Getting Naked: The Podcast - One Pod at a Time | Valerie Bertinelli | Mackenzie Phillips | One Day at a Time

Episode Date: September 7, 2026

She's the most requested guest since day one — and she was absolutely worth the wait. Valerie sits down with her oldest friend, One Day at a Time co-star, and honorary sister Mackenzie Phillips for a conversation that spans five decades of shared history, Hollywood childhood, hard-won recovery, and the kind of friendship that picks back up exactly where it left off.They go all the way back to the beginning — a chance elevator meeting at CBS when they were both 15, the making of One Day at a Time under Norman Lear's wing, and what it was like to grow up in the spotlight before anyone had a word for it. They talk about the years they lost touch, the guilt Valerie has carried about not being there during Mackenzie's darkest period, and the phone calls Mackenzie made — "I just want you to know I have six months today" — that she didn't expect returned.In the Full Reveal — exclusively for Valerie's Place members — it's 1970s Hollywood, Rick Springfield, KC and the Sunshine Band, a club they definitely shouldn't have been in, and the story of how Mackenzie got Valerie out of there before things went too far. Plus: Valerie opens up about her quiet sobriety journey, a viewer asks the question everyone's thinking ("you two need to do another sitcom"), and Part 2 is coming — because there was simply too much left to say.

Hi, thanks for tuning in to Getting Naked the podcast. I have such a treat for you. Such a treat. This is the woman that you guys have been begging me to have on my podcast. And believe me, I've been begging her to be on my podcast. And she's been wanting to be here. And finally, the stars have aligned. She's here.

So stay tuned for our lovely discussion. In fact, we had such a great discussion. We're breaking it into two parts because we could go on probably for the third part. But stay tuned for our little discussion with McKenzie Phillips. I have a really fun recipe for you today. You saw how easy that was. Look at all that flavor we packed into chicken breasts. Love the flavor of maple syrup, especially for these kind of muffins.

I see all of your comments. I swear I do. You are wondering, where's my show? This is so dang delicious. Smells divine. That's a jalapeno popper. Oh my god. It's so good!

Yes, I'm back and I am cooking for all of you. All right, Sophie. What are we reheating today? Welcome to Nal Vals cooking. Guess what we're going to make right now. We're alive. Hi, everybody. How are you?

You have to go to Valerie's Place. That's where you can see our book group, this podcast. That's where you can go for all the cooking that you want to see. Oh, yes. I've missed cooking for you. I'm glad I finally get to do it again. I'm dancing. That's how good it is.

So head to Valerie's Place.com and go ahead and sign up. You guys are the original members, and I can't thank you enough. It's happy time. Hi, everybody. And welcome to Getting Naked the podcast. Before we get into today's episode, Just a quick reminder to stay tuned for the full reveal. That is a special segment for Valerie's Place members.

And if you want to be able to access the full reveal, get early access to the podcast, then head on over to Valerie's Place.com and sign right up. Okay. This is a very special day because this is without any doubt, no one even comes close to the number one requested podcast guest for this show. You guys have been telling me since the very first show. and believe me, we have been working on it. And so has she.

Our schedules are what they are. And she's finally here. The most beautiful woman that I've known since I was a 15-year-old girl, she is, I've never had a sister, but this comes damn close. This is my sister, Mackenzie Phillips. Hi. Are you trying to make me? I love you. Are you trying to make me?

No. Oh, my God. We have been through, I guess we'll get into some of them, so much shit through the 50-some-odd years that we've known each other. But I am so happy that you hear. I'm so happy to be here. I know that you're an open book. The last time we saw each other was how many years ago? Was it two?

Was it two? You came and picked me up and we went to Norman's birthday party. Yes. We carpooled. We carpooled. That was fun, by the way. It was really fun. It was.

Because I love your house. It is the cutest, like, and we live not far from each other. It's the only Spanish bungalow left on my block. The only original house. Exactly. But there's a huge addition on the back. It's a huge lot with the pool and all that stuff. But if you look at it from the front, all you see is this tiny little Spanish bungalow.

