 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.