DrewBarrymore 2009

Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, talk show host, and businesswoman. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she has received multiple awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award and nominations for nine Emmy Awards and a BAFTA. She was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by ''Time'' in 2023.

Barrymore rose to prominence as a child star with her breakout portrayal of Gertie in ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), followed by headline parts in '' Firestarter'' (1984), ''Poison Ivy'' (1992), ''Boys on the Side'' (1995), ''Scream'' (1996), ''Ever After'' (1998), ''Never Been Kissed'' (1999), ''Charlie's Angels'' (2000), and its 2003 sequel. She is known for her collaborations with Adam Sandler, having appeared alongside him in ''The Wedding Singer'' (1998), ''50 First Dates'' (2004), and '' Blended'' (2014). Her other notable film credits include ''Batman Forever'' (1995), ''Donnie Darko'' (2001), ''Confessions of a Dangerous Mind'' (2002), ''Music and Lyrics'' (2007), '' He's Just Not That Into You'' (2009), and '' Going the Distance'' (2010). She also starred in her directorial debut, '' Whip It'' (2009).

Barrymore received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Film for her portrayal of Edith Bouvier Beale in HBO's ''Grey Gardens'' (2009), as well as a Primetime Emmy nomination. She played Sheila Hammond on the Netflix series ''Santa Clarita Diet'' (2017–2019) and has hosted the daytime talk show ''The Drew Barrymore Show'' since 2020. In September 2023, she announced she would return to the show without writers during the then-ongoing WGA strike, but after backlash, reversed the decision the same month.

Barrymore is the founder of the production company Flower Films and has starred in several of its projects. She launched a range of cosmetics under the Flower banner in 2013. Her other business ventures include a range of wines, homeware and clothing. She has released four books, including her memoir ''Little Girl Lost'' (1990) and her photobook ''Find It in Everything'' (2014), both of which were ''New York Times'' bestsellers.

Early life

Ancestry

Drew Blythe Barrymore was born on February 22, 1975, in Culver City, California, to actor John Drew Barrymore and aspiring actress Jaid Barrymore (born Ildikó Jaid Makó), who was born in a displaced persons camp in Brannenburg, West Germany, to Hungarian World War II refugees. Through her father, Barrymore has three older half-siblings, including actor John Blyth Barrymore. Her parents divorced in 1984.

In 2023, Barrymore displayed an AncestryDNA test onscreen on her talk show, which assessed her genetic ancestry as primarily European, with 6% Northern Indian.

Barrymore was born into an acting family. All of her paternal great-grandparents, Maurice and Georgie Drew Barrymore, Maurice and Mae Costello (née Altschuk), and her paternal grandparents, John Barrymore and Dolores Costello, were actors,Stein Hoffman, Carol. ''The Barrymores: Hollywood's First Family''. University Press of Kentucky, 2001. with John being arguably the most acclaimed actor of his generation. Barrymore is a niece of Diana Barrymore, a grandniece of Lionel Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore and Helene Costello, and a great-great-granddaughter of Irish-born John and English-born Louisa Lane Drew, all of whom were also actors. She is a great-grandniece of Broadway idol John Drew Jr. and silent film actor, writer and director Sidney Drew.

Barrymore's godmothers are actress Sophia Loren and Lee Strasberg's widow, Anna Strasberg; Barrymore described her relationship with the latter as one that "would become so important to me as a kid because she was so kind and nurturing." Her godfather is filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

Barrymore's first name, Drew, was the maiden name of her paternal great-grandmother Georgie Drew, and her middle name, Blythe, was derived from the birth surname (Blyth) of her great-grandfather who later took the stage name of Maurice Barrymore. In her 1991 autobiography ''Little Girl Lost'', Barrymore recounted early memories of her abusive father, who left the family when she was six months old. She and her father never had a significant relationship and seldom spoke.