Thank you. I love your home. I was so excited when you were like, okay, I'm going to come and pick you up. And then it was like, oh, I'm in the, Valerie and I are in the car together. Which we hadn't done in 50 years. Yeah. When we used to like hang out all the time in the 70s. Yeah.

Like all the time. I was at your house. You were at my house. We'd go to camping together. Yep. I remember when we went camping. Yep. I was like, wait, where am I plug in my blow dryer?

That's true. Yes. We went to Leo Carrillo. My dad set up a tent. Yes. It was a whole family. Yeah. That's, you know, and when I think of going camping, like, which isn't often.

But I think... No, I go camping. I'm at a motel six. That's camping for me now. Yeah, exactly. What about glamping? Would you glamp? Winnebago's? Well, no, glamping is like a special tent with air conditioners and like Persian rugs on the floor. It's a nice private bathroom. Yes.

In my skin care? Yes. All right. Maybe. Yes. Okay. But whenever I think of, like, I see something about camping, I immediately think of that time we went camping. It was fun. It was really fun.

It was a lot of fun. So, wait, what I was saying was, so Valerie's coming to pick me up. I get in the car, and I'm like, the door closes. I'm like, we are alone. For the first time in a long time. For the first time in decades. And we were both like, there were so many things we had to tell.

And we remember everything we talked about, because we talked about everything and anything. Everything and anything. I was crying on your shoulder about some guy that fucked me over. That one. That one. And I was probably laughing because I haven't been dating in many, many years. And I'm like, just good Lord, girl.

And then I remember thinking, oh, crap, we're there. Yeah. And we just keep driving around for a while. Because then the party was so crowded and we didn't get a chance to talk and they pulled us all in these directions. But you finally got on the carpet with me. You weren't going to do it. I wasn't? No.

You said, I'll do the interview with you, just you and me. I didn't want to do. Yeah, I hate red carpets. I hate it. I hate them. I know it sounds so silly to people that, like, Oh, please, you've had such a beautiful blessed life. Yes, I know that I've had a beautiful blessed life.

It's also really uncomfortable to sit there and stand and turn and, like, have people scream your name. And then inevitably, they always use a picture where you look funky. Exactly. And you have no control over it. It's a lot of pressure. Yeah. You know, and you have to think of, well, how, it's the worst thing. It's like, how does my body look?

Where should I put my purse? Am I smiling too big? Yeah. Do I look afraid? Yeah. Usually those are the worst smiles on me where the smile looks fake and my eyes like fear. And then they go, Mackenzie over here and you're like, what? Yeah.

And that's the picture that they... Oh, God. Yeah. I don't do those. No, I avoid them at all costs. But you came on the carpet with me. You did that. And I was like, that was on the carpet with me. We're on the carpet together. I think we were supporting

each other. We were. Big time. Yeah. Yeah. But we've always been doing that in our odd little way that we have with one another. Yes. Because we were super tight for a long time. And then we didn't talk for a very long time. That's nobody's fault. Well, why are you all the sudden? No, I'm like, I'm taking this on for a minute. Let me take it on for a minute because we were doing, you know, and then I started deteriorating and deteriorating. And it

wasn't, it wasn't that you didn't want to hang around with me anymore because it made you look bad. But I was just, it was devastating to be around me. It was, it was hard. It was, it was hard, but a big, a huge part of guilt in my life, or maybe even had been crossed over into shame, is I wasn't supportive to you during that. I didn't really quite know what you were going through. Right. And as much time as we hung out with one another, we never really quite got super deep. Right. With one another. We didn't. We were just like, ha, ha, ha, we're teenagers and we're having fun. in a very bizarre, crazy business where we had a hit show and everybody was focusing their attention on us. Everywhere, it was like Tiger Beat.

