Valerie Bertinelli, 66, Stumbles Upon Her Own 1979 Lingerie Negatives While Decluttering — Photo

The beloved television actress found an especially revealing piece of her past hiding among decades of keepsakes, and she let her followers help decide whether it deserved another life.

Valerie Bertinelli, 66, shared two negatives from a photo shoot taken in 1979, when she was around 19 years old. She had completely forgotten about the images, and one look at their unexpectedly daring contents explains why fans had plenty to say.

A House Clear-Out Delivered Quite the Find

Valerie had been sorting through old memorabilia during an extensive decluttering effort when she uncovered the negatives. Instead of quietly returning them to storage, she gave followers a glimpse of the long-hidden shoot.

The two frames show a teenage Valerie wearing black lingerie while seated on a chair. Although the negatives are small, they reveal slightly different poses from a session that appears never to have been published.

Valerie explained that even she had forgotten the photographs existed. That may be why the images remained unseen for nearly five decades, despite her already being one of television’s most recognizable young actresses at the time.

In her Instagram post, the actress explained, "I've been doing a massive amount of decluttering around the house, going through old memorabilia… and stumbled upon a bunch of these negatives."

She admitted, "I had totally forgotten that I had them, which is why we probably haven't seen them in print anywhere. Now I don't know what to do with them."

Then she floated an option that could rescue the shoot from another few decades in storage. Her brother might be able to find a use for the images through their new show.

"Maybe I should get him to do something with them? Or not? Toss or save?" Valerie asked.

The discovery also arrived at a suspiciously perfect moment. Valerie and her brother, photographer David Bertinelli, had just launched a project devoted to unseen pictures and the memories preserved inside them.

Her Brother Has an Entire Vault Waiting

"Undeveloped: Stories from the Vault" gives viewers access to parts of Valerie's personal history through photographs taken by David. The siblings use unseen or long-forgotten pictures to revisit experiences that may look different after the passage of time.

In her announcement for the premiere, Valerie said David selected three images she had not viewed in years. One of those photographs was completely new to her.

"Turns out some memories you think you've let go of, you haven't," she wrote. "Come watch what surfaces as David opens up his vault and shares some of his photos with us."

The first episode, titled "First Comes Love," is currently available through Valerie's Place. Access requires a subscription to the website, making the series part of the more intimate digital space Valerie has created for her followers.

The 1979 negatives could fit the show's concept almost surprisingly well. Whether David will actually transform them into a future installment remains unanswered.

Fans Were Split Between "Save" and "Toss"

Her followers did not need much encouragement to offer their verdicts regarding Valerie's question. Some were startled by the glimpse, while others treated the negatives as pieces of television history that had earned permanent protection from the trash.

One especially concise admirer wrote, "MA'AM 👀." Another person focused on the actress' expression in the shoot, commenting, "You look uncomfortable to me."

A follower who had kept some old negatives of their own urged Valerie to preserve hers: "Save. I love the old photos. Valerie, you are about my age. I still have some negatives 😂 You certainly were stunning! You still look good 😍."

Not everyone considered the photographs worth keeping. One person advised, "Toss, you are a better woman now. ❤️" Another commenter saw a resemblance to a much different piece of 1980s pop culture: "'Flash dance' vibes! 'She's A Maniac'😊 [sic]."

For one fan, Valerie's place in television history settled the question. The person wrote, "Save! You are apart of my television history, most def a save [sic]." Someone else remembered the attention Valerie attracted during those early years, adding, "We all had a crush on that foxy girl, didn't we?"

Television Audiences Met Her at 15

Yes, many people loved Valerie because she entered the television industry many years ago. She landed her breakthrough role on "One Day at a Time" at age 15.

The CBS sitcom aired from 1975 until 1984, carrying Valerie from adolescence into adulthood in front of a national audience. Her work continued through television movies and series, including "Touched by an Angel" and "Hot in Cleveland."

She also became a familiar Food Network personality and won two Daytime Emmy Awards for her hosting work. In 2024, Valerie joined "The Drew Barrymore Show" as a lifestyle expert. Two years later, she launched Valerie's Place, extending her relationship with followers beyond regular television appearances and social media posts.

Her personal life also unfolded under public attention. Valerie was married to musician Eddie Van Halen from April 1981 until December 2007, and they had one child, Wolfgang Van Halen.

Another Old Favorite Returned in a New Form

The debut of "Undeveloped" was not Valerie's only recent trip into her television past. In July 2026, she began revisiting "Hot in Cleveland" through a new podcast titled "Still Hot in Cleveland."

Valerie co-hosts the program with Todd Milliner, a former executive producer of the TV Land sitcom. Recorded inside her wine cave, the podcast premieres for members of Valerie's Place also.

"Hot in Cleveland" ran from 2010 to 2015. It followed three friends, played by Valerie, Jane Leeves, and Wendie Malick, whose flight from Los Angeles to Paris made an emergency landing in Cleveland.

The women decided to remain in the city and share a home. There they met the property's sharp-tongued caretaker, played by Betty White. The podcast examines each season across two or three episodes. Wendie, Janes, other cast members, writers, and behind-the-scenes contributors join the discussion to explain how the comedy developed.

