Drew Blythe Barrymore
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Awards
Drew Barrymore first captivated audiences at age six in Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982. She survived a turbulent childhood to become a leading actress, producer, and director, earning a Golden Globe for her role in Grey Gardens 2009. She co-founded Flower Films and launched The Drew Barrymore Show in 2020.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Drew Barrymore — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Drew Barrymore by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Drew Barrymore — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Born in Culver City, California on February 22, 1975, Drew Blythe Barrymore was the daughter of actor John Drew Barrymore and Jaid Barrymore, making her part of the Barrymore acting dynasty. At age seven, she became the youngest host ever of Saturday Night Live in 1982, the same year she appeared in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. She legally emancipated herself from her parents at age 15, after first learning about the concept at age nine on the set of Irreconcilable Differences.
Barrymore’s breakout role came at age six as Gertie in Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982, which made her a household name. In the 1990s, she reinvented herself with edgy roles in cult films like Poison Ivy 1992 and Scream 1996, then moved into mainstream hits such as The Wedding Singer 1998, Never Been Kissed 1999, and Charlie’s Angels 2000. She won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film for Grey Gardens 2009. That same year, she made her directorial debut with Whip It. She later starred in Netflix’s Santa Clarita Diet 2017 and launched her daytime talk show The Drew Barrymore Show in 2020.
Barrymore has been married three times. Her first marriage was to Jeremy Thomas in March 1994, lasting only 11 months. She then married comedian Tom Green in July 2001, separating after five months and divorcing in October 2002. She married art consultant Will Kopelman in June 2012, and they had two daughters, Olive born September 2012 and Frankie born April 2014, before divorcing in 2016. She was also in long-term relationships with Fabrizio Moretti of The Strokes 2002-2006 and Justin Long 2007-2009.
Drew Barrymore received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 3, 2004, joining her relatives Ethel, John, and Lionel Barrymore. Through her production company Flower Films, co-founded with Nancy Juvonen in 1995, she produced several of her own films. She served as an Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations World Food Program. She is the most frequent female host of Saturday Night Live, with six appearances since her first at age seven. Her film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was selected for the National Film Registry.
The complete filmography of Drew Barrymore — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Drew Barrymore — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Drew Barrymore — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
I Know Certain Actors Are Totally Screwed up on Drugs, yet It Gets Covered Up. Why Wasn’t I Excused for ‘Exhaustion’ or ‘the Flu’?
There’s Something Liberating About Not Pretending. Dare to Embarrass Yourself. Risk.
If I Ever Start Talking to You About My ‘Craft’, My ‘Instrument’, You Have Permission to Shoot Me.
I Believe in Fate. I Believe That Everything Happens for a Reason, but I Think It’s Important to Seek Out That Reason That’s How You Learn.
I Believe You Can Be the Person That You Dream of Being.
Life Is Very Interesting. in the End, Some of Your Greatest Pains Become Your Greatest Strengths.
I Love Levity. as Crazy as I Am, I Just Love to Laugh!
I’m Getting Older so Those Dark Circles Are Really Starting to Show. Now, I’m Starting to Look Like Night of the Living Dead.
When I Lay My Head on the Pillow at Night, I Can Say I Was a Decent Person Today. That’s When I Feel Beautiful.
There’s Nothing Like the Power of a Smile.
I’d Rather Be a Few Pounds Heavier and Enjoy Life Than Be Worried All the Time.
I Don’t Want to Sit Around and Hope Good Things Happen. I Want to Make Them Happen.
My Whole Life, I’ve Wanted to Feel Comfortable in My Skin. It’s the Most Liberating Thing in the World.
My Parents Are Not Bad People. It Was Just a Case of Them Not Wanting a Child.
You Have to Fight Unhappiness Like a Dragon with Fire and Breathe.
As Much Light as I Have Inside Me, There’s Just as Much Darkness, I’m Afraid. There’s a Polarity, and I Still Have Demons to Work Out.
I Love Women Who Have Fought to the Change the World and Made a Difference. I Want to Be One of Them Myself.
I Just Think Happiness Is What Makes You Pretty. Period. Happy People Are Beautiful. They Become Like a Mirror and They Reflect That Happiness. If Somebody Walks in the Room and They’re Drop Dead Gorgeous and Sexy, It’s Really Fun to Look At. but If Someone Is Giving of Their Spirit and They Make You Laugh and Feel Good, That’s a Whole Other Level of Beauty.
California Has, Like, Half the Swimming Pools in the Whole United States. After You’re Successful You Can’t Not Have a Pool. Here, a House Without a Pool Is Like a Neck with No Diamond Necklace.
I Love Hugging. I Wish I Was an Octopus so I Could Hug Ten People at a Time.
Happiness Is the Best Makeup in the World. There’s Nothing You Can Put on Your Face That Comes from a Tube That’s Going to Be as Amazing as a Smile.
I Wish I Were That All Home Grown Food Perfect Woman, but I’m Not. I’m the Mom with the Kitchen on Fire and Food on Our Faces.
Be the Best Version of Yourself, and Smile and Laugh While You’re Doing It.
Do I Like Women Sexually? Yeah, I Do. Totally. I Have Always Considered Myself Bisexual. I Love a Woman’s Body. I Think a Woman and a Woman Together Are Beautiful, Just as a Man and a Woman Together Are Beautiful. Being with a Woman Is Like Exploring Your Own Body, but Through Someone Else.
I Don’t Know Anybody Whose Road Has Been Paved Perfectly for Them. There Are No Manuals. You Don’t Know What Life Has in Store for You.
Making Bad Decisions Doesn’t Make You a Bad Person. It’s How You Learn to Make Better Choices.