Val and Mac, America's Sweethearts, a day with Val and Mac. We would do those competition shows together. Yeah, the Battle of the Network stars. Yeah. I mean, but then, Val, you know, it took me a long time to get well, right? and I remember I've talked about this in another interview before and I remember driving over cold water

driving past where you and Ed lived and I would call and I said Val you don't have to call me back I just want you to know I have six months today and then I would call you back driving by and I go I have nine months today

and then I called you And I said, you don't have to call me back. But I have a year today. And then you called me back. You did. Do you remember this? It's okay. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Wow. I knew. I didn't want to put any pressure on you to call me, but I wanted you to know that I was on the path and that it was meaningful to me for you to know. Thank you. what was challenging about all of that. And I've been very up front with my drug use. Ed's been upfront about his. And I was in so much fear.

What was the fear? Ed and I went through some amazing struggles, some amazing, beautiful, wonderful times and some amazing struggles. So I don't, I'm, I'm mad at myself for not picking up the first time. Maybe you weren't... But I was also hiding and being an urban hermit

and didn't want anybody to know what was going on in my life. Maybe you weren't supposed to. Yeah. Maybe, actually, you obviously weren't supposed to because it played out the way it played out. You know, God has a plan. The universe has a plan, and that's how it was supposed to be. Yeah.

I'm so impressed with your resilience, your commitment, I mean, we'll talk about this throughout. We're going to do two episodes with you. Yes. Because this needs to be a two-parter. There's so much that I want to cover. And it's hard to do it chronologically. It's so hard.

But I want to start at the beginning. Okay. Let's do it. You lead. Oh, I don't want to have any of me. I have a really fun recipe for you today. You saw how easy that was. Look at all that flavor we packed into chicken breasts.

I love the flavor of maple syrup, especially for these kind of muffins. I see all of your comments. I swear I do. You are wondering, where's my show? This is so dang delicious. Smells divine. That's a jalapeno popper. Oh my god. It's so good. Yes, I'm back and I am cooking for all of you. All right, Sophie. What are we reheating today? Welcome to Nal Vals cooking. Guess what we're gonna make right now. We're alive. Hi, everybody. How are you? You have to go to Valerie's Place. That's where you can see our book group, this podcast. That's where you can go for all the cooking that you want to see. Oh, yes. I've missed cooking for you. I'm glad I finally get to do it again. I'm dancing.

That's how good it is. So head to Valerriesplace.com and go ahead and sign up. You guys are the original members, and I can't thank you enough. It's happy time. Okay, let's just start at the very, very beginning. Okay. The elevator at CBS. Oh, my gosh.

Okay. The very first time we met. Do you want to tell it? No, I want you to tell it. Because I've told the story before. I want to hear this story from your side. And then I want to hear it from your story. your side. Okay. Okay. So it was like first day or something, right? It was the first day of the

script. Rehearsal. Table read. Because I never read with you. I read, the very last person I read with was Norman and, and in the casting director's office or his office at CBS. That office with the giant conference table. Like he had the biggest office at CBS. Yeah. And the conference table was like huge. Yeah. This is, it's not that big, but his was huge. Yes. Yes. Okay. So I'm on the elevator already. Yes. You come on the elevator with your mom, and I'm with my Aunt Rosie, who was my guardian, because my mother had no desire to sit on the set all day, let alone drive me to auditions, let alone... Yeah, not something my mother enjoyed either. I'm wearing her jewelry today. God bless you, Mom. I understand why I get it. We get it. We get it. We get it. Right? So,

you walk in, you know, perky, kid. cute, oh my God, this adorable human being. But that's not what I was thinking at the time. I was like, oh, so you're my kid's sister, huh? Because you'd already shot a pilot. Yeah. And this was the second time we're shooting a pilot. Did you ever see that pilot is on YouTube?

Well, bits and pieces of it. Yeah. You had a best friend so they could put teenagers together in this. And that really cool jacket that I wore in the, it was in that show. Yes. And I don't have it. And I wish I had it. But I said, huh?

So you're playing my kid's sister, huh? And I don't remember anything past that. All I remember is that... And I'm like this tall. Yes. And I'm the short little pipsqueak. Pipsqueak? Yes.

