Drew Barrymore(I)
- Producer
- Actress
- Director
Since melting audiences' hearts at the tender age of six - in Steven Spielberg's beloved sci-fi blockbuster, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - Drew Barrymore has emerged as one of the most endearing and singularly talented actresses of her generation. Born in Culver City, California to actors John Drew Barrymore and Jaid Barrymore, the clutches of fame were near inescapable for young Drew, her father being a member of the esteemed showbiz dynasty fronted by stage star Maurice Barrymore, his thespian wife Georgiana and their three children: Lionel Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore, and John Barrymore.
Tailgating a turbulent adolescence that saw her grapple with insobriety, substance abuse, and cutthroat media vitriol, a diligent Barrymore threw herself into her career throughout the early-mid nineties, first with a succession of 'bad girl' parts in cultish B-pictures like Poison Ivy (1992), Guncrazy (1992) and - fittingly - Bad Girls (1994); then warmly received turns in prestige vehicles such as Boys on the Side (1995), Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You (1996), and Wes Craven's game-changing Scream (1996). Equal portions of goofball - The Wedding Singer (1998), Never Been Kissed (1999), Charlie's Angels (2000) - and gravitas - Riding in Cars with Boys (2001), Donnie Darko (2001), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) - came next, with a Golden Globe-grabbing pièce de résistance - her divine incarnation of Edith Bouvier Beale in Grey Gardens (2009) - denoting that her skill set was every bit as forceful and far-reaching as presumed.
Having already birthed a bunch of profitable features via her production house, Flower Films (est. 1995), Barrymore fastened an additional string to her bow when she spearheaded the glowingly appraised sports dramedy Whip It (2009), her long-gestating directorial debut. Fresh off a healthy run of film roles during the 2010s, her subsequent star turn as zombified suburban mom Sheila Hammond - a tour de force at once detailed and ditzy - on Netflix's Santa Clarita Diet (2017) saw her stepping indefinitely into the small-screen cosmos; an evolution she continues to embrace with her role as impassioned compère of CBS daytimer The Drew Barrymore Show (2020).
Tailgating a turbulent adolescence that saw her grapple with insobriety, substance abuse, and cutthroat media vitriol, a diligent Barrymore threw herself into her career throughout the early-mid nineties, first with a succession of 'bad girl' parts in cultish B-pictures like Poison Ivy (1992), Guncrazy (1992) and - fittingly - Bad Girls (1994); then warmly received turns in prestige vehicles such as Boys on the Side (1995), Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You (1996), and Wes Craven's game-changing Scream (1996). Equal portions of goofball - The Wedding Singer (1998), Never Been Kissed (1999), Charlie's Angels (2000) - and gravitas - Riding in Cars with Boys (2001), Donnie Darko (2001), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) - came next, with a Golden Globe-grabbing pièce de résistance - her divine incarnation of Edith Bouvier Beale in Grey Gardens (2009) - denoting that her skill set was every bit as forceful and far-reaching as presumed.
Having already birthed a bunch of profitable features via her production house, Flower Films (est. 1995), Barrymore fastened an additional string to her bow when she spearheaded the glowingly appraised sports dramedy Whip It (2009), her long-gestating directorial debut. Fresh off a healthy run of film roles during the 2010s, her subsequent star turn as zombified suburban mom Sheila Hammond - a tour de force at once detailed and ditzy - on Netflix's Santa Clarita Diet (2017) saw her stepping indefinitely into the small-screen cosmos; an evolution she continues to embrace with her role as impassioned compère of CBS daytimer The Drew Barrymore Show (2020).
Child Stars, Then and Now
Child Stars, Then and Now
Kirsten Dunst and more Hollywood favorites that started their careers as kids. How many do you recognize?