Valerie told People, "I'm still more than grateful for the experience, and I'm still [expletive] for cancelling us a year too early in my mind."

Listening to the show's creators explain how early ideas became six seasons is especially interesting to Valerie. She believes the Valerie's Place audience will appreciate that creative history because of the similarities and connections she has found among members of the community.

When asked whether "Hot in Cleveland" might return as a reunion or revival, Valerie did not close the door completely. Her uncertainty centered on the absence of Betty, who played such an essential role in the series.

"I mean, I know Wendie's not crazy about that idea because she's right — without Betty, how is it Hot in Cleveland? But I don't know. I feel like there's a way..." Valerie said.

Whether that way leads to a revival remains uncertain, but the actress has already found other reasons to revisit her past. The newly discovered 1979 negatives return attention to a much more personal subject: the body viewers have been examining since she was a teenager.

Nearly five decades after those lingerie photos were taken, Valerie spoke candidly with Drew Barrymore about how she sees her body today.

A Conversation That Took a Very Personal Turn

The discussion from March 24, 2026, centered on "Getting Naked," where Valerie opened up about growing older, divorce, menopause, generational pain, and the pressure women often feel to stay perfect no matter what they are carrying inside.

There was nothing polished about the way she spoke with Drew. The two women were frank from the start, and that openness gave Valerie room to say things many celebrities would normally edit out.

At one point, they began complimenting each other's looks, and then Drew said, "We're not two women chasing that dragon of youth."

The "One Day at a Time" actress laughed and responded, "No. I think I didn't know you long before I was literally showing you my boobs."

Drew matched her candor right away, "Oh, my god. Of course. And I was showing you mine." But Valerie was leading their discussion up to somewhere more revealing.

What She Chose to Say Out Loud

She went on to explain why that moment between them had happened in the first place. Referring to the deeply personal material in her book, she said:

"I mean, because I have. I mean, if you read the book, you'll know that my boobs are deformed and I talk very extensively and graphically about how deformed they are."

This is because she had four surgeries in 2024.

Valerie also shared Drew's reaction after seeing what she had been dealing with. "Drew is like, 'How bad can it be?' I'm like, 'Really?' And she goes, 'Oh, yeah, that's bad,'" she revealed.

And according to Valerie, that kind of honesty is one of the reasons why she likes and trusts Drew. She's honest. The "50 First Dates" actress added, "Yeah. And then I proceeded to be like, 'Okay, here's. Here's what we can do.'"

The exchange was funny in places, but it also showed how much relief there can be in saying things exactly as they are. But Valerie shared something further about herself.

The actress said, "I don't know. I'm sorry. I totally took away from your question. My boobs suck, but I'm not dating, so it doesn't matter.... um yet."

It was a joke, but it also exposed the logic behind the way she is looking at all of this now. The issue is still there. But the pressure to make herself appealing to a partner is not currently a priority in her life.

And from there, Valerie's deeper history started to come into view.

The Surgeries Behind the Confession

In a March 2026 People interview, Valerie also explained that she got breast implants in the late 1980s, liked them for a while, and later grew to hate them.

After years of gaining and losing weight, she said she no longer liked how they looked and felt ready to return to what she originally had. Therefore, in 2024, she had the implants removed after a fall.

Unfortunately, the outcome was not what she expected.

Valerie developed a serious infection that led to another surgery. She recalled, "The look on my doctor's face when he finally saw me made me think 'Oh [expletive]' I guess I should have come in earlier."

During this second operation, the physician had to take everything out. "It became a crater," she described, adding that she required one more procedure to even her chest afterward.

But even while describing the hardest parts, Valerie kept reaching for humor. Pointing to her cats, she joked, "Me and these guys are the only ones looking at my boobs anyways."

Then she added:

"I don't care because I can't see without my glasses on ... I'll have to date somebody who can't see."

Her Book Is All About Reclaiming the Narrative

A few days before her conversation with Drew, Valerie had already given followers a glimpse of how she wanted to frame this chapter of her life. In a March 21 Instagram post, she shared behind-the-scenes images from the cover shoot for "Getting Naked."

The photos showed her in various states of undress, but the mood was not provocative for the sake of it. The images felt purposeful, calm, and uplifting.

Her caption made things much clearer. She wrote, "Writing getting naked was a process. The process of uncovering my shame. The process of owning it, so no one could ever use it as a weapon to hurt me ever again."

The actress continued, "I think we can never fully protect ourselves from feeling exposed, but the process of writing this book and posing for the cover was a beautiful fear I was able to walk through and get to the other side of."

The caption goes on to say that allowing yourself to feel fear is one of the strengths all people have, and Valerie finished her post with:

"I hope you find your own joy in disarming any weapon an individual may disingenuously use to hurt you. You alone have the power to free yourself."

That freedom reaches all the way back to the newly uncovered lingerie negatives, taken when Valerie was around 19 and already living under the public gaze. At 66, after speaking so openly with Drew about her body and everything it has endured, she now gets to decide what those images mean and whether they deserve to be saved. Whatever she chooses, reclaiming that decision for herself is a picture worth celebrating.