The actress Valerie Bertinelli has seen some things. A child star who vied for the unofficial role of America’s Sweetheart during her run on the 70s hit One Day at a Time, Bertinelli famously later married rock icon Eddie Van Halen. She eventually divorced Eddie–who by all accounts led the prototypical rock star lifestyle. Later she ballooned in weight. Then she lost the weight. Did a bunch of ads about losing the weight. Made a TV comeback on the popular Hot in Cleveland show, where the only woman on the set who may have lived through more than Valerie Bertinelli is her 92-year-old co-star Betty White.
You might think that after this swinging life of ups and downs Valerie Bertinelli would be hard to shock. But on the fascinating TLC genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are?, Bertinelli learned she had scandal in her past. Well, scandal by century-old standards anyway. Her grandmother was born out of wedlock! Perish the thought, as might have been said then. It certainly meant they would have been looked down upon at the time, though her great-grandfather and great-grandmother eventually did get married. The actress traveled from Pennsylvania to Italy to London to trace her roots. So the fornication–literally meaning sex outside marriage–such a big part of the rock star scene goes way back on Valerie Bertinelli’s side of the family. She’s a natural.