- - Valerie Bertinelli had 1 dream while making “One Day at a Time” that still hasn't come true

Wesley StenzelJanuary 11, 2026 at 6:11 AM

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CBS via Getty

Valerie Bertinelli on 'One Day at a Time'

It's been more than 18,000 days since One Day at a Time premiered — but Valerie Bertinelli is still waiting for someone to grant her wish from the first day of production.

The actress, who portrayed Barbara Cooper Royer on the hit CBS sitcom for nine seasons, reflected on the show's debut a half-century ago in a recent appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show.

"Whenever I think of One Day at a Time, I can smell it," she said, sharing her memories from her first day shooting the series. "I can smell the stage because it was my first big job."

CBS Archive/Getty

Pat Harrington Jr., Valerie Bertinelli, Bonnie Franklin, and Mackenzie Phillips on 'One Day at a Time'

Bertinelli distinctly remembers the moment before she emerged on the set to deliver her first line in front of a live studio audience.

"I'm holding the doorknob, and I can see the audience, and I'm about to go in," she recalled. "I have my basketball. I'm 15 years old. And I'm saying my line over and over: 'Mom, Mom, I made the team! I made the team! Mom, Mom, I made the team!' 'Cause I wanted to make sure I got my first line right."

Bertinelli said that even at 15 she was thinking about how One Day at a Time would stick with her for a lifetime. "I remember thinking — and this is what's so weird — I remember thinking, 'I'm going to be able to show this to my children one day,'" she said.

However, her son, Wolfgang Van Halen — whom she shared with her late husband, Eddie Van Halen — has yet to make her dream a reality.

"I don't think Wolfie's ever seen the show. I don't think he ever has," Bertinelli said. "Now he can!"

Dia Dipasupil/WireImage

Valerie Bertinelli and son Wolfgang Van Halen in West Hollywood in 2024

Bertinelli shared more memories of shooting One Day at a Time in an interview with Entertainment Weekly last year. "I knew that was going to be special," she said. "I don't know how I knew that then, but I could feel it. I wish I'd feel those feelings more."

The Drew Barrymore Show/Ash Bean

Drew Barrymore, Valerie Bertinelli, and Ross Mathews reminisce on 'The Drew Barrymore Show'

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Bertinelli noted that she experiences a similar sensation as a lifestyle expert on Barrymore's daytime talk show.

"I mean, I feel it," she said. "I love the way the audience is growing here. I love the way that Drew is finding the audience that resonates with her and that they look forward to having Drew in their living room for the afternoons, because it takes so long for a talk show to find its legs."

on Entertainment Weekly

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