Drew Barrymore: Snapshot

Name
Drew Barrymore
Date of Birth
February 22, 1975
Birth Place
Los Angeles, Calif.
Movie star at age 7. Drinker at 9. Drug user at 10. Rehabilitated bestselling memoirist at 14. The scion of an acting dynasty, Drew Barrymore rose above her early notoriety, transforming into a Hollywood power player as an actor and producer.

Steven Spielberg cast her in his 1982 classic E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, and she soon became the youngest person ever to host Saturday Night Live. Through her company Flower Films, Barrymore has cultivated some of her most successful films (Charlie's Angels, Donnie Darko) herself.

Impulsive marriages to bar owner Jeremy Thomas and gross-out comedian Tom Green didn't last. Barrymore, who nabbed the title as PEOPLE's Most Beautiful in 2007, went on to date Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti and actor Justin Long before accepting art consultant Will Kopelman's proposal.

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Drew Barrymore: Video

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Check out this star's transformation from rebellious teen to fresh faced ingenue to stylish leading lady

(2:09)

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Drew Barrymore: Five Fun Facts

  1. Famed director Steven Spielberg is Drew Barrymore's godfather. He helped Barrymore land her breakout role in the 1982 blockbuster E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
  2. Drew Barrymore dropped 20 pounds in 2004 after taking up running and adding more protein to her diet. "It's made my life so much better," she told PEOPLE.
  3. Drew Barrymore considers macaroni and cheese a guilty pleasure, calling it her "Achilles heel."
  4. Drew Barrymore rode Las Vegas' Stratosphere Casino Hotel and Tower's 1,080-ft.-tall thrill ride, Big Shot, a gut-wrenching 10 times in a row in January 2003. "She broke Joey [Fatone] from 'N Sync's record," hotel rep Mike Gilmartin told PEOPLE. "In fact, that's the most anyone – celebrity or not – has ever ridden it [in a row]. When she got off, she didn't seem dizzy or anything."
  5. Drew Barrymore's fundamental rule of dating is to be herself. "Let your freak-flag fly, and if someone doesn't get you, move on," she told PEOPLE in 2007.

Drew Barrymore: Biography

1982

Drew Barrymore

June 11

Out of this World

Called a "natural ham" by director Steven Spielberg, Barrymore is cast as Gertie in E.T., which becomes the fourth-most successful film in history. "One day I was a little girl, and the next day I was being mobbed by people who wanted me to sign my autograph or pose for pictures or who just wanted to touch me," she tells PEOPLE in 1989. "I was this 7-year-old who was expected to be going on a mature 29."

1985

Drew Barrymore

February 22

Grownup Celebration

Barrymore dances until 2 a.m. at New York City nightclub Limelight for her 10th birthday. "I was a club-hopper at 10, as much as a 10-year-old can be," she tells PEOPLE in 1989. "I would sleep over at a friend's house, and we would sneak out."

1988

Drew Barrymore

June

Get Help, ASAP

Barrymore has her first drink at 9, begins smoking pot at 10, and takes cocaine at 12. Her mom checks her into ASAP Family Treatment Center, a private drug and alcohol rehab hospital. She stays 12 days before leaving to film Far from Home. After 85 sober days, she does cocaine in a New York nightclub bathroom. She steals her mom's credit card and flies to L.A. Her mom hires private agents that force her back into ASAP.

Read More on Drew Barrymore's Life

Photo Credits

Top Left: Kenneth Willardt/CORBIS OUTLINE

BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): Everett; Robin Platzer/Twin Images; Peter C. Borsari

Edited by Janet Mock and Julia Wang

Drew Barrymore

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