Channel: AARP

Category: Entertainment

Description: Please consider supporting more content like this by becoming an AARP member: aarp.org/becomeamember Actress Valerie Bertinelli reflects on how her career and mindset have changed as she’s grown up in the spotlight. At age 15, she starred as Barbara Cooper on “One Day at a Time,” and then married rocker Eddie Van Halen at age 20. Bertinelli shares that the first time she ever got scared about money was after she separated from Van Halen 20 years later, in 2001. By that time, she was in her 40s and needed to provide for their son, Wolfgang Van Halen. The couple finalized their divorce in 2007, and that same year Bertinelli says she decided to “go hard” and lose weight in the public eye by becoming a spokeswoman for Jenny Craig. Now 61, Bertinelli says she’s continuing to reinvent herself by taking on new challenges and trying to block out external criticism from online trolls. She explains that writing her new book, “Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today,” helped in that process. Her long career includes roles in television series such as “Touched by an Angel” and “Hot in Cleveland,” with Betty White. Bertinelli is also the Emmy-winning Food Network host of “Valerie’s Home Cooking” and “Kids Baking Championship.” Her memoir is available wherever books are sold. - - - - - - Connect with AARP Online: Visit us: aarp.org Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/AARP Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/AARP AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to helping people ages 50 and older to improve their quality of life as they age. With over 38 million members and growing, we lead positive social change through our extensive product offerings and services.