I probably had sneakers on and, you know, whatever. I was probably wearing black leather. I don't know. You looked amazing because I remember being in awe of you. And I walk on. And I'm nervous anyway because I've just... This is the biggest part I've ever gotten in my life. And I don't know what the hell I'm doing.

And I knew, I think at the time, Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins was out. Yeah. So I saw posters all over bus stations and everything. And I was like, oh, my God, she's like, she's a big star. And American graffiti had been out years before that. And then Rafferty? Not that many years. No?

I did graffiti when I was 12. It came out when I was 13. I did Rafferty when I was 14. Okay. And we met when we were both 15. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah, that's a myth I want to dispel. Everyone's like, oh, my God, Valerie's so much younger than you.

And I'm like, surprise, surprise, we're six months apart. Six months apart. That's it. And Valerie knows that every year I'm like, finally, you caught up with me. I know. For six months, we get to be the same age. That's right. Anyway, so go. I remember thinking, oh, my God, I'm so in awe. This is the person who I get to play sisters of. And I hadn't met Bonnie. I hadn't met Pat.

I hadn't met anybody. You're the first person I meet. I'm sorry. I was so in awe of you, and I didn't, God even knows what I said. I was probably like, hi, it's so nice to meet you. Probably, yeah. And I do remember you looking me up and down, but you didn't, you weren't frowning or anything. You just had a smile on your face like, oh, okay, you know, and I thought, oh, I better be good.

I was taking, taking you in. You were taking it all in. Yeah. And you were taking, I mean, you had probably just shot the pilot up months before that, and then they said rework it. and then you get shoved a little sister. Well, obviously, I'm really grateful for that because, you know, the original pilot was crap.

Was it really? Yeah. I didn't see enough of it. I mean, I thought I was great in it. Yeah. But, yeah, so that was the beginning. I think also the character of David. Yes.

Richard Masser, who played David. He was also at it. So the lawyer and Barbara Cooper were added. And the boyfriend, in the original pilot. Did he come back for the two-parter or the four-parter? I don't know. Where you ran away with him?

I don't remember. No, no, I mean, Anne's boyfriend, or the guy who was after him. Oh, oh. I can't remember his name. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry if you see this. That's okay. We're over 50 years ago. That's right.

But I've seen him, you know, seen him over the years and other things, and I remember thinking, he's kind of hot. He was very handsome. Well, Bonnie was only 31 when we did the pilot. Well, you know what she said when Norman said, McKenzie Phillips is going to play your daughter. She said, are you insane? I'm not old enough to have a 16-year-old daughter.

No. She wasn't. No. She was 31. Yeah. We were both 15. I mean, what was she a child, you know, I mean. I know.

That's a big thing to take on because in a way, in a way, it puts Bonnie in a different, on a different shelf. Yeah. She was playing ingenues and. She was a star of Broadway. Exactly. Appalach. Yes. She was Tony awarded or nominated.

Nominated. Yeah. She was a big Broadway performer, and this was a big deal for her, too. But it's interesting because I can't imagine anybody but Bonnie in that role. She was so mothering as such a young woman. I know that she took me under her wing so beautifully. I went out to visit her in New York and fell in love with New York. I'd never been there before.

And we only lived, I mean, we lived outside of Philly. We lived in Delaware, Claymont, Delaware. So I remember seeing New York in, like, my big dream ever since then I was 15, 16. I thought, I want to live and work in New York, you know. And now I sort of do. I'm kind of bi-coastal, but I don't live there. I just stay there. But this is always interesting to me because my relationship with Norman, and he was so loving.

I mean, both of us are incredibly lucky to have such a mentor and so. someone who wasn't what you think Hollywood is. Right. Because young girls in Hollywood are eaten up and spitting out. And we were not under Norman's tutelage. I felt very, very protected. And I always was in awe of him and afraid of him in a little bit, a little bit. Always afraid I was going to be reprimanded by Norman.

