“I really developed an early love for ballet. Like most dancers, I am still 'first' a dancer. I'm very proud of it. Once you are a dancer, the physicality never leaves you, nor does the strength. Hopefully, it keeps you like an athlete.”

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.