Valerie Bertinelli encouraged 3,451 people, mostly women, to nurture themselves as the theme of the Central California Women’s Conference suggested.

Bertinelli joins a long list of stars who have spoken at the conference, which is now in its 27th year. That list includes such noteables as Helen Hunt, Jamie Lee Curtis, Geena Davis and Marie Osmond. The Hot in Cleveland star answered questions and inspired those in attendance with her keynote address.

“Nurturing begins with a deep breath and a scary first step across the chasm of fear,” Bertinelli said. “Try to be more like (artist) Georgia O’Keeffe, scared but fearless when it comes to what you want to do and more importantly what you need to do.”

Valerie Bertinelli was generous in sharing her experiences in life. She began as a child star and moved on to her early marriage with rocker Eddie Van Halen.

The young couple had a son, who is now 23.

Valerie Bertinelli also spoke on her weight gain and dramatic weight loss, as well as finding new love and a new life with husband Tom Vitale.

Even plastic surgery wasn’t off the table. When one audience member asked if she had ever had any work done, Valerie Bertinelli left the stage, walked up to her questioner and lifted her hair from around her face so that the woman could inspect it for scars.

Upon finding none, the woman gave up.

“No,” Bertinelli, who is now 54 stated. “Needles in the face and cutting is scary. Never say never, but not yet.”

She summed her message up like this,

“Altogether it’s about having the guts to say to yourself I can do better and I’m going to figure out the ways to do it,” Bertinelli said.

She continued, “Life is all about change. The trick is to change for the better in ways that make us feel better about yourselves and our lives.”

Great advice from Valerie Bertinelli for women everywhere!