Valerie Bertinelli speaks on female empowerment in Fresno

FRESNO, Calif., Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Valerie Bertinelli spoke on female empowerment at the 27th Central California Women's Conference on Tuesday.

The 54-year-old actress was the keynote speaker, and addressed a crowd of nearly 3,500. The theme of the conference this year was "Nurture You," and Bertinelli urged the audience to embrace themselves and a more positive life.

"Nurturing begins with a deep breath and a scary first step across the chasm of fear," the actress said. "Try to be more like Georgia O'Keeffe, scared but fearless when it comes to what you want to do and more importantly, what you need to do."

"It's about having the guts to say to yourself, 'I can do better and I'm going to figure out the ways to do it,'" she related. "Life is all about change. The trick is to change for the better in ways that make us feel better about ourselves and our lives."

Bertinelli advised the audience to take time to breathe, and to be kind and forgiving to self and others. The actress also asked women to support other women, instead of competing with and tearing one another down.

"I think more women need to be nice to each other," she asserted. "We have bad examples on television of the Real Housewives of whatever town they're in. I would never have those people as friends. I want someone who supports me and backs me up and loves me."

One of Bertinelli's personal female role models is her Hot in Cleveland co-star, Betty White. The TVLand series will return for a sixth season in November.