She was eight when she had her first drink.
At 13, she was placed in rehab.
But somehow, this star overcame her demons, and today she is one of the most renowned and celebrated actresses in the world.
A troubled childhood
This legendary actress, who shot to fame in Hollywood at a young age, has a story defined by struggle, growth, and ultimate success.
Her journey began at just 11 months old, when she appeared in a dog food commercial that hinted at the stardom awaiting her.
At just seven years old, she was already a film sensation, famously pouring Baileys over her ice cream in a way that captivated hearts all over the world. A notable interview with Johnny Carson showcased her precociousness, humor, and flirtatious charm.
She was irresistibly cute, and while other kids didn’t always understand her — she admits she rarely related to her peers — audiences of all ages fell in love with her.
She made her screen debut at just five in Ken Russell’s sci-fi horror Altered States, but it was two years later, in Steven Spielberg’s E.T., that truly catapulted her to fame.
“I don’t think I understood what was good, or pleasurable, or bad. I was probably chasing joy, but I don’t think it was the real joy. I was just too young to know,” she once reflected.
After her breakthrough, everyone knew the child actress, but few knew the real little girl behind the fame. The family she was born into had a notorious history of alcohol, drugs, and addictive behavior.
Behind the glamour, her childhood was shadowed by her father’s alcoholism and her mother’s unpredictable behavior. Her father wasn’t really part of her childhood, and she pieced together who he was over the years from little things her mother would mention. Growing up without him and wondering why he was absent haunted her — questions she finally asked her mother at age 10.
After her parents divorced when she was only nine, her mother brought her into the wild scene of Studio 54, where she was introduced to drugs and mingled with famous young men. Overnight fame from E.T. gave her both stardom and unexpected freedom.
”I really parented myself, so I am not mad at my mom or dad. I was more disappointed in my own parenting,” she once explained.
Started drinking at 9
By the age of eight, the young star was already calling herself a “party girl,” tagging along with her mother and her friends on nightly outings — sometimes five nights a week. By 11, she was struggling with alcohol, and by 12, she had spiraled into full-blown addiction.
Her chaotic lifestyle landed her in rehab at just 12. But at 13, tragedy struck: the young girl made a desperate suicide attempt, leading to an 18-month stay in a mental institution where she battled drugs and alcohol.
Reflecting on that time, she later admitted:
”When I was 13, that was probably the lowest. Just knowing that I really was alone. And it felt… terrible.”
Afterward, the star spent three months living with singer David Crosby and his wife. Crosby explained that the stay was necessary because she ”needed to be around some people that were committed to sobriety.”
However, her rebellious streak persisted. She ran away, wrestled with anger, and came to realize that her parents’ flaws had contributed to her turbulent path.
Locked up
Surprisingly, she found some value in the institution her mother had placed her in. It was a harsh environment, and the actress had no chance of leaving for a year and a half.
”My mom locked me up in an institution. But it did give an amazing discipline. I needed that whole insane discipline,” she revealed.
She describes her time at the facility as “the best thing” that could have happened to her. “It taught me boundaries. Until that point, I had none,” she explained.
By 14, the teen actress took the extraordinary step of legally divorcing her parents. She moved into her own apartment at the age of 15
Despite the loneliness and turmoil of her youth, she held onto a belief in goodness, refusing to let the darkness consume her.
Hollywood, however, wasn’t kind.
Cleaning toilets
After her early success, she found herself unemployable at 15. By 16, she was cleaning toilets, working odd jobs, and waiting tables — far removed from the glitz of her child stardom. Yet she carried no bitterness, remembering her father’s advice: “Expectations are the mother of deformity.”
Her twenties brought a mix of rebellion, adventure, and reinvention. Two marriages and divorces, wild TV appearances, including dancing on David Letterman’s desk, and a rediscovery of her youthful spirit shaped this chapter of her life.
She eventually became the queen of romantic comedies, starring in classics like The Wedding Singer, Never Been Kissed, and 50 First Dates, charming audiences with her perfect mix of vulnerability, humor, and quirkiness.
And now, maybe you know who I’m talking about? That’s right — it’s none other than Drew Barrymore.
As Barrymore’s career soared, motherhood shifted her priorities back in 2012.
She then stepped back from Hollywood to focus on raising her daughters, Olive and Frankie, with then-husband Will Kopelman.
What really pissed people off
After Barrymore revealed she’d rather stay home with her children than spend all her time on movie sets — while still running her successful beauty brand — she faced backlash.
From whom? “Women!” she said.
“For saying, you can’t have it all. But that’s not what I meant. I absolutely believe you can do anything you want; I just realized I can’t do everything at once. Trying would mean a poor result, and that really pissed people off.”
She says the chaos of her early life pushed her to be the kind of mother and role model she never had. Her father, actor John Drew Barrymore, was violent and struggled with alcoholism. Her mother and manager, Jaid, was born in a displaced persons camp in Germany to Hungarian World War II refugees. She was a free-spirited, but a reckless parent with little sense of responsibility.
That’s why Drew created a warm, screen-free home, instilling strict rules while cherishing family moments, movie nights, shared meals, and quiet conversations.
“I didn’t have parents, I was the parent to them. It was all totally upside-down,” she said.
Drew Barrymore net worth
In 2023, Barrymore relocated to Manhattan to keep her children closer to Kopelman. Today, she’s not only a successful actress but also a businesswoman and real estate owner. According to Celebrity Net Worth, she’s worth $85 million — roughly half from her acting career, with the rest coming from her business ventures and property investments.
She hosts the daytime talk show The Drew Barrymore Show and over the years, she has often spoken about what it was like to be a movie star as a child.
”If I had tried to give advice to my younger self, I wouldn’t have listened!” she told People in 2024. ”When you’re young, you think you know everything. I was very stubborn and rebellious, so I didn’t just ignore advice — I basically did the exact opposite of whatever anyone told me.”
Drew Barrymore’s journey from a troubled child star to a beloved Hollywood icon is a story of resilience, courage, and transformation. Turning 50, she reflected on her life and revealed how much she now values her freedom and independence.
”You know how sometimes you just feel ready? Like, deep in your bones, something shifts, and you realize – you’re stepping into a whole new season of life, and it actually feels right?” she wrote in a personal essay for US Weekly.
”That’s me. Right now. Fifty years old. And I have to say…I think I love it here.”
Drew Barrymore didn’t just survive her chaotic past — she turned it into a story of triumph, proving that even the wildest beginnings can lead to a life of love, laughter, and enduring success! Feel free to share this story on Facebook if you also think Drew is an inspiring woman.
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