Drew Barrymore knew exactly what she expected from herself at the start of the new millennium. "I will not fear anymore," she wrote in a list of New Year's resolutions. "I will not have the fear that is stopping me from living." Considering that she first collided with fame at age 7 in the blockbuster movie E.T., had abused alcohol, pot and cocaine by age 12, slit her wrists and checked into a rehab center by 14, cut off virtually all contact with her mother at 16 and got married and divorced at 19, letting go of fear was no small goal.
But from the looks of Barrymore skydiving, cliff-climbing and high-kicking her way into box office heaven alongside Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu in Charlie's Angels, the gods heard her wish—and granted her wings of steel. Yet it was when she put on her producer's halo that the 25-year-old actress truly showed her mettle. It was Barrymore who tracked down the elusive Bill Murray and coaxed him into appearing in the film version of the '70s TV show as the Angels' associate Bosley; Barrymore who insisted that the three stars be shown eating heartily to combat Hollywood's superskinny standards; and Barrymore who ruled that they fight their battles without using guns.
The actress also found time to fall in love with comedian Tom Green, 29, to whom she offered a part in Angels and became engaged last July. As Barrymore recently told Premiere, "I feel totally empowered, because my man loves my goofiness." The relationship also tested her devotion. Green was diagnosed with testicular cancer last March and counted on Barrymore for bedside support and a bawdy sense of humor. "They just laugh together all the time," says her friend and agent Patrick Whitesell. "They have a real commonality in their morals and beliefs and what they want in life." Inspired in part by the close relationship Green has with his parents, Barrymore has reconnected with her mother, actress Jaid Barrymore, 54. "The hardships Drew has endured have made her the person she is today," says Angels executive producer Jenno Topping. "Resilient, mischievous and full of fun. She is an uncontrollable, fearless force."
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