[5] Beginning as a part-time copy writer for Lord & Thomas, Valentine was among the first fired from the advertising firm when the Great Depression began.
[2] Although the concept of "teenager" as a distinct demographic segment of the population was a relatively new idea at that time,[5] Valentine proposed a magazine for teen-age girls.
[2] Noticing the wide popularity of a King Features Syndicate comic strip by cartoonist Hilda Terry that focused on the trials and tribulations of a typical teenager's life entitled Teena which began running in July 1944, Valentine convinced Annenberg that teenage girls needed a magazine of their own.
[5] Valentine believed that teenage girls were an underserved demographic and had the potential to become an important and lucrative new consumer market segment.
[6][8] In 1958, Valentine was hired by Good Housekeeping magazine to write a column, Young Wife's World, where she remained until she retired in 1963.