Valerie Bertinelli People Magazine Bikini Cover – Valerie Bertinelli, for the first time in almost 30 years, is wearing a bikini in public. At 48-years-old, the actress and weight-loss spokesperson for Jenny Craig shows off her super-fit body on the latest cover of People magazine.

Two years ago, Bertinelli tipped the scales at 172 pounds. At 5’4” tall, that was 40 pounds more than her goal weight. After about nine months on Jenny Craig, she was down to 132pounds. She exercised on her own by walking up to 10,000 steps a day then hired a personal trainer in December. Soon she was running five times a week.

Valerie Bertinelli

During the last three weeks that Bertinelli refers to as the bikini “homestretch” she trimmed her caloric intake to 1,200 from 1,700 and gave up her regular “splurge” of Champaign. She said, “It was crunch time – like getting ready for your class reunion.” She now says she’s in the best shape of her life.

Bertinelli was ready for a challenge. She told People, “I thought, if I’m so afraid of a bikini, there’s something wrong. And so I had to get back into one.”

Valerie is best known for her role a Barbara on the long-running television series, One Day at a Time. She has also starred in Sydney and Touched by an Angel.

Bertinelli was married to Eddie Van Halen and they have a son, Wolfgang. They divorced in 2007.