I know that he was the one that took me aside when I had to cry in the phenomenon. of the first season. And I couldn't do it. I was too embarrassed because I wasn't an actor. I was just learning how to do this. Now I can, but I've also have 50 years experience behind me. Right. But I remember he's so scared of him. What was your relationship with Norman like? I had a wonderful relationship with Norman, but I don't think this is a word, but I pedestalized him. Oh, it's a good word. It should be a word. It should be a word. It should be a word. I'm not sure that it is. And I always remember when I went in to meet with him, and I didn't read.

No. I mean, you had experience and you had movies behind you. Right. And we were sitting at this, his giant conference table, and he said, McKenzie, close your eyes. I'm like, okay, I closed my eyes. And remember, that's not grown women here. We were 15 years old. Yeah. And I don't know if anybody else was in the room. I have no memory. All I saw was Norman Lear.

And so I closed my eyes and he said, in repose, meaning at rest, your face is angelic. Anybody ever said that to you before? Nothing of the kind. Nothing of the kind. Since people have said really lovely things to me, you know. Yeah. But I always adored Norman. And whenever we would get a script, you remember that?

the script it would get that up in the right hand corner it said Lear Polish. I still have all my scripts. I do too. I do too. I don't know if all of them say Lear Polish. No, no, no, no, because there was only one. It was with the first ones, yeah. I have my binder. Yeah, I have my one day to time binder. Do you remember those t-shirts that he had made for us? Developed by Norman Lear? I still have it. It doesn't fit me. Of course. It's like this big. And also

it was intimating something rather inappropriate. Yes, yes. So I don't wear that. I'm obviously. I can't fit in it. But I do have one that says one day to time. I also have that one. I don't have that. Same baseball shirt. Oh, okay. Well, I remember, I love Norman. I trusted Norman. And I remember years later, not many years later, but I wanted us to split the cost of doing a full page, happy birthday Norman or congratulations Norman. And I wanted to say, dear Uncle Norman. And you didn't want to do it.

I didn't? No. When? I don't know when. Wow. But then you said, okay. Because you said, I can't remember exactly what you said, but there was some sort of ridge that had developed or that was there or that was remembered from the past. We were still doing the show.

I think. I mean, it's been so long. And we worked on it for nine years. Yes. Eight for me. Yeah. But we did end up putting out that ad, and I still have that. Dear Uncle Norman.

And remember he would always write a note that would say, My dearest darling Mac, my dearest darling Val. Always dearest darling. Yeah. Such a good man. I woke up that morning to the news that he had passed away, and I just burst into tears. Like, I just lost it.

It felt like a big loss. Yeah. Because he'd been such a huge part of our lives for so long, even though I saw him rarely in the last probably 15, 20 years of my life. But when I did see him, it felt like home again. My biggest blessing with Norman was that I got to do the reimagining on Netflix with Rita Moreno. Yes. Oh, my God. And I got to see him.

He was there all the time. And still, I mean, Norman never changed up until the day he passed. He had a little hitch in his giddy-up. and wore hearing aids. But I remember at one run through, I went over to give him a kiss and he said, you know, I've always loved how you treat the fourth wall. That's like huge. Huge.

I was like, can you say that into my phone? Right, because a lot of people don't notice that. Yeah. It's a natural thing that happens with the experience that you have. and it's not necessarily, and not everybody does it. And most people keep their focus on the three walls. But when you're doing a sitcom that is done in front of an audience, you have to always remember that the audience is another character in the show.

Absolutely. And you always bring them into it. Yeah. But, I mean, playing to the three walls, and yet there is a fourth wall, but I don't think many of us consider that. Right. I didn't even know I was considering it. I didn't even know.

That must be from your film background, too. Maybe. Because part of it is you don't have to split the chairs at a table, so everybody gets the angle from camera four and camera one. You know, and you never want somebody's back to it. I always like directors that let somebody's back, and then do a pickup of someone around. But that's inside stuff.

That's inside stuff. I love Norman dearly. I love Norman dearly. And he was really, not necessarily encouraging, but he didn't pit us against each other. No. Like some people can do.

