Drew Blythe Barrymore was born on February 22, 1975 in Los Angeles,
California to actor John Drew Barrymore, Jr. and actress Ildiko Jaid
Barrymore. Her great uncle and aunt were the legendary thespian
siblings Lionel and Ethel Barrymore. Her grandfather was the equally
famous John Barrymore, Sr. Producer and director Steven Spielberg is
her godfather.
Drew was born a few months after her parents had seperated. Her
performing career started very early when she first did a Puppy Choice
dog food commercial at 11 months and at 2 years old, she got her first
actual role in a made-for-TV movie, Suddenly Love. Her feature film
debut came at 5 years old, appearing as William Hurt's daughter in
Altered States. Drew's big break came in 1982 when she was cast as
Gertie, the little girl in Spielberg's E.T. The Extraterrestrial. The
movie catapulted her to international stardom.
Unbelievably, her downhill spiral started just a couple of years
later, when she got drunk for the first time at a birthday party for
Rob Lowe. Her movie career was still on the rise, though, with roles
in Firestarter and Irreconcilable Differences. Drew started doing
marijuana at 10 and cocaine followed a few years later. In 1988, she
entered a drug rehab center but only lasted 18 days. Later that year,
she was readmitted for 3 months and came out with renewed
determination for a fresh start. Unfortunately, she was unable to
completely shake her addictions and regressed back to drugs. Rock
bottom came in July, 1989 when she tried to commit suicide by sla****ng
her wrists. Another 3 months of rehab followed and this time, Drew
emerged triumphant.
Drew received full emancipation from her mother when she turned 15 and
was now in complete control of her own destiny. She wrote the
autobiographical book, Little Girl Lost in 1991 and thus began a new
chapter in her life. That same year, she starred in Poison Ivy and
2000 Malibu Road, a short-lived TV series.
1995 proved to be a ground breaking year for young Barrymore. She
appeared in a controversial pictoral in Playboy magazine as well as 3
movies, Mad Love, Batman Forever and Boys On The Side. And who will
ever forget her birthday dance for Late Night host David Letterman,
where she bared her breasts for him? In 1996 came Scream and Woody
Allen's Everyone Says I Love You, both well accepted by fans and
critics alike.
1998 saw her team up with Adam Sandler in the hit The Wedding Singer
and later that year, she starred in the Cinderella-esque Ever After, a
surprise summer blockbuster. Drew was able to showcase her comedic
talents in 1999's Never Been Kissed. The role required her to appear
for a good part of the movie as a homely-looking high school nerd,
which she did with great success.
Drew's 2000 project, Charlie's Angels:The Movie, premiered in the
first week of November and became one of the big hit movies of the
year. Not only does she star in the movie (with Cameron Diaz and Lucy
Liu) but she produced it as well, through her company Flower Films.
This is actually her second stint at producing, the first one being
Ever After. The other big event for Drew in 2000 was becoming engaged
to comedian Tom Green after meeting on the set of Charlie's Angels.
The couple eloped in March of 2001 and became husband and wife.
2001 showed no slowing down for Drew. Her big production this year was
Riding In Cars With Boys, a widely acclaimed role about a single teen
age mother and the son she has at 15. In March, she eloped with and
married comedian Tom Greene but only five months later, Greene filed
for divorce, ironically siting "irreconcilable differences".
Upcoming this year for Barrymore will be Confessions of a Dangerous
Mind with George Clooney and Julia Roberts, Duplex with Ben Stiller
and the much anticipated Charlie's Angels 2: Full Throttle.
Barbarella, the continuation of the 1968 Jane Fonda cult classic is
scheduled for release in 2004.
Part of Drew Barrymore's appeal is obvious: young, beautiful,
talented. The tease in her doesn't hurt, either. But it's more than
that. She fell into the same trap that a lot of young Hollywood
celebrities do. She made it out while others didn't. The resolve and
determination Drew has shown only endears her that much more to her
fans and speaks as much about her character as anything else. Bill
Murray summed it up best at the 25th Anniversary of Saturday Night
Live when he spotted Drew in the audience and said: "We're all glad
you cleaned up."
That "little girl from E.T." has definitely come a long way.
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