Mackenzie Phillips opens up about wild cocaine-fueled sitcom days with co-star - Page Six

Mackenzie Phillips told Fox News Digital at the Chiller Theatre Expo that she and Valerie Bertinelli drank wine and used cocaine together during breaks while working on "One Day at a Time."

Mackenzie Phillips is looking back on her "One Day at a Time" years with honesty, humor and a clearer understanding of what was happening behind the scenes.

The 66-year-old actress, who starred as Julie Cooper on the hit sitcom opposite Valerie Bertinelli, told Fox News Digital that one memory from the show’s run might still surprise fans today.

"Oh, I don't know. Oh, okay. So this might surprise you that during lunch break, Valerie and I would drive to my house, get in the pool, drink wine, and snort coke," Phillips said.

Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli were 15 and 14 years old when they began filming "One Day At a Time." (Christopher Willard/ABC via Getty Images; CBS/Getty via Images)

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Phillips quickly clarified that Bertinelli has spoken openly about that period herself.

"But Valerie talks about it openly, so it's not like I'm pulling her covers or anything," she said. "The thing was that I was the, you know, Valerie didn't have the kind of addiction that I had, she didn't have addiction."

The former child star said drugs were also present behind the scenes of the sitcom.

"And you know, so we would do coke together in the dressing room and stuff," Phillips said. "I just happened to be the one that got caught. And thank God I got caught, you know?"

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Phillips and Bertinelli became household names as teenage sisters on "One Day at a Time," the CBS sitcom that ran from 1975 to 1984. Phillips played rebellious older sister Julie, while Bertinelli starred as younger sister Barbara Cooper.

The two were close in age and grew up together under the glare of sitcom fame. Their real-life friendship, however, lasted far longer than the show.

During a 2022 appearance on the "Behind the Velvet Rope" podcast, Phillips reflected on why her bond with Bertinelli endured long after their teenage years in Hollywood.

"We were teenagers and now we're women of a certain age and we loved each other," Phillips said at the time. "We loved the people that we worked with. We were a family."

Phillips acknowledged that her addiction complicated that bond for years.

"You know, and that I guess, you know, that we certainly had our years where I was, you know, out of my mind and Valerie was like okay," she said.

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The actress recalled repeatedly reaching out to Bertinelli during earlier periods of sobriety, even when she knew the friendship needed time to heal.

"There were times where, you know, I would drive over Coldwater Canyon and I would know where Val and Ed lived and I would just call and leave her a voicemail and say I just drove past the house I want you to know I'm six months sober, I just drove past the house I want you to know I'm a year sober," Phillips said.

She said she did not expect Bertinelli to respond right away.

MacKenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli star as Julie and Barbara Cooper in the CBS series One Day at a Time, which aired from 1975 to 1984 and followed Ann Romano and her daughters moving back to Indianapolis after a divorce. (CBS/Getty Images)

"It was like I was patient because I know I had a lot of repair to do," Phillips said. "And I said you don't have to call me back I just want you to know I'm thinking of you and I love you and one day the phone rang."

The friendship remains a meaningful part of Phillips’ life. In April 2025, Phillips marked Bertinelli’s 65th birthday with a tribute on Instagram, writing, "Happy Birthday, Val! Now we're both 65. I love you. ❤️ #sisters #odaat #soberaf #family #medicare 🥳."

For Phillips, the ability to speak about her past without being consumed by it is part of the resilience she says has carried her forward.

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When asked by Fox News Digital what keeps her grounded today, Phillips pointed to faith and perspective.

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