No. And I, in hindsight, recognized and loved that. Didn't realize it then that that was a lucky thing to have in some, but in a showrunner. Because you see that not happen in a lot of shows with women, young women, our age from then. One person, and I have made peace with this person and we've spoken. But Richard Masser wasn't very nice. No? No. He wasn't very

nice. But he was only around for the first season. He wasn't very nice. Wow. Yeah. And then when I met him, it was like at a Comic-Con or something. I saw him and I hadn't seen him. Or we had seen each other, all of us got together in New York. Oh, right. For the 75th. No, for the TV land awards. Was that the TV land? Or was it the 75th anniversary of CB. Yes. I don't remember. We got to bring someone with us on a private plane. Yeah.

That was cool. Massey was on the plane. Remember that? Yes. Puppy. But no, and then I saw him and he said, I don't even remember what it was. I don't even remember what I said. But whatever I said, I'm really sorry.

And I've always thought you were so incredibly talented. And we were all so young. And, you know, that kind of thing. I wonder how old he was. He's got to be. be 80. Okay, so is not that much older than us? No, he's got less than that.

You think? Yeah, although Bonnie died young. Bonnie died 69. Fuck, I know. You know, my father died at 65 because it was his own damn fault. But as I was approaching 65, I was like, I'm almost there, I'm almost there. Beat you! Beat you to the punch.

That's how I feel about 83, because both my parents died at 83. I'm like, okay, we'll see what happens at 83. Let's hope I don't kick it then. You know, I have this friend who's always saying, and she'll probably watch this. You know who you are. She's my best friend. And she's always saying, well, you know, we've probably got a good 15 years left. And I'm like, why do you keep bringing this up?

I don't think about that ever. I don't ever think. It's something I do think about. I'm like, if I'm lucky I got 20 years left. I'm 66, 76, 86. I never think about it. No? I'm just like, well, see what happens.

Yeah, I mean, you're right. See what happens. And living in the moment is much more precious and much more advantageous than, you know, wishing or not, you know, not knowing what you're going to. Or, you're having your focus on that, you know? And I'm always like, Deb. Yes, you, Deb.

I'm always like, Deb, you're always talking about this. Just please, just let's not. I'm not going to say it anymore, or try not to, or not think it. Because, oh my God, we were 15 when we met. I still can't get over that. I know. It's like another, obviously a different, totally different chapter in our books. We're nowhere near the same, you know, girls we were then.

Although we had our, I mean, all of the seeds of who we grew into were there. We both had in different levels, traumatic shit happened to us that we'll get into later. I don't feel like talking about it now. But my thing is, though, I was so jealous of you. I was so fucking jealous of you. You had like the perfect body. You were like this gorgeous, tall string bean, and all the clothes bit you perfectly,

and my hips kept getting bigger and bigger. And I mean, but I look back now, I'm like, holy shit, I was 110 pounds. What the hell was I complaining about back then? But we just had different body types. Really, it's that simple. And there's nothing. wrong with that. And I just, I hate that people compare themselves to others because I was one of them

that did that. Why do you think, is it just because we were two teenagers together? Because I know you had some issues with me too. I was so jealous of you. Why were we jealous of each other? I was so jealous of you. Perfect skin. Perfect hair. You must love when I broke out in those big zits once a month. I don't remember that at all. Oh my God. I remember. I remember I constantly had craters on my face, and, you know, they would put that thick makeup on, and then you could just see bumps covered by really thick makeup. But it was horrible. I mean, I look back on it, and I'm like, oh, my God, oh my God. But I was... What does that do to your self-esteem? It destroys it. It is, it's very painful. Especially when you're... Because you didn't have acne, acne. Oh, I had acne, acne. I never saw it. And I never saw anything wrong with your skin. So, I, I don't. And I never saw anything wrong with your skin. And all I was like, my God, Valerie's so pretty.

Valerie's so freaking pretty. And she's got this perfect hair, and it's thick and it's long. And you had the cutest hair, short and choppy and curly, and it was so fucking cute. Well. And I always wanted curly hair. I finally got it. I wanted to be like you. And I wanted to be like you.

Yeah. Oh, God. And how much pain did it cause each of us back in the day? So silly. Don't want to be like someone. else. Just be yourself. Exactly. Yeah.

