What must it be like when your best explanation of your childhood is “Little Girl Lost?” Most people in my generation may not know that when Drew Barrymore was growing up her life was far from easy. We may all know the movies that she has been in now and that when she was a child she played the little sister in the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.  However, there is a huge chunk of her life that is missing.  Drew Barrymore may be bright and cheerful today, but there was a time when life could not have been more difficult.

When Drew Barrymore was nine years old she had begun smoking.  She began drinking alcohol at age eleven. Each time she moved on to a drug more dangerous than the last.  She began smoking marijuana at age twelve.  She was not even a teenager when she was drinking and smoking cigarettes and pot. When she turned thirteen and became a teenager she started snorting crack cocaine, which landed her in rehab.  No one likes to admit that they have a problem and neither did Drew.  Drew denied her problems, but was eventually let out of rehab.  When she was only fourteen years old Drew had attempted suicide.  After her suicide attempt she was immediately rushed back into rehab.  Drew finished rehab, but did not go back to her family.  Instead, David Crosby and Mrs. Crosby had Drew Barrymore live with them for a period of three months to make sure that she did not experience any relapses.  David Crosby stepped up to help Drew get her life back because he knew how hard it was to battle against drugs once you are hooked.  He served eleven months jail time in 1982 and had his two children taken away from him and put up for adoption.

Drew Barrymore on the cover of Teen People March 1998

In 1990, Drew Barrymore released her autobiography entitled Little Girl Lost. She was only fifteen years old when she published her story.  She was striving to change her life and age sixteen Drew was emancipated and moved into her own apartment. She has never relapsed with drugs.  Her life began turning around.  She emerged back into the movie industries in 1992, starring in Poison Ivy at age seventeen.  Her movie was a failure, but she moved on.  At age seventeen not only was Drew Barrymore engaged, but she also posed nude with her fiancé, Jamie Walters, for the cover of a magazine. The same year she underwent breast reduction surgery. There were still many doubts about Drew Barrymore. However, at eighteen years old, she earned a second Golden Globe nomination for her role in Guncrazy.  In 1995, she posed for Playboy and on her twentieth birthday she received a gift from Steven Spielberg, the director of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Enclosed there was a quilt, a note, and a photo-shopped version of her Playboy pictures. The note read, “Cover yourself up,” and her pictures had been altered to look as though she was fully clothed.  She did not take his advice and latter appeared nude in five of her films, and flashed David Letterman on the Late Show.

Eventually Drew Barrymore’s life seemed to calm down and people began to accept Drew and see her talent as an actress.  She has appeared in countless movies.  Her carefree, smiley, and funny personality has gotten her far. She has lived more life than any typical person will ever live.  In many ways she has lived different lives.  She really cannot be blamed for her actions as a young girl, I mean who was watching her and looking out for her. Drew Barrymore was born on February 22, 1975 to John Drew Barrymore and Ildikó Jaid Barrymore. Her mother, Ildikó Jaid Barrymore, got her daughter into more trouble than anything else.  She would ask Drew to get her into clubs and such.  Drew Barrymore is still not speaking to her mother.  Drew’s father, John Drew Barrymore, was rarely around at one time he was not even living with his wife and child.  However, Drew had a chance to mend her relationship with her father before he died in 2004.

Drew Barrymore on the cover of Teen People January 1999

Despite her crazy childhood and teenage years, Drew Barrymore has really changed her life for the better.  She has once again been welcomed into most of our homes.  Her fans love her.  She went from being completely wild and a danger to herself into a loveable actress.  She has a bubbly feel good attitude about everything that she does.  She was able to change her life as fifteen-year-old girl and now she is a successful thirty-four year old actress showing off her natural talent.  She has been in over 50 TV shows and movies.  Including E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Charlie’s Angels, Riding in Cars with Boys, 50 First Dates, Curious George, Beverley Hills Chihuahua, and much more.  She directed her latest movie, Whip It. Drew Barrymore changed her life, and she can be an inspiration to all of the people struggling with drugs and extreme childhood neglect.  Her life may not have started off well, but she has taken the opportunity to learn and grow as a person.  She remains optimistic and her career and talent is growing exponentially.  She continues to challenge herself with different roles and now she is even experimenting with directing.

Sources:

http://www.casenet.com/people/drewbarrymore.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Barrymore

http://www.orchidrecoverycenter.com/blog/childhood-drug-addiction-drew-barrymore/