Although she has a very large body of work, with 37 years working as an actor, director and writer, most of the world knows Valerie as DORIS SCHWARTZ from the television series FAME. She became a globally recognized star in a role that moved deeply into the hearts of people young and old, inspiring both professional artists and artists yet to be realized.

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Her other work as an actor includes having been a television-series regular on YOU AGAIN ,ALL IS FORGIVEN, HOTEL, FIRST AND TEN, DREAM ON, and BEGGARS AND CHOOSERS as well as multiple movies made for television. In films, she made her debut in the disco classic THANK GOD IT’S FRIDAY. Her other films include, WELCOME HOME ROXY CHARMICHAEL, BAR HOPPING and ROCK STAR.

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She appeared on Broadway in Neil Simon’s I OUGHT TO BE IN PICTURES, Off-Broadway in SURVIVING GRACE and Woody Allen’s THE FLOATING LIGHTBULB, as well as in BABY MAKES SEVEN and TELEGRAM FROM HEAVEN (Los Angeles), and A MOTHER A DAUGH​TER AND A GUN (Chicago). She is a long time improvisor and performs yearly at the Groundlings Theater with various groups. 



Having resided mostly on the other side of camera for the last seventeen years,Valerie recently entered the wonderful world of short form films with TRIXIE’S SCORE in picked up by Shorts International and is slated to direct the indy feature OFFER IN COMPROMISE this fall teamed with producer Tani Cohen. As a Writer/Director she penned BELTERS for Profile Films America, AN UNEXPECTED GIFT for The Hallmark Channel and NORWEGIAN WOOD, a teen comedy for Kinetic Arts. Valerie directed the action-thriller BOUND BY LIES, with Kristie Swanson and Stephen Baldwin for Lightening Entertainment and most recently the TRIXE'S SCORE picked up for distribution by Shorts Internatinal.

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Over the years she has taught as an adjunct faculty member at UCLA, The Maine Film and Photographic Workshops and as a guest lecturer at the Colorado Institute Of Art, the University Of Southern Maine, and the University of Central Florida. She created MASTER CLASS for Euro Disney and in 2008 joined the International faculty of The Asian Academy of Film and Television in New Delhi, India.

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Valerie is also a singer-songwriter/musician with gold and platinum records for her work in FAME. Her CD GROWNUP sells worldwide and she is currently working on her second book THE NOBLE TRUTHZ.