And if you can't be... If you can't be yourself, be a monkey. Yeah. I love monkeys. Yeah. I love kitty cats. Oh, my God. I have my...

How many animals do you have now? I have two dogs and three cats. Okay. That's not bad. I have one dog and three cats. Sometimes five. When wolfies out of town, I take care of his cats. At one point, I had four cats and five cats and four dogs.

That's too much. same house that I've been in for 25 years. But they have a yard to run around in, so that's... It's true. Everything's fenced, the pool's fenced. No coyotes? No coyotes. They can't... I just saw one in my yard yesterday. I mean, one time I was taking Freddy, my original black pug for a walk.

It was night. I was walking down the street with Freddy, the noble pug. I called him Freddy the noble pug. And we get to, like, Devana Terrace, right? And Freddy goes, I didn't walk him on a leash because he was the perfect dog. We're going back a long time. And Freddie's like, look, Mommy, a dog. And he goes, he goes walking across the street, and he listened to every word I said.

I said, Freddie, back! He came running back to me. I picked up a 30-pound puck, and I'm like trying to run down the street back to the house. And every time I stop for breath, I hear, Oh, my God. It was following us. Oh, my God.

So when I got to my front gate, I slammed it shut. Yeah, they're... They're... They're... They're... They're... They're such beautiful animals, though. I just don't want them to grab my animals.

Yeah, otherwise, I will... It drives my cats crazy. I will fuck you up. Yeah, yeah. I will fuck you up if you fuck with my pets. Don't touch my babies. Yeah. I once had this boyfriend who was like,

it's very loud in your house, and I don't think that... And when are you going to get Shane to move out? and there's so many animals, and I'm like, yeah. Bye. So anyway, hello, goodbye. I thought you were great, but you're not great. Yeah. You know, just you got to take me as I am.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. But when did we start learning that? Because young girls in the business, it took me, gosh, up until just a few years ago, where I finally really settled into, like, this is who I am. And I'm, dare I say, proud of myself? Without it sounding arrogant or like it. And I think that was always my fear.

It's like, if I start being proud of myself or I start liking myself, that's going to make me arrogant and self-involved and narcissistic. I can't do that. But you can be proud of yourself. Enjoy who you are, do to the best of your ability, by including all of your flaws, by including all the things that. I used to be ashamed of. I'm like, okay, but that's the best I knew then. Yeah. And I struggled through, and I got through it without really hurting anybody.

I just mainly would hurt myself all the time. Absolutely. So how do you think we got from these innocent? And you started much younger than me. I started when I was 11. You started at, what, eight, nine? No. No, I did graffiti when I was 12, and that was my first acting job.

Oh, okay. I had only played Santa Claus in the school play before graffiti. But after graffiti film... How did you get graffiti? Like, how did that come about? Okay, so I went to hippie school. I went to Waldorf School. I don't know whether that was...

Which is a kind of education... My son graduated from Waldorf School. It's a kind of education where you're learning ancient Greek and French, and you're reading Plato in the fifth grade. See? And you're learning how to make stained glass, and you're making your own books. Always so much smarter than me in school. school.

Always. A different kind of smart. It was just a great school. And I mean, Julianna Margulies went there, all kinds of Waldorf graduates, very creative people. And I was in, we put together this band. My first name is Laura. And the band was called Class, Chris, Laura, Adam, and Scott.

Oh. Yeah. And, you know, Chris's dad was ahead of asylum records. and this dad was a, you know, a huge entertainment lawyer. You have a musical background. Right. So we put together this band, Chris, Laura, Adam, and Scott class. And because of the influence of our parents, little nepo babies,

before that even existed as a term, we got a spot at the open mic night at the Trubidor. No shit. No shit. And I was the lead singer, and we had these songs like, eating cold soup and a drinking beer. You know, we were little kids talking about being in prison and eating cold soup and drinking beer. Not that we hadn't had beer.

Cold soup, probably not. Unless it was a puree. And gazpacho. Right. Or cucumber soup. So Fred Ruse, the casting director, he cast the godfather. You know, he's just a wonderful, wonderful man. He was casting American graffiti.