When I Was About Seven, I Discovered the Go Go’s. I Went Out and Bought Their Album Beauty and the Beat And, as the Vinyl Twirled, My Whole World Changed. I Stared at the Girls on the Cover Like They Were a Gateway to Cool. the Fact That They Were Girls Made Me Feel Not Only Invited but More Important Like I Could Be a Badass Too. I Looked Over to My Pippi Longstocking Poster on the Wall and Thought, Yes! I Like Girls Who Rock!
Little-known facts about Drew Barrymore — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
At age 15, Drew Barrymore legally emancipated herself from her parents, having learned about the concept at age nine while filming Irreconcilable Differences.
Steven Spielberg, her godfather, gave her a quilt with a note telling her to cover up, accompanied by a Playboy issue with her photos altered to show her fully clothed.
She originally passed on the lead in Scream 1996 to play Casey Becker instead, feeling it would be more fun.
Barrymore convinced a 23-year-old fan to cancel planned cosmetic surgery to look like her after learning about it on MTV’s I Want a Famous Face.
She never completed high school.
During a 1995 appearance on Late Show with David Letterman, the 20-year-old Barrymore shocked the host by climbing onto his desk and flashing him for his 48th birthday.
Her godfather Steven Spielberg is also godfather to Gwyneth Paltrow.
She is allergic to garlic, bee stings, perfume, and coffee.
At seven years old, she became the youngest host of Saturday Night Live, hosting the 1982 episode where viewers voted against Andy Kaufman’s return.
She is godmother to Frances Bean Cobain, daughter of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love.
A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was awarded to her on February 3, 2004, making her one of the Barrymore family to receive that honor.
On October 10, 2009, she became the most frequent recurring female host of Saturday Night Live, hosting for the sixth time.
Her autobiography Little Girl Lost was completed when she was 14 years old in 1990.
Her godmothers are Sophia Loren and Anna Strasberg.
She was formerly vegan but now avoids strict dietary limitations.
She lived with David Crosby and his wife for over a year.
Photography is one of her hobbies.
At age five, she read Stephen King’s Firestarter.
Her film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982 was selected for the National Film Registry.
She has been best friends with Cameron Diaz since Charlie’s Angels 2000, and both are fans of the heavy metal group Ratt.
She has two daughters with ex-husband Will Kopelman: Olive born September 26, 2012 and Frankie born April 22, 2014.
Her company Flower Films discovered the script for 50 First Dates 2004, which had been optioned by Adam Sandler’s company.
She is the daughter of John Drew Barrymore and Jaid Barrymore, half-sister of Jessica, Blyth Dolores, and John Blyth Barrymore, and granddaughter of John Barrymore and Dolores Costello.
She auditioned for Heathers 1989, Great Balls of Fire! 1989, Cry-Baby 1990, Edward Scissorhands 1990, Bram Stoker’s Dracula 1992, and Cape Fear 1991, losing four roles to Winona Ryder.
She admitted on The Rosie O’Donnell Show that she never watches her own movies.
Her Beverly Hills mansion, worth $3 million, caught fire while she and fiancé Tom Green were sleeping inside; they escaped safely but the house was ruined.
She was in a relationship with Justin Long twice: from August 2007 to July 2008, and again from June 2009 to November 2009, living together after a trip to Disneyland.
As a child, she auditioned for the role of Carol Ann Freeling in Poltergeist 1982, which went to Heather O’Rourke.
She has starred in three films with Adam Sandler: The Wedding Singer 1998, 50 First Dates 2004, and Blended 2014.
A huge fan of The Beach Boys, she appeared in their music video Rock and Roll to the Rescue and sang ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ in 50 First Dates.
She was two months pregnant with daughter Frankie when filming Blended 2014.
She was named an Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations World Food Program.
For Bill Clinton’s 50th birthday, John Kennedy Jr. had her pose as Marilyn Monroe on the cover of his magazine George, with the headline Happy Birthday, Mr. President.
She turned down the lead role in Showgirls 1995 because of explicit nudity in the script.
Her first impulsive marriage was to Los Angeles barkeep Jeremy Thomas on March 20, 1994, after knowing him only six weeks; the minister was a clairvoyant from a psychic hotline.
She became a huge fan of the Boston Red Sox during the filming of Fever Pitch 2005.
She was in a long-term relationship with The Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti from June 2002 to December 2006.
She confirmed her engagement to art consultant Will Kopelman in January 2012 after he proposed with a 4-carat diamond ring.
She was delivered by Dr. Paul Fleiss, father of Heidi Fleiss.
People magazine chose her as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.
She auditioned for the role of Satine in Moulin Rouge! 2001, which went to Nicole Kidman.
She returned to work five months after giving birth to Frankie to begin filming Miss You Already 2015.
Her first kiss was from Breckin Meyer when they were in grade school; she was 10 and he was 11.
Her father had English, Irish, and German ancestry; her mother is of Hungarian descent.
Both her grandfather John Barrymore and great-grandfather Maurice Costello played Sherlock Holmes on screen, with Maurice being the first recorded actor to do so.
She married Will Kopelman on June 2, 2012, with guests including Steven Spielberg, Reese Witherspoon, and best friend Cameron Diaz as maid of honor.
She began a relationship with Tom Green in February 2000, got engaged in July 2000, married on July 7, 2001, separated in December 2001, and divorced in October 2002.
VH1 ranked her #5 on its list of the 100 Greatest Kid Stars.
High Times magazine named her Stonette of the Year in 2010 for her performance in Going the Distance.
She was named after her great-grandparents, Georgiana Emma Drew and Maurice Barrymore, both stage actors.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Drew Barrymore.
Celebrities similar to Drew Barrymore — same craft, ranked by reach.
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