Childhood

Barrymore grew up on Poinsettia Place in West Hollywood, until she moved to Sherman Oaks at the age of seven. In her 2015 memoir ''Wildflower'', she says she spoke "like a valley girl" because she grew up in Sherman Oaks. She moved back to West Hollywood on becoming emancipated at age 14. She attended elementary school at Fountain Day School in West Hollywood and Country School. In the wake of her sudden stardom, Barrymore endured a notoriously troubled childhood. She was a regular at Studio 54 as a young girl, and her nightlife and constant partying became a popular subject with the media. She was placed in rehab at 13, and spent eighteen months in an institution for the mentally ill. A suicide attempt at 14 put her back in rehab, followed by a three-month stay with singer David Crosby and his wife. The stay was precipitated, Crosby said, because she "needed to be around some people that were committed to sobriety." Barrymore described this period of her life for ''Little Girl Lost.'' After a successful juvenile court petition for emancipation, she moved into her own apartment at the age of 15.

Career

1980–1989: Early roles as a childhood actress

Barrymore appeared in a dog food commercial when she was eleven months old. After her film debut with a small role in ''Altered States'', she played Gertie in ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''. Director Steven Spielberg felt she had the right imagination for the role after she impressed him with a story that she led a punk rock band. ''E.T.'' was the highest-grossing film of the 1980s and made Barrymore one of the most famous child actors of the time. She won the Young Artist Award for Best Young Supporting Actress and was nominated for the Rising Star Award at the British Academy Film Awards. In the eighth season of ''Saturday Night Live'', she became the youngest person to guest-host the series at 7 years old. Barrymore said that "nobody treated me like a kid there" and she didn't feel different than any other cast member despite her age.

In the 1984 film adaptation of Stephen King's 1980 novel '' Firestarter'', Barrymore played a girl with pyrokinesis, and the target of a secret government agency known as The Shop. That year, she also played a young girl divorcing her famous parents in ''Irreconcilable Differences'' and was nominated for her first Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. In his review in the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', Roger Ebert wrote: "Barrymore is the right actress for this role precisely because she approaches it with such grave calm."

Barrymore endured a troubled youth and continued acting during the decade. She starred in the anthology horror film '' Cat's Eye,'' also written by King. It received positive reviews and Barrymore was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actress. For ''Dangerous Liaisons'', Barrymore declined the role of Cecile, which went to Uma Thurman. Barrymore starred in the romance film '' See You in the Morning''. Vincent Canby of ''The New York Times'' criticized the "fashionable phoniness" of the film, but positively singled out Barrymore. In '' Far from Home'', she played a teenager who gets stranded with her father in a small, remote desert town. The film went largely unnoticed by audiences and received negative reviews from critics, who dismissed the sexual portrayal of her role.

1990–1999: Leading roles and stardom

Barrymore's rebelliousness played itself out on screen and in print. She played a poor teenage girl in ''Poison Ivy'', which was a box-office bomb, but was popular on video and cable. Her character "Ivy" was ranked at #6 on the list of the top 26 "bad girls" of all time by ''Entertainment Weekly''. Barrymore was 17 when she posed nude with her then-fiancé, actor Jamie Walters, for the cover of the July issue of ''Interview'' magazine; she also appeared nude in pictures inside the issue.

In ''Guncrazy'', Barrymore played a teenager who kills her abusive stepfather. ''Variety'' remarked that she "pulls off impressively" her character, and Barrymore was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film. She played the younger sister of a murdered ballerina in '' No Place to Hide'' and a writer followed by what is apparently her evil twin in '' Doppelganger''. Both films were panned by critics and failed to find an audience. She appeared in the western film '' Bad Girls'', which follows four former prostitutes on the run following a justifiable homicide and prison escape. Roger Ebert, in his review for the film, wrote for ''Chicago Sun-Times'': "What a good idea, to make a Western about four tough women. And what a sad movie."

Barrymore posed nude for the January 1995 issue of ''Playboy''. Soon after, her godfather Steven Spielberg gave her a quilt for her 20th birthday with a note that read, "Cover yourself up." Enclosed in the quilt were copies of her ''Playboy'' pictures which had been altered by Spielberg's art department so that she appeared fully clothed. Barrymore later said that she would not let her own child make the same choice she did.

While appearing on the ''Late Show with David Letterman'', Barrymore climbed onto the desk, flashed her breasts to David Letterman and gave him a kiss on the cheek as a birthday gift. She modeled in a series of Guess? jeans ads during this time. In the late 1990s, Barrymore re-established her image and continued to be a highly bankable star.

In ''Boys on the Side'', Barrymore played a pregnant girl attempting to escape from her abusive boyfriend. It was a box office success and was positively received by critics. In the superhero film ''Batman Forever'', she played one of the two female assistants for Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones).

