Valerie Bertinelli Polls Fans After Finding '70s Lingerie Shoot Photos While Decluttering Her House: 'Toss Or Save?'

Valerie Bertinelli is clearing out her house, but a pair of photos from the ’70s left her wondering what deserves to stay. The One Day at a Time star brought her 1.7 million Instagram followers along as she dug through decades of keepsakes from her life and career.

She revealed what surfaced during the cleanup:

“#throwback 1979? I’ve been doing a massive amount of decluttering around the house, going through old memorabilia… and stumbled upon a bunch of these negatives.”

Among the finds were two never-before-seen shots of Bertinelli at 19, posing in black lingerie and strappy high heels while straddling a chair. Now 66, she estimated the photos were taken in 1979, four years after she began starring as quick-witted teenager Barbara Cooper on One Day at a Time.

Bertinelli admitted the negatives had long slipped her mind:

“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. But I have an idea…”

That idea involved her brother, David Bertinelli… and the timing couldn’t have been better.

The siblings have teamed up for Undeveloped - Stories from the Vault, a new project exploring Bertinelli’s history through never-before-seen photographs taken by David. It premiered the same day she shared the negatives and is available through Valerie’s Place, the digital platform she launched in 2026.

Still undecided, Bertinelli asked fans to weigh in:

“Maybe I should get him to do something with them. Or not? Toss or save?”

The verdict came quickly. More than 600 comments piled up within 24 hours, with fans overwhelmingly voting to save them.

Take a look at the rediscovered photos below:

One suggestion appeared to catch Bertinelli’s attention, earning a “like” from the actress.

The commenter proposed:

“[M]ake a little scrapbook with all of the photos you want. Maybe like this particular one…. So whenever you are feeling nostalgic, you can take it out.”

Others argued the photos were worth keeping for more than nostalgia. One fan insisted they were “part of your history [and] legacy,” while another pointed to Bertinelli’s previous struggles with body image, writing, “Looking at this, I ask why???... You were, and always will be HOT.”

The comments section had plenty more to say about whether Bertinelli should save the throwback shots:

@lotusmoondesign11/Instagram

@pflugman_1967/Instagram

@thrifteesaves/Instagram

@techlady58/Instagram

@kristina_mrsw/Instagram

@thebarpilots1/Instagram

@paula.b.laporte/Instagram

@breezeedeee/Instagram

@sfhemenway/Instagram

@jillybean01usa/Instagram

@dynamitediane68/Instagram

@sunnyanderson/Instagram

Bertinelli has spent most of her life in front of the camera. The Golden Globe-winning actress broke through at age 15 on One Day at a Time, which aired on CBS from 1975 to 1984. She later appeared in Touched by an Angel and Hot in Cleveland and won two Daytime Emmy Awards for her work as a Food Network host.

In 2024, Bertinelli joined The Drew Barrymore Show as a lifestyle expert before launching her own digital platform, Valerie’s Place, in 2026.

She’s also revisiting another chapter of her career with the podcast Still Hot in Cleveland, which looks back at the TV Land sitcom she starred in alongside Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and the late Betty White.

In a recent interview with People, Bertinelli described revisiting the series as bittersweet, believing Hot in Cleveland still had more stories to tell.

Bertinelli made it clear she wasn’t ready for the sitcom era to end:

“I’m still more than grateful for the experience, and I’m still pi**ed off for canceling us a year too early in my mind.”

Decades later, Bertinelli is still revisiting pieces of a career that began when she was a teenager, sometimes in ways even she didn’t expect. Whether those long-forgotten negatives earn a permanent place in the collection is now up to her.