Fame, Family & FORGIVENESS

THE ACTRESS HAS BEEN LOOKING TO THE PAST TO ACHIEVE UNDERSTANDING AND A BRIGHTER TOMORROW

- LOUISE A. BARILE

On a Monday night in a New York City hotel, Valerie Bertinelli stripped down to her bikini underwear and liked what she saw. "Right now every lump, bump, wrinkle and saggy part of me just feels acceptance and simple appreciation," said the One Day at a Time alum, who posted a photo of herself in the mirror to Instagram, where it went viral.

Valerie, 64, has trod a long, rocky road in her quest to truly love and accept herself. A people pleaser since childhood, the actress, Emmy Award-winning Food Network star and new contributor to The Drew Barrymore Show has spent her life fighting feelings of insecurity and unworthiness. A few weeks before the underwear photo, Valerie posted a video of her shaking hand as she fought to calm herself after an anxiety attack. "I know it's just my brain overthinking and catastrophizing, but my body goes into overdrive and I have no control over it," she said.

SCARS THAT NEVER HEAL

Valerie, who has three brothers and one sister, was born into a family torn apart by unthinkable sorrow. "While my mother was pregnant with me, my older brother, Mark, died after wandering unwatched into a friend's barn and drinking poison out of a soda bottle," she revealed in her 2022 memoir, Enough Already.