Famous casting director. Very famous. He actually came to my 60th surprise birthday party. Fred came. He came up to me and he said, would you like to audition for a movie? And I was like, oh my God, that would be so cool. And my mom said, she's 12, you know.

And he said, no, no, no, I understand that. And I don't remember. You know trauma blocking. You know about trauma blocking. Okay. I don't know that that was traumatic, but I don't remember any of it. Yeah.

Apparently, I auditioned against 300 other girls, and I got the job. And then when the Blu-ray came out on the whatever anniversary, they had clips of the screen tests. I don't remember doing it. I need to see that. I don't remember doing it. I'm this little girl with like a braided leather bracelet. Remember those braided leather bracelets? Yeah, yeah.

Because, yeah, that's how I got American graffiti. What do you think the business, because I think the business gave us both strengths and weaknesses. And weakness isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just gave us things that shine a lot on what we need to work on. So what do you think those are for you? And I know of all the trauma, I mean, if anybody's read your book, they know it's been a trauma-filled childhood. And if anybody's read mine, they know that I had some in my life as well. Yes. But what do you think of the strengths and the not-so strengths this business gave you

as doing it, starting as such a young girl? I will tell you that I had no idea who I was. Yeah. I had no idea who I was. Nobody at that age does. I had no, but for many years. It kind of stunts your growth a little bit, doesn't it? Yeah. I had no idea of the truth of my own worth and value, which is inherent. It is inherent. It is not up for debate. It's God-given. It's ours.

Everybody has it. It belongs to us. Everybody has inherent worth and value. I don't give a fuck if you're on the street. Yep. There's plenty of people that tell you have none, but they're lying to you. They're lying. They don't know any better.

I will tell you that I felt like a trained monkey. Yeah. Look over here, here I am. I can tap dance. I can do this. I can do that. Now, is this in hindsight, or did you feel it then? hindsight.

Ah, yeah. You know? I was always very good at memorizing lines, and I could, you know, I could still. I don't know how that developed, but I was too. I don't get it. I don't get it. I don't know. As a little kid, I was a bookroom.

I was always in my bookworm, always in my room reading books. But I forgot the truth of who I really am was. And also, you know, God, if I probably had a sign on my back that said pray, The predators. P-R-E-Y. P-R-E-Y, not P-R-A-Y. Right. Because it was like I had a beacon shining from my head saying.

It's that innocence. It's that willing to, people please, it's that willing to be anything and everything for anybody. And this makes it of you. And this makes me bigger and older and, you know, and yet. Oh, they think I'm such a grown-up. Oh, my God. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. I remember the Rick Springfield story. Okay. And with that, I think you guys might want to hang out for our little special that we have going for Valerie's Place members. So for the full reveal that we have coming up next for Valerie Place members, stay tuned. If you're not a Valerie's Place member, you can go to Valerie's Place.com, and you can sign up and become a member. And that way you get early access to the podcast. You can call in and ask questions if you like, because we have some questions from some of our viewers that I want to play for Mac.

And you get all the inside stuff. So, uh, come back. See you soon. I have a really fun recipe for you today. You saw how easy that was. Look at all that flavor we packed into chicken breasts. Love the flavor of maple syrup, especially for these kind of muffins. I see all of your comments.

I swear I do. You are wondering, where's my show? This is so dang delicious. Smells divine. That's a jalapeno popper. Oh my God. It's so good. Yes, I'm back and I am cooking for all of you.

All right, Sophie. What are we reheating today? Welcome to Now Vowals Cooking. Guess what we're gonna make right now. We're alive. Hi everybody. How are you? You have to go to Valerie's Place.

That's where you can see our book group, this podcast. That's where you can go for all the cooking that you want to see. Oh, yes. I've missed cooking for you. I'm glad I finally get to do it again. I'm dancing. That's how good it is. So head to Valerie's Place.com and go ahead and sign up.

You guys are the original members, and I can't thank you enough. It's happy time.