Barrymore had a small role in Wes Craven's slasher film ''Scream'' (1996). She read the film's script and was interested in being involved, approaching the production team herself to request a role. The producers were quick to take advantage of her unexpected interest and signed her to play the lead role of Sidney Prescott. However, after unexpected commitments, Barrymore played Casey Becker in a minor role and Neve Campbell took the leading one.Diana Rico (October 31, 2001). ''E! A True Hollywood Story: Scream''. E! (Television Production) ''Scream'' was released to critical acclaim and made $173 million worldwide. She was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.

In ''The Wedding Singer'' (1998), Barrymore played a waitress in love with the titular character, played by Adam Sandler. ''Variety'' found the film to be a "spirited, funny and warm saga" that serves them up "in a new way that enhances their most winning qualities". Budgeted at $18 million, the film grossed $123.3 million internationally. In ''Home Fries'' (1998), Barrymore played a pregnant woman unknowingly falling for the stepson of the late father of her baby. She starred in the historical drama film ''Ever After'' (1998), which made $98 million and was inspired by the fairy tale Cinderella. Roger Ebert said about Barrymore and the film: "she can hold the screen and involve us in her characters".

Barrymore voiced the titular anthropomorphic Jack Russell terrier in the Christmas television film ''Olive, the Other Reindeer'' and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. After establishing Flower Films, Barrymore and Nancy Juvonen produced the company's first film, ''Never Been Kissed'', in which Barrymore played an insecure copy editor for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and a high school student. While reviews from critics were mixed, ''CNN'' noted: "There are two words which describe why this film works: Drew Barrymore. Her comedic timing and willingness to go all out in her quest for a laugh combine to make ''Never Been Kissed'' a gratifying movie-going experience". The film was a commercial success, grossing $84.5 million.

2000–2008: Established actress

In ''Charlie's Angels'', Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu played the trio of investigators in Los Angeles. The film was a major box office success and helped solidify Barrymore's standing in her production company as one of the film's producers. Barrymore starred in ''Riding in Cars with Boys'', as a teenage mother in a failed marriage with the drug-addicted father (based on Beverly Donofrio's real-life story). When the production of ''Donnie Darko'' was threatened, Barrymore stepped forward with financing from the company and played the title character's English teacher. Although the film was less than successful at the box office in the wake of 9/11, it reached cult status after the DVD release, inspiring numerous websites devoted to unraveling the plot twists and meanings.

Barrymore starred in George Clooney's directorial debut ''Confessions of a Dangerous Mind'', based on the autobiography of television producer Chuck Barris. Barrymore reprised her role in '' Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' and starred with Ben Stiller in '' Duplex''. Flower Films and Happy Madison Productions produced the film ''50 First Dates'', in which Barrymore played an amnesiac woman and Sandler played a marine veterinarian. Summing up Barrymore's appeal, Roger Ebert, in his review for the film, remarked that Barrymore displayed a "smiling, coy sincerity", in what he described as an "ingratiating and lovable" film. ''50 First Dates'' was a commercial success; it made US$120.9 million in North America and US$196.4 million worldwide.In the 2005 American remake adaptation of the 1997 British film ''Fever Pitch'', Barrymore played the love interest of an immature schoolteacher (Jimmy Fallon). The film grossed a modest US$50 million worldwide and had generally favorable reviews by critics who felt it "has enough charm and on-screen chemistry between allon and Barrymoreto make it a solid hit". Barrymore starred in the 2006 animated film ''Curious George'', based on the book series of the same name. She and Hugh Grant starred in ''Music and Lyrics'', which focuses on the relationship that evolves between a former pop music idol and an aspiring writer as they struggle to compose a song for a reigning pop diva. The romantic comedy, released in February 2007, received largely positive reviews, with ''The Washington Post'' finding the two to be "great together" in it. The film was a commercial success, grossing US$145 million globally.

In Curtis Hanson's poker film '' Lucky You'', Barrymore played an aspiring singer and the subject of the affections of a talented player. In Raja Gosnell's film ''Beverly Hills Chihuahua'', Barrymore voiced the titular character, a richly pampered pet who gets dognapped in Mexico and attempts to avoid the Dobermann