“I long ago came to the understanding that the problems I once had with food were not merely about food. Eating was a way of trying to fill up the emptiness, to provide comfort. It was a substitute for love. I'm not referring to the love that comes from someone else. The love that was missing from my life was self-love. With age I've discovered a sense of worth that makes me less hungry. A piece of cake is just a piece of cake.”

American actress

Valerie Harper was an American actress, best known for her television work in the 1970s. She was active first as a Broadway dancer, making her debut as a replacement in Li'l Abner. She became widely known for playing Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and later on its spin-off, Rhoda. For The Mary Tyler Moore Show, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series three times, and she later won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Rhoda.